Political Perspectives
Religious Freedom and Public Health: The Case of Vaccination in Pandemic and Epidemic Context
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ana Santos Rutschman
This paper explores the shifting landscape of religious exemptions to vaccination in both secular and religious states. In particular, it focuses on the interplay between vaccination mandates during large-scale public health crises, such as a pandemic or epidemic, and the spectrum of protections conferred to religious institutions, communities, and individuals. The paper further hones in on the problem of how the rights of religious minorities are recognized and protected in these contexts. Methodologically, the study relies on case studies on countries representative of different faith traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism) and different approaches towards state-religion relationships (secular and religious). In addition to making a descriptive and analytical contribution, the research summarized in the paper suggests a need for greater comparative and integrative work in this area.
Featured As Above, So Below: Female Self-Transformation and Healing in a Global Spiritual Business
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephen Christopher
I am currently conducting fieldwork on the Modern Mystery School (MMS), a spiritual business headquartered in Tokyo and Toronto and thousands of followers around the world. MMS has been in operation for over 20 years; although there has been some media speculation and social media chatter, no in-depth ethnographic fieldwork has been done until now. The founder, an Icelander in Tokyo, makes extraordinary biographical and spiritual claims. He is a ‘Sacred Dandy’ who wears high fashion, relishes material wealth, and lives out the MMS edict of ‘being royal’. Alongside him are two other men; together they form the ‘Third Order’ and are pinnacle of organizational leadership. The core of the spiritual teachings is to awaken your Eternal Self and enter into a lifestyle of material and spiritual royalty through initiation into the lineage of King Salomon. As my research explores, the vast majority of followers are women. There are many specialized roles for women: the Beauty Council; the Council of 12, the Grand Oracle; Healers and Guides. In this study, I analyze the political interrelationship between the top male leadership and the thousands of female leaders/initiates. I discuss how the Kabbalistic principle of ‘As Above, So Below’ is interpreted to ideologically support the leadership model. And I take the audience through some spiritual seminars about the sacred feminine and beauty to see how Japanese women seek out economic independence and self-redefinition through this globalized religion.
