RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN UNTANGLING THE ENIGMA
In Japan, quantitative accounts of religious membership range from more than one and a half times the total population to thirty percent or less, and we do not have a solid understanding of who these religious affiliates are. This paper addresses four core questions to provide a clearer portrayal of Japanese religious affiliation: I) What is the approximate number of Japanese who claim religious affiliation?2) How do the figures presented in this study differ from previous statistics and why? 3) Are there significant differences between individual affiliates and those who claim to have a "household" religion? And 4) What are some of the theoretical explanations for reli gious affiliation in Japan Using data from large nationally representative proba bility samples of Japanese adults, multivariate analysis indicates that some deprivation measures (e.g. unemployment and low education and income levels) help explain individual affiliation with "New Religions " but not with Buddhist or Christian groups, and socialization controls (e.g. gender, age, social engagement, and traditional atti tudes) can predict belief in Buddhist, New Religion, and Christian religions. Insuffi cient data have hindered research on this important topic in the past. This study takes advantage of new resources and supports findings from qualitative research, enabling us to explore who are religious affiliates in Japan and why they might claim such associations.