Church of World Messianity
Encyclopedia
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
), abbreviated COWM, is a "new religion" (Shinshukyo
Shinshukyo
is a Japanese term used to describe domestic new religious movements. They are also known as in Japanese, and are most often called simply Japanese new religions in English. Japanese theologians classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as Shinshūkyō. Thus,...
) founded in 1935 by Mokichi Okada
Mokichi Okada
Mokichi Okada was the founder of the Church of World Messianity, in which he is known by the honorific title Meishū-sama...
. The religion's key concept is Johrei
Johrei
Johrei , sometimes spelled "Jyorei", is a healing ritual that claims to use "divine light" to dissolve the spiritual impurities that are the source of all physical, emotional, and personal problems...
, claimed to be a method of channeling divine light into the body of another for the purposes of healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
. Members believe that, in 1926, Okada received a divine revelation and was empowered to be a channel of God's Healing Light (johrei) to remove illness, poverty, and strife from the world and inaugurate a new Messianic Age
Messianic Age
Messianic Age is a theological term referring to a future time of universal peace and brotherhood on the earth, without crime, war and poverty. Many religions believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the "Kingdom of God" or the "World to Come".- Terminology: "messianic" and...
. Okada's teaching is represented by the scripture Johrei
Johrei
Johrei , sometimes spelled "Jyorei", is a healing ritual that claims to use "divine light" to dissolve the spiritual impurities that are the source of all physical, emotional, and personal problems...
, which has been edited and translated by the Society of Johrei, an offshoot of COWM.
The religion currently claims 800,000 followers, including many in Brazil. Shinji Shumeikai
Shinji Shumeikai
is a Japanese shinshūkyō, or new religious movement. As of 1998, the organization had more than 300,000 adherents.- Beliefs :...
(神慈秀明会), also known as Shumei, also follows the teachings of Okada and is considered a descendant of the church by CFAR.
According to anthropologist of religion
Anthropology of religion
The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures.-History:...
Winston Davis, Mahikari
Mahikari
Mahikari is a Japanese new religious movement , with a number of variants or offshoots, founded in 1963 by Yoshikazu Okada...
groups are comparable to Church of World Messianity and follow basically the same healing ritual.
In Brazil
Shinshukyo
is a Japanese term used to describe domestic new religious movements. They are also known as in Japanese, and are most often called simply Japanese new religions in English. Japanese theologians classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as Shinshūkyō. Thus,...
have propagated in Brazil since the 1930s and they now have at least a million non-Japanese Brazilian followers. Three major religions ranked by the number of followers are, Seicho-No-Ie
Seicho-No-Ie
Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
, Messianity, Mahikari and PL Kyodan
PL Kyodan
, is a Japanese Shinshūkyō founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki , who was a priest in the Obaku Sect of Zen Buddhism. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace.-Teachings:...
.
In Brazil Guarapiranga
Guarapiranga
The Reservoir of Guarapiranga is a reservoir in the southern area of the city of São Paulo, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.-Construction:...
is the sacred place of the Church of World Messianity (or Igreja Messiânica Mundial).