The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Country

Japan

Type of Organization

Research Center

Mission

According to the website:
"The founding ideals of the institute are basically three:
1. The interdisciplinary study of the relations between religion and culture with particular reference to the Far East, and more specifically Japan.
2. The promotion of mutual understanding among Christianity and other religions.
3. The training of researchers in these areas."

Description

As its name states, the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture is focused on studying the interdependence between religion and culture. As a research center, this institution not only conducts research and offers research facilities to a variety of researchers, but it also actively promotes dialogue among religions, particularly between Christianity and other religions. The institute regularly hold discussions, seminars, conferences, and symposia, and publishes a journal and annual bulletin.

Programs (please see website for links)

1.Nanzan Institute hosts several kinds of academic gatherings, including: colloquia, seminars, workshops, and discussions with local scholars.
2.Nanzan Institute has been involved in establishing several institutions that are concerned with religion and cultural studies. Those institutions are: EGSID (Ecumenical Group for the Story of Interreligious Dialogue), Inter-Religio, and Japan Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.
3.Nanzan Institute has two regular scholarship programs: post-doctoral scholarships and scholarships for East-Asian Scholars of Religion.
4.Nanzan Institute offers a resident research program for visiting scholars who want to do short and long-term research.

Publications

In addition to publishing books and E-books, Nanzan Institute publishes the English language periodicals Bulletin, Inter-Religio and the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. They also publish the Japanese language periodicals Kenkyusoho, published annually, and the journal of the Japan Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.

Staff

Currently, Nanzan Institute has four permanent research fellows and a number of associate research fellows, junior research fellows, research associates, and visiting research fellows. They have only two office staff.

Research Facilities

Nanzan Institute is housed in a three-story building equipped with internet access and a library containing over 30,000 volumes and 400 journals in western and oriental languages.