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Monika Schrimpf widmet sich in ihrem Beitrag der Frage, wie religiöse AkteurInnen im gegenwärtigen Japan ihre therapeutische Praxis bzw. die Propagierung religiös-therapeutischer Praktiken legitimieren und sich an der Schnittstelle zwischen Religion und Medizin positionieren. Am Beispiel eines Nichiren-buddhistischen Priesters und der Neureligion Perfect Liberty Kyodan werden zwei Strategien der Legitimierung und Positionierung illustriert: die Berufung auf Wissenschaft sowie das Code-Switching zwischen religiöser und medizinischer Semantik.

In modern societies the functional differentiation of medicine and religion is the predominant paradigm. Contemporary therapeutic practices and concepts in healing systems, such as Transpersonal Psychology, Ayurveda, as well as Buddhist and Anthroposophic medicine, however, are shaped by medical as well as religious or spiritual elements. This book investigates configurations of the entanglement between medicine, religion, and spirituality in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. How do political and legal conditions affect these healing systems? How do they relate to religious and scientific discourses? How do therapeutic practitioners position themselves between medicine and religion, and what is their appeal for patients?

In the context of a monitoring program, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were quantified in the blood of 10 year old children at four different demographic regions in Baden-Wuerttemberg, a highly industrialised federal state in South West Germany. DDE, HCB, PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180 were measured in 1996/1997, 1998/1999, 2000/2001 and 2002/2003 in individual samples of about 400 children per year. PCDD/PCDFs and some relevant coplanar PCBs were determined in pooled samples from children in seven cycles from 1993 to 2003. Blood concentrations of the investigated compounds decreased in that time period by a factor of 2–4 with the exception of most PCDFs. The concentrations of POPs in the blood of the children were distinctly lower than the concentrations reported for adults. Breast feeding was associated with about 30% higher median concentrations of DDE, HCB, PCBs and a 30% increase for mean PCDD/PCDF concentrations. Concerning demographic differences, significant lower concentrations of HCB, PCBs and PCDD/PCDFs could be seen in children from Mannheim compared to the region of Aulendorf. About 10–20% higher concentrations were found in boys compared to girls for HCB, indicator PCBs and PCDD/PCDFs. The pattern of non-ortho and mono-ortho PCBs in the blood of children was similar to the pattern reported for mother’s milk, and PCB 126 and PCB 156 contributed about 70% to the toxicity of dioxin-like PCBs and about one-third to total TEQ including PCDD/PCDFs.

A study was performed at the four sentinel health departments of Baden-Württemberg between November 1999 and March 2000 to investigate the indoor levels of fungi at the homes of school children (mean age 10 y) and to describe possible associations with allergy statuses. Three hundred and ninety-seven households of school children with (n = 199) and without (n = 198) allergic history were included in the study. The median of colony forming units (CFU/m3) of fungi, measured in the children's bedrooms' in indoor air, was 105 (range 5 to 15,000), in outdoor air 110 (range 10 to 1500). The median of viable mould spores (CFU/g dust) in floor dust was 28,500 (range 1500 to 1,235,000), in mattresses 16,250 (range 0 to 2,500,000). Neither climatological conditions, nor differences between urban and rural regions showed a systematic influence on fungi counts. There was no difference in concentrations and distribution of fungi species levels between children with and without allergic history. The sensitization rate against molds (IgE) was higher for children with allergic condition (9.2%) than in control children (4.4%), but there was no association with the fungi counts in the rooms. In conclusion, the study defined the mould levels in children's rooms, but did not find an association with allergic history of the children or their sensitization rate.

Ever since the new religious movement Aum Shinrikyō released Sarin Gas in several Tok yo subway stations in March 1995, much has been published about that particular religious group and new religious movements in general. Naturally, these publications often deal with either the reasons or the consequences of that incident. Shimazono Susumu, for example, presented a study on the history, teachings and practice of Aum Shinrikyō shortly after the attack in order to explain the radicalization of the group by referring to its “universe of belief”. Similarly, Ian Reader 2 asks after the doctrinal legitimization of Aum’s violent acts, whereas Martin Repp3 links the history and teachings of Aum to deficiencies prevalent in Japanese society in general. Moreover, the incident challenged the study of religions as an academic discipline: It raised the question whether scholars of religions should provide information and warnings to the public if they consider a certain religious group as potentially aggressive. Michael Pye suggests making a clear distinction between the academic postulate of independent, objective research on the one hand and the right to participate and make judgements in public discussions as a well-informed private person on the other. 4 Another conclusion is drawn by Ian Reader: He advocates a detailed fieldwork approach to the study of new religious movements instead of the more general studies that in his opinion are favoured by Japanese scholars.