Japanese Religions & Anime Survey
Alright, as part of my upcoming panel on Japanese Religions in Anime at Anime Punch 2009 I would like to present some data on how Anime and Manga has influenced the spirituality of Anime fans. If you would like to contribute below is a 21 question survey - reply ether in a comment, a comment linking to a journal/blog entry, or an email to tsulakala.kitsula(at)gmail.com
Please pass this link around to people and sites which may be interested and complete this survey no later than April 8th, 2009.
Feel free to skip any questions you do not wish to answer but I would prefer that you answer as many questions as you are able.
Thank you for your help and participation!
1. What name do you prefer to be cited as? What is your current age? What is your gender identification?
2. Where do you presently live (City/town, State/Provence/other division (if applicable), Country)? Have you at any time lived in Japan? If you have lived in Japan at what ages and for how long?
3. What do you consider your socioeconomic status to be? (Lower, Middle, or Upper) Working Class, (Lower, Middle, or Upper) Middle Class, or (Lower, Middle, or Upper) Upper Class?
4. What is your highest level of education completed? (Ex. Junior High School, High School, Some College, Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Post-Graduate Degree)
5. What is your current occupation? (Ex. Student, Office Worker, Sales Clerk, et cetera)
6. What political party do you support, if any? What label do you use to describe your political view point? (Ex. Libertarian, Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, et cetera)
7. How do you label your Primary Path/Tradition/Folkway/Religion/et cetera? If you have any additional affiliations, list these as well. (Ex. Roman Catholic, Pagan, Soto Zen Buddhist, Kemetic Orthodox, Mormon, Reform Jew, Follower of Mahikari, et cetera)
8. What are your primary religious/spiritual practices, if any?
9. In a short summery what are your views on God(s)/the divine/spirits? Ethics? Impurity/Pollution/Sin? and Death?
10. If were born into a different religious tradition than you currently practice, what was the religious tradition of your birth community? (Ex. Roman Catholic, Pagan, Soto Zen Buddhist, Kemetic Orthodox, Mormon, Reform Jew, Follower of Mahikari, et cetera)
11. What was your first exposure to Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture?
12. How many hours do you estimate that you are exposed to Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture in a given day? A given week?
13. Do you consider yourself to be part of the Anime/Manga fandom? If so, would you consider yourself a casual fan or an 'Otaku' - a serious fan?
14. Do you interact or participate in any Anime/Manga fandom groups ether online or in your everyday life? If so describe your level of participation and activities.
15. Do you attend any conventions relating to Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture? If so how many per year?
16. What do you consider to be your top three favorite Anime and/or Manga series/titles - If any?
17. On a scale of 0-10 (10 being the greatest amount of influence), how much influence do you believe that Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture have had on your personal Religious/Spiritual beliefs and/or practices? If Anime, Manga, and Japanese Pop Culture have influenced you - How exactly has it influenced you?
18. What was your first exposure to Japanese Religious Traditions?
19. If you currently practice a religion with Japanese origins (including sects of Buddhism and other religions originating in Japan) and were not born into the tradition, do you feel that exposure to Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture contributed to your decision to follow this path?
20. Do you have any personal religious/spiritual practices (outside of those that are formally part of your primary religious tradition) that have originated in Japan or are derived from Japanese practices such as Reiki Healing, Zazen, using Omamori, Performing Misogi under a waterfall, honoring/venerating/worshiping a Japanese Kami and/or Bodhisattva, et cetera? If so, list and describe these practices.
21. Do your personal religious/spiritual practices include any practices derived from Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture or involving an characters or mythos derived from Anime, Manga, and/or Japanese Pop Culture? If so describe these practices.