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Church of Perfect Liberty

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Part of the book series: Religions of the World ((REWO))

Definition

The Church of Perfect Liberty traces the origin of its teachings to Ontakekyo Tokumitsu Grand Church, which was established in 1912. Changing its name various times, the Church adopted the current one in 1974. The core doctrinal principle is encapsulated in the PL 21 Precepts, which is considered to be the “constitution” of the religious tradition. The first precept states that “life is art,” which compares human life to a work of art. In this view, the goal of human life is to cultivate the meaning of life by drawing forth individuals’ full potential in the course of their lives.

Introduction

The Church of Perfect Liberty is known for the practice of flexible and innovative adjustment of its religious teachings and practices based on the instructions from the successive “Spiritual Heads” (Oshieoya). This is exemplified by the fact that the religious group has repeatedly changed its name – namely, Hito-no-Michi Kyōdan in 1931, PL Kyōdan in 1946, and Perfect Liberty in 1972...

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References

  • Kawashima M (1995) PL shoseikun nyumon: Jinsei wo geijutsu suru tame no nijuichikajo [Introduction to the PL precepts: twenty-one precepts for making an art of your life]. Geijutsu Seikatsusha, Osaka

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Correspondence to Masanobu Yamada .

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Yamada, M. (2019). Church of Perfect Liberty. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Religions of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27078-4_165

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