Job Discussion Forums

[merc007]

Hi All,
I was curious what the main religion was in Japan? Is it Buddhism/Hinduism? Also are there any Western religion communities there? e.g. Catholicism, Anglican etc
Thanks

[shmooj]

After nearly six years here my informed opinion is that the main religion here is a syncretic blend of mainly shopping interspersed with occasional doses of superstition.

[Glenski]

I'm sorry to say, but this is the sort of question that irritates me. Not because it is off topic for a teaching forum (that is a separate peeve), but because it can be answered by looking in any decent guide book or by doing a simple search on the Net.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e629.html


http://inic.utexas.edu/asnic/countries/japan/japreligion.html

http://www.jinjapan.org/access/religion/today.html

http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/reader/japan.html

http://raider.muc.edu/re/WorldReligions/recognition_of_religion_in_japan.htm

[merc007]

Cool thanks. I wasn't meaning to offend anyone.

[Gordon]

Most Japanese don`t take religion very seriously. Many don`t even know the meanings to all the rituals and festivals they partate in or why.

Personally, I think Pachinko is the main religion here.

[PAULH]

[Wolf]

[shmooj]

Wolf, glad to see we have shared some geography...
Yes, there are "real" Christian ministers who do these too. In fact, it often supplements a missionary's otherwise lean income in many cases.

BTW, there are "Anglicans/episcopalians" but they are hard to recognise because most of these denominations were forced, in the 1930s to form a state-recognised unified church or face persecution and prohibition. As a result, you often find churches here which are Methodist, Anglican etc in name but don't look or give them impression of being so.

[Munchen]

The name of the Anglican/Episcopal Churchin Japan is the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, think I got that. In English, The Holy Catholic Church of Japan.
As I am an ordained Episcopal priest in the US, I have had over the years contact with clergy, both Anglo and Japanese clergy. A Japanese priest attended my seminary in the '60s to obtain M.Div. degree. He was and may still be a chaplain at St. Luke's Hospital in Tokyo. A fascinating thing he wrote in our now occasional class newsletter is they too have struggled with prejudices against non-Japanese, i.e., Koreans. Some were against the ordination of a Korean candidate at one point.
The history is rich, though, despite being small, but The Holy Catholic Church in Japan does have over 300 clergy nationwide which is pretty remarkable considering how small the Christian populous is in Japan.
Yes, from what I gather, we are popular in Japan for weddings, mainly from what I heard, it is a "Western" thing. A fellow Anglo priest I know served in Nikko a few years ago and even officiated at a wedding, which was mostly in English. He was able to celebrate Mass in Japanese with Romaji text to follow. He claimed ecumenical relations was healthy with Roman Catholics and other churches.
Yes, in deference to Glenski, this is a off the ESL path, but thought I'd share some of my background on this topic and in fact would enjoy a stint in Japan myself, especially as I am too old now to teach English!

(My interest in this forum stems from having been an ESL instructor in Spain in the '70s and wrote a piece in Dave's Job Journal under Spain several years ago)
Thanks for reading.

[3rdEye]

Since this entire place is called the "Jobs Discussion" forum, then I assume that would also include the lifestyles and life-interests of those people employed or seeking employment in the "ESL field". Some of these interests could include "religion", "applied philosophies" and other narratives. So I don't think talking about "religion" is necessarily "off topic". However, I do think that the theme of this thread ("Religion in Japan") is too general, somewhat vague, and might become a daunting thing to discuss with any comprehensive depth. If your question about "Religion in Japan" is connected to how you will pursue your self-interests on the job, or your curiousity about the social contexts of the students and people around your workplace and living area, then it is not so "off topic" in my opinion. In some cases, depending on where you work, it might be a necessity to talk about it.

Regarding the above mentioned descriptions of the various practices of "religion" in Japan, I agree with all of them. Many of the above posters have made some very astute observations that are right on the mark. I suggest you read and research the existing texts and resources on "Japanese religion" as suggested above (or find your own sources), and listen to the personal perspectives and comments of the posters in this thread (or elsewhere) and draw your own pictures.

As for the topic discussion, I would also add that numerous people I have met have expressed a general disdain for strict adherance to organised religious institutions and their social codes. This may have something to do with negative reactions to some of the so-called "cults" that have turned more than a few people off to the perceived pitfalls of submitting to "religion" as a definitive "social institution", rather than just one of many standpoints to live by. There seems to be much unspoken flexibility and co-existence with "belief systems" in Japan.

In my case, in a nutshell, I've studied Hokke-related metaphysics on intersubjectivity, paradox and social action that may generally be traced historiographically to Minobu, Hiei and Tiantai-associated thoughts and practices, which in turn can be connected to Nagarjuna, and by tradition to Shakasama. Though after all of that, it seems the best way (for me) is to come down from the "mountain" (whether literal or symbolic) and live up the best through the worst.

[shmooj]

[3rdEye]

[shmooj]

[BenJ]

"In my case, in a nutshell, I've studied Hokke-related metaphysics on intersubjectivity, paradox and social action that may generally be traced historiographically to Minobu, Hiei and Tiantai-associated thoughts and practices, which in turn can be connected to Nagarjuna, and by tradition to Shakasama. Though after all of that, it seems the best way (for me) is to come down from the "mountain" (whether literal or symbolic) and live up the best through the worst. "

3rd Eye - I have no idea what this means!

[shmooj]

Congratulations BenJ, I think that was the impression 3rdEye was trying to achieve.