Mushūkyō Identification and the Fragile Existence of Catholic Children in Japan

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3483751
AutoresAlec R Lemay, Alec LeMay (Bunkyo University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen10
Número7
Páginas414
Fecha de publicación2019-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel10070414
OpenAlexW2954380144
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas9

This paper challenges the Japanese word mushūkyō as it is used to create a collective, non-religious identity that excludes religious practitioners. Mushūkyō, in addition to functioning as the antithesis of religion, produces the homogeneity Japanese desire for themselves. As Japan becomes increasingly more diverse in thought and ethnic background, it regulates this diversity by teaching young Japanese to subscribe to mushūkyō. This is achieved by controlling the friendships children have at school and by creating an environment that limits religious practice. The conflict between public schools and religion is epitomized by the Roman Catholic Church and the flight of its children. Nearly a decade of quantitative research at a Catholic Church located in the Tokyo suburbs is combined with ethnographic narratives of four Catholics to paint a picture of a Japanese more religiously partisan than previously imagined

Aesthetics · Antithesis · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Ethnography · Linguistics · Narrative · Sociology · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · Japanese History and Culture · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies