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Japanese Americans and Civil Religion

 

For immigrant Japanese Americans the boundaries between religion, politics, and culture are porous" (940). .
             Stating this, the author shows us that while American religion creates groups within itself, Japanese religion is universal. The author also states that there is an: "interwoven sense of religion (spiritual healing and development), politics (an awareness of discrimination and prejudice), and culture (kinship and acceptance) that is not confined to the walls of the church"" (940). Therefore, Japanese religion focuses on everything (religion itself, politics, and culture) yet does not force anything upon those that follow. This article is also good at clearly stating the goals of this new Japanese American civil religion. The internment of many Japanese Americans in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor left many generations with a haunting past. It is in remembering the injustices and what happened that creates a new civil religion for the Japanese American people: "the institutionalization of memory therefore becomes significant in the larger mission of education and healing for Japanese Americans." .
             The ways in which memory is reenacted and repurposed lend Japanese American civil religion its distinctive character"" (946). The Japanese American civil religion was founded on remembrance, but also focuses on the future: "they [those interned] began to realize the import of their experiences and the need to make their stories heard so that their children would know of their suffering. These stories also were meant to serve as a reminder that "never again shall any group be denied liberty and the rights of citizenship"" (945). Along with its goal of forever remembering the injustices caused by internment, another mission of the new Japanese American civil religion is to make sure those injustices never again happen to any race within the United States, and even around the globe. .
             Though the article has strong points, there are some limitations.


Essays Related to Japanese Americans and Civil Religion

1. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

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2. Japanese Internment

While locked up in these camps Japanese Americans, 70% of whom were American citizens, were subject to strict rules and regulations, harsh living conditions, and limited civil liberties. ... In some cases the Japanese Americans were prohibited from being within ten feet of the fence. ... Religious freedom was also denied: Shinto, a major religion for the Japanese, was banned from many of the camps (1-4). ... Churches also held religion and CCD classes (1-2). ... Japanese Americans, many of whom were young adults, enjoyed friendly games of sumo, volleyball, golf, and mostly baseball. ...

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3. Japanese Internment

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  • Approx Pages: 5
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4. Confucianism in Japan and Chin

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6. America

Fear, ignorance, and post-Civil War depression combined to create a secluded atmosphere and eventually, a hostile home. ... These businesses increasingly depended on Japanese immigrants to replace the prohibited Chinese workers. As the Japanese came, the Americans told the same story that they had with the Chinese. They were once again arguing that the Japanese were taking their jobs and not absorbing the American culture. The United States took action yet again, by creating an informal treaty with Japan, restricting Japanese immigration to the U.S. ...

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7. Discrimination in America

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8. American Imperialism And The Open Door Policy

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