Mushūkyō Identification and the Fragile Existence of Catholic Children in Japan

• Main Author: Alec R. LeMay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: <i>Mushūkyō</i>; public schools; encapsulation; Roman Catholic Church in Japan
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/414

This paper challenges the Japanese word <i>mushūkyō</i> as it is used to create a collective, non-religious identity that excludes religious practitioners. <i>Mushūkyō</i>, 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 <i>mushūkyō</i>. 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.