To a casual observer, the average Japanese appears more spiritually aware than the
average American or European. For example, most Japanese make a habit of visiting their
local shrines to ask for success before important life events such as entrance exams. It
is also clear, however, that these practices cannot be directly traced to any widespread
current devotion of the Japanese people to a particular religious faith — although it can
be argued that Confucian and Buddhist principles are still very influential here, even if on the wane.
Some say that the apparent Japanese indifference to religion can be traced to policies
of the Meiji Government which tried, on the surface at least, to separate church and state
(Ama, 2000). Others such as Reischauer (1988, p. 203) think it goes back much farther to the time when Confucian
principles – which are concerned primarily with man's role in society and not with any
devotion to higher powers – first became widely accepted and practiced in Japan. More recently,
change in the status of the Emperor has caused many older Japanese to lose their religious
center. Moreover, many younger Japanese – as their western peers – can no
longer reconcile religious dogma with their knowledge of science.
". . . an important research agenda should be to compare and bridge student's worldviews and the scientific worldview, and to explore the content and epistemology of western and non-western knowledge of the physical world."
This is appears to be a trend in many cultures. Taylor and Cobern (1998) write that the
scientific worldview ". . . operating through the agency of local schools, delegitimates and
rapidly displaces traditional ways of knowing, being and valuing" (p. 204). With regard to
the power of the western scientific view, Pomeroy (1994) suggests an important research
agenda should be to compare and bridge student's worldviews and the scientific worldview, and
to explore the content and epistemology of western and non-western knowledge of the physical world.
This interview is with a young, anonymous Japanese physics lecturer. He majored in physics
and then went to an American university to complete a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and now lectures in Tokyo. While his outlook is
not necessarily typical, it is included as an indication of the power of the scientific
worldview current among a sizeable section of the Japanese population:
||What are your views on religion?
||Like most Japanese I go to a shrine with my family on New Years day, but I
don't have any particular religion. My family is traditionally Buddhist, but I think
my parents are not serious about it. I think all religions may be beneficial for
ceremonial purposes or peace of mind, but if Christians say creation is scientific,
this is untrue. We have to teach people how to think scientifically. We should not
mix science and religion.
||Is life after death possible?
||No, it is impossible.
||What is mind?
||It is just idea, concept. In the chemical or physical model there is no mind. In
psychology it exists but in real science it doesn't exist. If you discuss whether
something exists it must be matter. Conceptually mind could exist but as matter
it doesn't exist. Thinking is a function of the brain. It is material but it is difficult
to investigate human thinking. So I think science can't investigate mind in the
same way that matter can be investigated because mind is only a concept. It is
not real. This is a very difficult subject.
||Why are some people kind and others cruel?
||The person's environment, upbringing. There may be some tendency at birth but most from environment.
||Is knowledge of literature, history or religion useful to science majors?
||It is ok – I think they should study more than just science.
||Any further comments about religion and science?
||When I was a teenager I believed in unscientific ways, ghosts, UFOs, reincarnation, heaven. But now I see the universe objectively, I see things clearly. I have completely changed.
In any event, most modern Japanese are very secular in outlook and
disinterested in any attempt to publicly acknowledge or explore religious and philosophical issues.
We believe, however, that denial of their religious heritage and ignorance of major
world beliefs often hinders students' understanding of global events. Furthermore,
the continued growth of new religions and cults in Japan, even after the Aum Shin
Rikkyou crimes, indicates that many people may be seeking something beyond material prosperity.
Therefore, despite the personal nature of religious beliefs and philosophical leanings,
this would seem to be a topic which could and should be included in Cross-Cultural
Studies curriculia. Granted, teachers should never force a topic or a belief on their
students, yet we can be aware that students may subconsciously be looking for guidance
in these very personal areas as well as in strictly academic fields. Of course many private
post-secondary institutions in Japan are either Christian or Buddhist and thus already
implement religion classes. Hence the comments in this paper should be seen as been
directed mainly to public colleges or non-religious private institutions. While we both teach
our classes completely in English, we feel the comments made here would apply also to
classes taught in Japanese.
Introducing religion and worldviews into the English curriculum
Here are some ways to introduce religious or philosophical issues into general
- Introduce the religion or philosophy completely at random as it appears
in current news events. For example, in the 2001-02 school year, the Taliban
destroyed the huge statues of Buddha at Bamiyan in Afghanistan, causing outrage
and consternation all over the world. Later in the year, terrorists associated
with the Taliban destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon
in the United States. The former story created opportunities to discuss the
Islamic aversion to the artistic and religious depiction of human forms due to
the prohibition of idolatry. The latter was an opportunity to talk about the history
of Islam in relation to Christianity and the Crusades.
- Teach a unit containing an overview of world religions as preparation for the
discussion of current events or global issues. Such a unit might include the
five main world religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism –
and some philosophies such as Confucianism and Atheism. This would probably
take no more than a few weeks of a semester or year-long course if only relatively
neutral questions were addressed. See Obara 2002, Appendix I and Cates 2001,
pp. 10-15 for examples of handouts and lesson plans.
- Occasionally introduce a unit or topic which has religious or philosophical
aspects and talk about the way various religions would react to this topic. In
a women's issues class or unit, for example, such topics might include abortion;
marriage, divorce and other family issues; and sexual harassment. Teachers might
not have detailed knowledge about the viewpoints of several religions regarding
all the topics, but there are several places on the Internet where information can
be garnered. This can also be a project for students to research. See Kirkpatrick,
2000, p. 146-148, for lesson plans on abortion and war.
- Collect newspaper articles, textbook units and Internet addresses
concerning various topics and include religion and philosophy fact
files with them. Let students choose which topics they would like to study in
a workshop approach or as topics for reports. With this approach, few students
may choose the religion/philosophy topics, but teachers can be sure that those
who do are really interested, and they need not worry about forcing these topics
Carolyn Obara introduces the five major world religions as a part of a second-year
discussion class of mostly female students. She says:
When the topic of world religions is announced, students often react
negatively with glum faces, a few groans, and silence from the majority. But I
have found that there is a significant group of silent supporters who seem to
want to discuss this topic. Perhaps they don't realize they want it until we are
immersed in the topic, but by the end of the course when I ask which topics
they enjoyed most and which they liked least, about a fourth of the students
indicate on my evaluation form that they liked the religion lessons most and
no one has said this was their least enjoyable topic. I know the faculty have
heard about the class and some of them are distrustful of religion in general,
but they have not said anything to me, perhaps because they know the
religion unit is a short-term part of the course. I would actually welcome a
little controversy which would allow me to discuss this topic with people who
have the vocabulary to handle it, but there seems to be no interest there. It
is a little disappointing that the students are more interested, on the whole,
in discussing philosophical topics than are the faculty.
Robert Kirkpatrick has been teaching a year-long elective course on world religions
and philosophies open to all students and the general public at the Prefectural University
of Kumamoto for the past three years. In addition, this year the faculty of letters invited
him to teach a seminar class for senior students on comparative culture comparing
Japanese and western worldviews. He says:
My experience with students has been quite positive, probably because the
courses are not compulsory and so attract students who genuinely wish to
learn about different religions and worldviews. The faculty have been entirely
supportive since they see these classes as giving the English department a
broader scope. No doubt my enthusiasm for this subject is also a factor in both
student and faculty perceptions.
The first year of teaching these classes I spent many hours sifting information and
preparing lectures. Mostly this involved identifying a topic and then simplifying the
complex English so that my students could follow. The class time included myself
giving the lecture and then students asking me questions or making comments.
However, I noticed that when I spoke less it gave students the space to formulate
their own thinking and often they expressed quite sophisticated insights. The
classes that were more discussion-based were the most well-received.
This year I completely changed the syllabus and now I assign a reading each
week; every student then gives a short presentation based on the information
and their opinion of it. The class then comments on interesting points in the
presentation. As with a lot of teachers I enjoy the sound of my own voice, and
it goes against a strong innate vanity to let others have their say. Nevertheless,
I have been consciously reducing my speaking time throughout the year, until
I have now become mostly a facilitator. The success of this approach still irks
my vanity a little, but with students visibly energized I am convinced of the benefits.
Additional innovations include the invitation of outside speakers and fieldtrips.
Last year a Zen monk (an American living in Japan) gave a very practical
lecture that all enjoyed – and which carried on long after the class was
scheduled to end. This year we took a trip to a local Jinja (Shinto shrine). I
arranged to meet with a priest and he discussed the many questions prepared
by the class; for the English component students gave a translation of what
was said. We all went away with a sense of history, culture, and a little awe
for this serene meeting. Again I saw that my main job was to keep out of the
way and allow the students the space to formulate questions and respond in
the way that seemed appropriate to them.
Since April this year the university has been having a series of 'Future Planning'
meetings with all faculties expected to make substantial innovations in the
curriculum. At a recent meeting the English Department submitted a proposal
that "Cultural Studies", with an emphasis on comparative studies, be a new
third branch of the core curriculum (the current two being Linguistics and
Literature) and this is likely to encourage more classes on worldview/religion in the future.
". . . whether students are consciously searching for answers or not, introducing religion
and worldviews can provide a helpful introduction and stimulate profound reflection."
Professor Ama of Meiji Gakuen University indicated in an interview with the Daily
Yomiuri (Ama, cited in Ozawa, 2000) that he believes most people are not satisfied if
they remain in a state of religious non-affiliation their whole lives. Ama asserts people need
some kind of belief system to account for various unreasonable things in their lives. They
may manage to understand a problem each time they face one, but some may also want
to find an absolute answer to help them explain life consistently. Thus whether students
are consciously searching for answers or not, introducing religion and worldviews can
provide a helpful introduction and stimulate profound reflection.
Introducing any new subject into the curriculum takes persistence and patience.
This especially applies to such a potentially controversial subject as religion and
worldviews. However, by being aware of opportunities to put forward the advantages,
such as when speaking with colleagues, and at department meetings, then a base is
being built that may/will eventually be rewarded with the solid support of staff. How
students perceive the first course will be critical in deciding whether future courses are
well attended. If this and successive courses are successful, then the administration is
bound to take notice and eventually the subject should become an accepted fixture in
the overall university curriculum.
Cates, K. A. (2001, January). Teaching about world religions.
Global Issues in Language Education Newletter, 41, 10-15.
Kirkpatrick, R. (2000). Teaching philosophy and religion. In A. S. Mackenzie (Ed.)
Content in Language Education: Looking at the Future (pp. 144-148). Tokyo: JALT CUE SIG.
Obara, C. (2002, March). A rationale for teaching religion and/or philosophy
in English language global issues classes. Tokyo Metropolitan College Dept. of Cross-Cultural Studies Journal, 6, 23-30.
Ozawa, H. (2000, May 16). Why do Japanese view themselves as irreligious? The Daily Yomiuri, p. 7.
Reischauer, E. O. (1988). The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co.