No religion

[pixiecute]

Hi. I used to answer "I have no religion." when people from other countries asked me. Now I am finding out a little by little that it was not truth. I realized many Japanese words are related to Bukkyo. I would like to know what you think about religion in Japan.

[Mandylion]

Sayaka- Do you have anything more specific re: Japanese religion in mind? I would like to discuss this topic with you but can we narrow things down a bit? Any specific issues within the sphere of Japanese religion you are more interested in (mizuko/contemporary interpretations/new religions etc.)? Cheers-

[mdchachi]

I think for the typical Japanese person, religion is very much mixed up with tradition. Do you throw money into the temple box, clap twice or ring the bell just for tradition or for religious purposes? Do you have a butsudan in your home for religious purposes or for tradition? I believe that, in general, most Japanese are non-practicing Buddhists (Japanese-style Buddhism that has a few Shinto beliefs mixed in). Non-practicing means that you don't regularly take part in religious practices such as chanting (okyou).

[Iron Chef]

Yeah, outside of what's already been mentioned, the two largest "non-traditional" groups I encountered the most during my time there were Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses. In fact, just outside of Sapporo somewhere between Ebetsu and Kitahiroshima there was a rather large "Kingdom Hall" that looked newly built at the time. I was actually somewhat surprised to see such a strong following so close to where I live as i've always thought the tenets of the Jehova faith (from my limited understanding of it) would not really appeal to most Japanese. Interesting though to see how some differing faiths are slowly attracting their own following as opposed to the more traditional belief systems.

[neko_girl22]

actually there are 230,000 (aprox) Jehovah's witnesses in Japan! There are JW's in nearly every country in the world.
Even in the small town I'm in, Hayato (near Kagoshima city) there is a Kingdom Hall! (oh and JW's are classed as Christians.............)

[Squareboy]

Religion need not be a concern, let everyone believe what they want to believe, I do not believe in wars over religion because dosen't that defeat the whole point? Japan is Just like Amarica and Europe, you can believe whatever you want as long as it does not lead to violence, I am English and was baptised Catholic, but I would never follow it, a religion that tells me all my friends are going to go to hell because they are buddist is not appealing to me!

[Hoyu]

I am in complete agreement with Squareboy on the issues he brought up regarding freedom of religion, non-violence and occidental fundamentalists who preach "fire and brimstone" to those of other religions. It seems to me that those who tell others that they are going to hell, for whatever reason, are in fact perpetrating acts of violence and harm.

[RotaryPower]

Originally posted by nzueda
actually there are 230,000 (aprox) Jehovah's witnesses in Japan! There are JW's in nearly every country in the world.
Even in the small town I'm in, Hayato (near Kagoshima city) there is a Kingdom Hall! (oh and JW's are classed as Christians.............)

isnt the JW system basicly a Pyramid Scheme? i do not know much about the religion, but i do know that they believe you must "convert" others to JW in order to get into heaven, and they believe there are only so many spots in heaven and then it will be full. i may be wrong on this topic though, that is just what i have been told by others.

i do know that i dislike JW because they feel the need to travel door to door (like a salesman) to promote their religion. i believe everyone should keep their own religion to themselves. attempting to change someones belives usually leads to problems.

[KoranRi]

I can't resist replying to this! As far as JWs go...they..don't believe that preaching enables u to g2 heaven. They want to share kingdom truths. The reason they preach is found at Mathew 28:19 "Go therefore and make diciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name if the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit." Jehovah's Witnesses preach because they were comissioned to by Christ and are trying to follow the Bible. The preaching work is actually a sign of the end of the symsten of things. It's too bad I don't remember the scripture. They aren't trying to be annoying...they want to do what's right and help people. As far as heaven goes, they only believe 140 thousand go to heaven, but yes preaching is part of being a JW. It's not that the spots "are taken" only that many are chosen to g2 heaven. According to the Bible, after the end the Earth will be a paradise. That's where everyone else goes. They will be resurected. JWs are not trying to push their religion on you. Believe me, I should know.

[mdchachi]

> JWs are not trying to push their religion on you.

Well some are definitely more persistent than others.

[KoranRi]

yay! someone who actually understands!

[philupthetank86]

Myths and false truths against JW's

They try to earn salvation- wrong, they know that salvation is only a gift through god, as states in ROMANS 5:23

JW's are pushy- depends on your attitude, if you are very un-humble they will usually mark your home as a "do not call." but if you say your take interest, they will come back and teach more.

Just to get the 144,000 out of the way, that is stated in revelation 14:1

And for some people that think it was Aramaic Jews (for one thing, that doesn’t make any sense, why would god want people to know how many Aramaic Jews where going to exist at Armageddon)
JOHN 4:16 states that the flock standing on top of mount ZION where anointed Christians. The rest who exert faith in Jesus Christ will live forever on paradise earth like in the garden of Eden, WHICH was the first intention of Jehovah’s but then Satan challenged his sovereignty which resulted in the 6000 some odd years of Jehovah proving Satan a liar, which is why god tolerates suffering, to prove that mankind cannot live peacefully with out god. wo this is way to long. Sign. Well now you know, if some one wants to find out why people believe what they believe they should just ask and not say “that’s weird to believe that.” But only people who are humble honest and hungry (spiritually) will except the truth.

oh, koranri already answered some of the questions. :

[J44xm]

Originally Posted by KoranRi

JWs are not trying to push their religion on you. Believe me, I should know.

A little more info: Almost the entirety of Witnesses' belief system is based on preaching, on getting their beliefs to the world at hand. Their general meetings are held three nights each week, and one of these nights is explicitly dedicated to honing their public speaking abilities.

Each Witness is expected to go out in the ministry (they call it field service) as much as possible. This involves formal door-to-door work and talking to people wherever they are -- supermarkets, bus stations, businesses. Good Witnesses also do informal Witnessing, which is simply approaching whomever might come into their path, be it at work, school, the store, on the bus, or anywhere else.

Whether or not they are trying to push their beliefs on you is subject to opinion, but Jehovah's Witnesses are without question trying to find everyone they can to offer them "the truth" and the opportunity to join their organization (which is led by "governing body" of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is simply known as The Society) because they believe that their organization is God's chosen one and all other religions are Satan the Devil's machinations -- his attempts to mislead humanity from the truth.

HTH

[zafer]

Man I had so many JW's ring my door bell....But as a Muslim I had to accomodate them, being God-fearing and all. So I sat through their lectures until they left.

[lexico]

Originally Posted by zafer

Man I had so many JW's ring my door bell....But as a Muslim I had to accomodate them, being God-fearing and all. So I sat through their lectures until they left.

That was very gracious of you, Zafer.
I love to read their articles, Awake!
But I kindly refuse their offers to discuss religion or conversion because it would be a waste of their time. Why convert a convert?
I have heard of Muslim hospitality, and confirmed it from a friend.
Yours would be another example that I would keep.