Do You See What I See? ‘Religion’ and Acculturation in Filipino–Japanese International Families
Catholicism prides itself on being a ‘global religion’. However, just how this ‘religion’ is contextualized into a specific culture has led to intercultural and intergenerational problems. In Japan, the Filipino-Japanese struggle to fit into a society that sees, in their Catholic upbringing, ‘religi...
| Published in: | Religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
MDPI
2022
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| In: |
Religions
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| Further subjects: | B
Filipino–Japanese children
B ‘religion’ B Filipino B Roman Catholic Church in Japan B Acculturation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Catholicism prides itself on being a ‘global religion’. However, just how this ‘religion’ is contextualized into a specific culture has led to intercultural and intergenerational problems. In Japan, the Filipino-Japanese struggle to fit into a society that sees, in their Catholic upbringing, ‘religious’ activity that it deems un-Japanese. The concept of ‘religion’ (shūkyō) in Japan has been largely associated with congregational activity, an aspect that neither Shinto nor Buddhism stress. As a result, the Japanese people label acts such as the purchasing of lucky charms, temple and shrine pilgrimages, visits to power spots, and performing birth or death rituals as ‘non-religious’ (mushūkyō). On the other hand, they label similar Christian acts as ‘religious’. Associating Christianity with ‘religion’ has had consequences for Japan’s Filipino residents and their international families. This paper considers the role the concept of ‘religion’ plays in the acculturation of Filipino-Japanese children into Japanese society. Through qualitative interviews of four Filipino-Japanese young adults, it delineates, in eight sections, how the discourse of ‘religion’ isolates Filipino mothers from their ‘non-religious’ children and husbands. This begins at adolescence and culminates with the children’s absence from the Roman Catholic Church of Japan. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel13020093 |