【Religion】Why Many Japanese Don't Know What They Believe｜The Austin and Arthur Show

[@theaustinandarthurshow]

今回の会話の英日字幕付きの動画とスクリプト、会員限定のコミュニティ、月１回Austin and ArthurとのZoom晩酌は「AAフレンズ」ご利用いただけます！ 詳しくはこちら→ iu-connect.com/aa-shokai

[@niya1235]

I attended Christian junior high and high school in Japan.but I didn’t know anything about Christianity except for church until I entered the school. For two years, I assisted a pastor and learned about Christianity.My conclusion from that experience was that I am Japanese. I identified myself as Japanese. not only influenced by religions like Shinto and Buddhism but also deeply ingrained in me is a sense of how Japanese people feel connected with others and associate with the world to live in harmony. it’s something unchangeable at my core. if I describe this in one word I would say “it’s love.” however reality is not so simple.

[@Yooosh1616]

I wish I could listen to your talk on Spotify as well! the topics you choose and talk about are always super interesting and informative:) I always learn a lot from your videos!

[@theaustinandarthurshow]

Thanks! We’ll add it to Spotify

[@yukiko313]

Really interesting! 🤓

[@annahashimoto3772]

1st time viewer here. This was an interesting discussion, and I'm glad you included your religious backgrounds, since even though we're overwhelmingly Christian, the US has a lot of variety. Arthur seems like he enjoys researching religion, so I wonder if either of you have had any interaction with Nichiren Buddhists in Japan. I was shocked the first time some approached me (bc it's so rare for strangers to approach me in Japan) to find out that they are proselytizing Buddhists, on par with Jehovah's Witnesses. I ended up having dinner (didn't join them) with them and was even more surprised to hear how similar all of their concepts were to Christianity. They didn't use the same labels ofc, but they spoke of miraculous parting of the seas, one supreme being above all others, and the human soul.

[@takeshikodama5671]

This was an interesting talk. It looks like Arthur was the lead guiding the flow of the talk and it came out great. You know how it is about Japanese and the knowledge associated with it and I sometimes feel embarrassed knowing so little. What's more embarrassing is that I forgot most of what was taught when I was little at school. So thanks for talking about it in great volume. One thing I wasn't already familiar with was the word Animistic/Animism. It might help to grow your vocabulary if you can think words like Pantheism and Panpsychism in the same categorical group. You grow as a person if you can conceptualize the world/universe from various perspectives. Earlier in the show Austin was saying he sees it everywhere. Okay, you see it everywhere 'outside' mostly. And some people follow the rituals and traditions. How about the language itself? Because when I first started to think about religion, it was everywhere in the way they speak. And I can only understand English and my mother tongue. The language seems difficult because of it to some extent. There's a step where you notice, 'oh, this person or the family is religious.'. And it took me a long while to realize how and why some people in the West seems extraordinarily gracious, kind and ,,, special. I just can't compete with those people who speak and write so eloquently. It's just magical and there definitely is a poetic quality to it. Oh, yeah, in addition to the nature stuff you two were talking about, don't forget about Haiku. One of the notable feature is that you have to use seasonal word or phrases. And speaking of a phrase, the one I probably hate the most would be O-M-G. Is this a woman thing? I know they don't mean it depending on who says it of course. As a person who's agnostic, I sometimes play around with the word, just to get the point across. I'm unvaccinated. You know where this is going. And I was on a video which KZbin showed me after searching the term and it wasn't my first time watching the video. Science can speak for objectivity and all else is just an opinion. I remember quoting a theist American philosopher as well as the famous skeptic David Hume from Scotland. To find a common ground and when you're trying to reach wider audiences, you need to understand both side of positions. It was fun, challenging and turned out great. I learned a lot about myself through that experience. _“Science is not a substitute for common sense, but an extension of it.”_ ― Willard Van Orman Quine, Set Theory and Its Logic I'm a guy who's always looking at the West, so it seems a little odd that neither of you mentioned science in this context. Relatively speaking, both of you still think and act like a believer. So you don't believe in monotheistic god any more, what then? No more afterlife for you? It'd be great if you can educate us on that. JW and Mormon have been around on this land knocking on doors for as long as I remember. And just the other day, I was battling it out with online evangelicals. One of them said, "Go destroy their faith in Japan, in a loving way. And save them all!". I kicked her ass with my words, obviously. Just on a side note, the impersonalization at the beginning seemed a little off to me. For both believers and nonbelievers.

[@みや-f7w2h]

自然に感謝していると言うより自然に怯えてなんとか鎮静化させようとしてる感覚。膨大なすごい力がそこにはある。力を得ることもできるが同時に危険でもある。みたいな。原子力みたいだね、これ

[@newchannel1220]

自然崇拝は結構典型的な土着宗教。日本の神道は特別ではなく、歴史的に似たようなのが世界中にあった。 一神教が世界を制覇する中で、日本は孤立していたので一神教が入ってくるのが随分遅かった。 それと、封建社会からの近代化のスピードがすごかった。 だから、欧米社会から見ると、社会は先進国なのに、宗教が一神教じゃないのは 例としては珍しく見える。

[@NEWZEALAND757]

It is interesting that Jewish and Shinto religions share many common elements. Songs, Language, Festival etc.

[@Hay8137g]

What? Every religion has culture. Judiasm has a moral code. Shinto doesn’t.

[@takae2183]

Jweish people live in Mercer Island. There is a Jewish community center there. Grocery stores in Mercer Island have kosher food sections.

[@theaustinandarthurshow]

All five of them.

[@Gobledeegook_JP]

Local animism is transformed into Christian saints and angels, and this phenomenon is not unique to Japan. Even christmas has its origins in the winter solstice festival of Mithraism.

[@iphone5298]

I always thought Americans are generally religious but it was beyond my imagination. Japanese lords detested religions having influence over politics since 11th century. Hieizan in Kyoto, the center of a prestigious Buddhist temple, was incinerated in the war era. Carnages in the revolt of Christians in Kyusu and that of Buddhists in Osaka and other area around 16th century are well known. After Tokugawa,the model of Shogun, finally became the leader of Japan, Christianity was severely forbidden for the fear of influence on politics. I think one reason Japanese don’t care much about having or showing a strong bond to one religion is for a long time, it was too dangerous to do so. The talk was so interesting. Thank you.

[@tsukinami-obsessed-by-theUK]

I've really enjoyed this topic!! Thank you~~~

[@SaltyAmpan]

Please, read a short story called '神々の微笑’（Gods' smile) written by 芥川龍之介 Ryunosuke Akutagawa. As for 'power spots", there are many because there are places in Japan where magnetic field is disturbed as a result of collision of big tectonic plates. Sensitive Japanese in ancient times must have felt something odd in those places and built there shrines.

[@arahard25017]

For Japanese people, Christmas, Halloween, and Black Friday are all the same. The only difference is the rules and regulations.

[@arahard25017]

In the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all things are believed to have been created by God, but in Shinto, humans and all living things are considered outside the scope of God's creation, so that may also be related. In Shinto, humans, like other animals and plants, are beings born outside the perception of the gods. So what did the Japanese gods create in this world? They only imagined geographical things such as continents and oceans. Therefore, there are no absolute contracts or promises between gods and humans, and no precepts. For the Japanese, gods are like neighbors, and literally nature itself.

[@Jasmine-kz4iy]

What Austin said about Christianity is incorrect. Christians don't try to be good people to be worthy enough to enter heaven. It's the complete opposite. The bible says nobody is worthy except for Jesus Christ. It actually teaches you to realize that Individual efforts to be good enough for heaven are not what save you.

[@がんちゃんママ]

字幕をつけて欲しいです！ Please add Japanese, because I can’t understand without Japanese!