Should religious education be educated in Japan?

J2-170307 Masaki Ota

1. Introduction
Now, our society is filled with various problems, actually caused by globalization. We face many wars
and terrorisms in relation to the religious conflict. Many prominent people all over the world claims
that this conflict is going to be got rid of by communicating. To communicate with other people, we
necessary needs to know others language, cultures, and religions. Then, how can we obtain it? For
children, it is learned at schools. Children in Japan can learn most of those skills, but they fatally lack of
one thing; religious education. In this paper, Im going to argue what influence does it will be occurred
if religious education is introduced in Japanese education.
2. The circumstances of the education in Japan
In the world today, knowledge about religions becomes more and more important. As the
globalization progresses, the world gets smaller and smaller and we have more opportunity to meet,
communicate with, or work with people who believe in other religions. It is definitely true that
knowledge about religions gets more and more important. However, we see many conflicts caused by
religions all over the world. In 2016, terrorism occurred in many European countries. It mainly caused
by misunderstanding of the other religions. We can also see the problems occurred by the lack of
knowledge about religions. We still remember an incident about Charlie Hebdo. That company
sometimes publish Muhammads portrait, which leads to a terrible terrorism in Paris. Though the
freedom of speech was ensured, it is completely nonsense to paint this prophet and laugh at him.
Incident because of a lack of religious understanding also happen in Japan. In 2006, immigration
bureau of Japan wrongly serves pork to Muslim. If the officer knows Muslims rule deeply, he never did
such a careless deed. According to the educational guideline, teaching knowledge about worlds
religions are encouraged. However, according to the basic act of education, the schools established by
the national and local governments shall refrain from religious education or other activities for a
specific religion. The neutrality of religions is also refered in the article 20 and article 89 of the
constitution. It is banned to do the confessional education.
Usually, religious education can be divided in three. Education about religions, teaching based on
religions, and teaching and religious sentiment. According to the educational guideline in Japan,
education about religions encouraged, so in this paper we are going to argue the former ones. As
Michael(2017) refers, education based on the religion does not have primary connections with
understanding about religions, or religious sentiment. Thus, it is possible to do religious education. For
instance, teaching knowledge about religions is encouraged by the educational guideline published
by the government in 2009 and childrens are educated knowledge about religions a little in the history
class or geography class.

3. The advantages of education about religions

There are some advantages on religious education. The scholar Monique C.H. van Dijk-Groeneboer
(2017), major in religious education, surveyed children in Netherland, where used to be one of the
biggest Christian country but now half of the people has no religion, 25 percent of children have no
religion though they believe in spiritual things. Those children create their religions, like praying the
nature. You can see Japanese young people who visit forests, falls or so which is called Power Spot.
The author claims that if such children could know about religions and could find the religion they can
believe in, they can obtain confidence, which is needed to make decisions and success in the todays
globalized world. Also, it is claimed that having an education about religion, pupils becomes not only
be able to adopt others who are in another religions and cultures, but also be able to see their own
religions and cultures objectively. (Brigouth,2009)
4. The advantages of education about religious sentiment
Some people may think that to accomplish the goals, we just have to teach knowledges about
religions. However, if children in Japan are educated only knowledge about religions, what they learn
can be a superficial knowledge. Children must learn what religions affect peoples personality to
communicate with people from another cultures. As religions in Japan is too secularized, children may
dont recognize what religions mean to people. Thus, we have to educate children to help to build
their spiritual basement of religion. Its religious sentiment. By teaching about religions deeper,
children cannot only understand religions deeper but also it worked as a subject of
morality.(Shibanuma,2005) Japan sets morality as a required subject. Religious sentiment aids to
educate children many thing related to morality, for instance, how important life is or what it means to
love neighborhoods.
5. The disadvantages of religious education
There are some skeptical view to the religious education. Hours for teaching subjects like science or
math has to be shortened because they have to spare time for religious education. People may not
agree with the idea that we cut these subject and take time to something strange to them.
It is also problem that teachers have difficulty with teaching religions in a neutral point of view. In
South Africa, there are some examples teachers sometimes educates unconsciously in a particular view
from the religion they believe in. (Elizabeth, 2017) In order to treat religious education equally, the
teacher must stand an absolutely fair position. However, there are not any such person, as most of the
people in Japan unconsciously believe in a religion.

6. Conclusion
It goes without saying that religious education is beneficial. However, it contains great many problems.
To overcome these problems, arguments about religious education should be activated. Also, to have
religious education, we may change the law.

7. References
Monique C.H. van Dijk-Groeneboer, Religious education in the secularized Netherlands, International
Studies in Catholic Education, 9:1, 17-28
Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Religious Education for Generating Hope, Religious Education, 112:3,225-230
Btighouse, Harry. 2009. Moral and Political Aims of Education In the Oxford Handbook of philosophy
of education, edited by Harvey Siegel, 35-51
Shibanuma Makoto, Religious Education in Public Education-classification and the problems of the
arguments-, 2005
Iwata Fumiaki, the circumstances and walls of religious education in national schools,religious
education and passage, 85:2,375-399
Michael Hand, Religious education and religious choice, Journal of Beliefs & values, 36:1, 31-39