K: So, lately I’ve been thinking about the pressure to have religion in the United States versus the pressure to have religion in Japan, and I think it would be helpful for the folks who aren’t in Japan, or maybe even some that are – the folks who are not in Japan and maybe even some that are in Japan to understand the religions that I’ve come into contact with. And then maybe you can share the religions you’ve come into contact with in Japan. So, there’s one that I don’t know the name of – it’s where people believe that they can turn into foxes, and they worship foxes. And… it’s a sect of Buddhism, but I don’t know what sect. Do you?

C: I don’t because there’s a lot of sects of Buddhism. Like… there’s the major branches of Buddhism.

K: Mhm.

C: And like the Great Wheel and the Lesser Wheel and Maha Yana and all of that, but, even in Japanese Buddhism, there’s a lot more things – and a lot of schisms and, historically, wars, and…

K: Yeah.

C: There’s Pureland Buddhism which believes in heaven, and there’s other Buddhism which says that belief in heaven is heretical, and…

K: Yeah.

C: So, it’s as splintered in Japan as Christianity is in the United States.

K: Yes. And then there’s Shintoism which doesn’t – which is splintered, but I don’t think as splintered as Buddhism is in Japan. 

C: I think Shintoism is, by its nature… more resistant to splintering because it’s got a lot of animism in it and ancestor worship.

K: Yeah.

C: And, so, it’s really hard to say you’re doing it wrong because you can just say, “well, this is the way my ancestors want it done.”

K: Yeah. And… then… there’s Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and, like, revivalist Christianity – so, like, the types of Christianity I’ve experienced here in Japan is… Southern Baptist, Catholicism, and then, sort of like… hip like “we play guitar and have a really cool band” type of Christianity. I don’t know what that’s called.

C: I’m not sure, either. And there’s a large component of Christianity that came over via Korea that’s got a different flavor that I’m not as familiar with because neither of us speak Korean. But I know that Korea

K: Yeah. I’m a little bit familiar with it because I have some Korean clients that are Christian, and I think of it as sometimey Christianity because – and that’s just because of my exposure to it where, like, there’s deeply held, passionate Christian views, and then sometimes there’s no religious views expressed at all. 

C: Yeah, just the same as in the U.S.

K: And then I – I’ve also come across, like… fervent Christianity that’s anti-LGBTQIA+ that, if you’re not a Christian, you’re going to hell, if you don’t believe – like, fire and brimstone Christianity.

C: Yeah.

K: I’ve also experienced here in Japan. 

C: Well, and there’s cultic Christianity where they try and get you to come to their group without telling you what it is, and then when you get there, they’re like, “surprise, we’ve got some Jesus whether or not you want it.” 

K: Yeah.

C: And then there’s a group that – they’re not doing it now because of COVID – but used to stand on the corner near our apartment, because we live near a university, and proselytize to people passing by and try and hand out bibles and stuff.

K: Yeah. So, my experience of religion is that there’s – that religion is as diverse in Japan as it is in the United States.

C: Absolutely. I’ve met Mormons and Jehova’s Witnesses both here. So… and Christians of all stripes – both foreigners and Japanese people. 

K: And what I found interesting is that… the… drive to – so, I’m an out Atheist. I wasn’t always an out Atheist, for business reasons, which I’m not proud of – but I feel like I have… grown. Because, for me, it was quite… shocking when I was s