JAPANESE VIEW OF EUROPEAN RELIGION.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 114, 12 May 1909, Page 6

JAPANESE VIEW OF EUROPEAN RELIGION.

"Dr Anezaki, of the Tokyo University, who has made a special study of religions, has just returned from a trip in Europe, and his observations on the religious life of that continent are interesting," says the "Japan Weekly Chronicle." "The French and the Italians,' he remarks, "may be divided from a religious point of view, into two camps—those- of superstition and atheism. But in England, though there are extremes represented by conservative "believers and radical thinkers, still these two extremes are joined together by many shades of beliefs. In France and Italy there are some people who firmly believe in the tradition of the Church, but, this belief does not seem to have any influence on their thoughts or conception of morality. RELIGION OR MORALITY. "Religion and morality seem to be on two different planes. Religion m the countries mentioned is apparently identified with the mere forms and rituals of the Church, in which confession and the sacrament figure most prominently. These rites seem to afford peace of mind to the faithful, who are imbued with the belief that al). their sins and wrongdoing are absolved by their observance. No doubt, confession is a strong factor in a religion, but it has a tendency to make people feel that they can wipe off all dues by resorting thereto. #On the other "hand there are Socialists, Nihilists, and others who are against the Church, and as the Church represents religion they are opposed to religion itself. Their motto is absolute liberty and equality in this world. ! "In England we encounter quite a different state of things. Religious life in England is so complicated that it is not easy to make a definite classification. One noteworthy feature, however, is the renaissance of Catholic influence. English Catholicism is not characterised by supersti- ! tion to the same extent as that on 1 the Continent, but its followers observe absolute obedience to the Church, and apparently remain indifferent to the teachings of science. , "The national Church- of England is said to be Protestant, but in reality it is Catholic in all but name. The Church is organised on Catholic principles, and its creed and ritual are conservative. But in the bosom of this Church not all its bodies are so proximate to Catholicism. Those j which are so are known as 'High Church.' Among the 'Low Churches' are some so liberal as to doubt the divinity of Christ. "Methodist Churches seem to place

great value on their own tenets, and we can discern among them the spirit of intolerance. Congregationalism and other religions sects embraced m the New Theology hold quite liberal views—perhaps more liberal than those of Mr Ebina in Japan. (Mr Ebina used to preach a sort of Japanese Christianity, the Holy Spirit being regarded as collective, consciousness, a sort of vague Pantheism.) On the other hand, there is a body known as 'Christian Scientists, who are very similar in their creed to the followers of Tenrikyo in Japan. JAPANESE VIEW OF ENGLAND. "In England there are a considerable number of people who entirely ignore religion and faith, and maintain that a moral life in accordance with social requirements is all that is required of man. Thus all grades of religious opinion, from extreme conservatism to the verge of Nihilism, are met with in England, and what this condition of affairs will develop into is a question to which one cannot give a definite answer. Whether these bodies will split up .into still smaller bodies or be consolidated into one or two camps is hard to tell. Personally I like the state of things prevailing in England. There is life, vigour, and liberty of thought and possibility of development as the result of controversy."