Intercultural Encounters as Religious Education: Japanese Students at a Christian University and their Religious Transformation |
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Authors: | Naoki Okamura |
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Institution: | Tokyo Christian University , Tokyo, Japan |
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Abstract: | It is commonly acknowledged by many that Japanese teenagers in general hold very negative views of organized religions. However the researcher, as an educator at a Christian University in California, observed every year a great number of Japanese international students becoming persons who paint positive pictures of religion. A study done on those students, utilizing the method of grounded theory, uncovered the following. One, their cross-cultural experiences created crisis situations, which became a catalyst to question their uncritical beliefs about religion. Two, their positive personal encounters with religious people in the United Sates caused them to experience transformation. |
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