Japan Misreading Separation of Church and State

Misunderstanding the separation of church and state in Japan: Protecting religious freedom vs. excluding religion from politics

Tokyo, 12th December 2024 – Published as the 49th article in a series in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article

Series: Freedom of Religion Under Threat – Part 7: Religion in Japan in a Global Context

The True Meaning of “Separation of Church and State” is to Protect Freedom

Jefferson’s Letters

by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

See part 1 of the series: The Kishida Administration’s Reckless Actions: 1st article, 2nd article, 3rd article, 4th article, 5th article, 6th article

See part 2: Ripples to Local Assemblies: 7th article, 8th article, 9th article, 10th article, 11th article, 12th article, 13th article, 14th article, 15th article

See part 3: Believers Suffering Discrimination and Human Rights Violations: 16th article, 17th article, 18th article, 19th article, 20th article, 21st article, 22nd article

See part 4: Media Crossing the Line: 23rd article, 24th article, 25th article, 26th article, 27th article, 28th article 

See part 5: The Distorted Image of the “Second-Generation”: 29th article, 30th article, 31st article, 32nd article, 33rd article, 34th article, 35th article, 36th article, 37th article, 38th article

See part 6: Voices of Religious Leaders: 39th article, 40th article, 41st article, 42nd article, 43rd article, 44th article, 45th article, 46th article

See part 7: Religion in Japan in a Global Context: 47th article, 48th article, 50th article, 51st article, 52nd article, 53rd article, 54th article, 55th article

See Epilogue: 56th article, 57th article, 58th article

Driving a little over two hours southwest from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, takes you to Charlottesville, a lush university town in central Virginia. Located on the outskirts of this city is Monticello, the home of the third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Monticello attracts numerous visitors from both within the United States and abroad.

The estate boasts beautiful gardens, and within one section lies Jefferson’s grave. Despite leaving an unparalleled legacy as one of the most prominent “Founding Fathers”, only three of Jefferson’s accomplishments – those he was most proud of – are inscribed on his tombstone.

The first is drafting the Declaration of Independence, the second is drafting the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the third is founding the University of Virginia. Interestingly, Jefferson took greater pride in contributing to the establishment of laws protecting religious freedom than in having served as President of the United States.

For many years in the United States, a “culture war” has been ongoing between conservative groups seeking to preserve Christian traditions and values, and liberal groups attempting to replace these with leftist ideologies. Liberals have sought to remove Christian elements from society through court battles and other means, citing the principle of “separation of church and state”.

A central piece of evidence in the debate over the separation of church and state is a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. In it, Jefferson mentioned having built “a wall of separation between church and state”. This phrase has led to the modern perception of Jefferson as a strict advocate of the separation of church and state.

Interestingly, Jefferson used the phrase “wall of separation” only once, in this private letter. Despite this, it has been treated almost as if it were law, frequently cited in court decisions as a foundational principle of church-state separation.

However, a closer reading of the letter reveals that Jefferson did not intend for the “wall of separation” to mean the exclusion of religion from public life. The Baptists to whom he wrote were a religious minority facing persecution in states like Virginia, where the Anglican Church dominated. Jefferson’s use of the phrase was meant to fully support their religious freedom. In other words, the true purpose of the “wall of separation” was to protect religious minorities from state interference.

Unlike George Washington, the devoutly Christian first president, Jefferson is often considered the most secular among the Founding Fathers. A deist, he believed in a God who created natural laws but was not a personal being. Jefferson dismissed the virgin birth, miracles, and resurrection of Jesus as fabrications, yet he admired Jesus’ teachings, not as the work of a savior but as a model of moral conduct.

During his eight-year presidency beginning in 1801, Thomas Jefferson was a dedicated attendee of Sunday worship services held in the U.S. House of Representatives, a public institution. Remarkably, his first attendance at such a service occurred just two days after he penned the “wall of separation” letter. Jefferson is also reported to have said,

“No nation has ever existed or been governed without religion, nor can it be governed without it. As the president of this country, I must set an example and demonstrate my support.”

The history of the United States’ founding reveals that the principle of the separation of church and state was established to protect religious freedom from government interference. However, in Japan, the debate surrounding the principle of separation often focuses on the notion that religion should not be involved in politics.

This misinterpretation of the principle of separation of church and state likely underpins much of the criticism directed at attempts by organizations affiliated with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) to influence politics. It is clear that such criticism often stems from a misunderstanding of the concept.

Featured image above: Separation of church and state. Illustration: Microsoft Designer Image Creator, 19th December 2024.

See part 1 of the series: The Kishida Administration’s Reckless Actions: 1st article, 2nd article, 3rd article, 4th article, 5th article, 6th article

See part 2: Ripples to Local Assemblies: 7th article, 8th article, 9th article, 10th article, 11th article, 12th article, 13th article, 14th article, 15th article

See part 3: Believers Suffering Discrimination and Human Rights Violations: 16th article, 17th article, 18th article, 19th article, 20th article, 21st article, 22nd article

See part 4: Media Crossing the Line: 23rd article, 24th article, 25th article, 26th article, 27th article, 28th article 

See part 5: The Distorted Image of the “Second-Generation”: 29th article, 30th article, 31st article, 32nd article, 33rd article, 34th article, 35th article, 36th article, 37th article, 38th article

See part 6: Voices of Religious Leaders: 39th article, 40th article, 41st article, 42nd article, 43rd article, 44th article, 45th article, 46th article

See part 7: Religion in Japan in a Global Context: 47th article, 48th article, 50th article, 51st article, 52nd article, 53rd article, 54th article, 55th article

See Epilogue: 56th article, 57th article, 58th article

Related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Japan Copying Faith-Breaking Concepts of China

Related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Courts Using Debunked Concepts Against Minority

Also related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Dissolution Case: Wild Claims, Illegal Actions

Also related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Terms from Consumer Law Used to Rob Faith

Also related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: 2nd-Generation Members Protesting Persecution

Also related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

And also related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Bias: No Right to Respond for Religious Minority

More, related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

And more, related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Still more, related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

Even more related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Two European Scholars Warning Japan

And yet more related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Japan Censured at Religious Freedom Event

And still more related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Lawyer Exposes Dirty Leftwing Plot

And even more related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

And still more related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Malicious One-Sided Government Source Selection

More related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Government’s Foul Play Pointed Out

More related to Japan misreading separation of church and state: Kishida Has Opened Can of Worms