Kansai Window: Base of America is religion, Prof. Koichi Mori stresses
Koichi Mori, a researcher on American religious history and dean of the Faculty of Theology at Doshisha University...delivered a speech titled 'Inside George W. Bush's Head' in a luncheon meeting at the Kansai Press Club in mid-October. The following is an outline;
In Japan, the fact that America is a religious nation is apt to be overlooked. Although the presidential inauguration is a very important religious ceremony, Japanese media generally ignore that point in their coverage. Such a way of reporting makes it difficult to convey real information.
Modern ideas have a strong negative aspect against religious vision. In reality, however, communism advocated by Karl Marx who insisted religion would disappear is now on the road to a decline, and religion and ethnic groups instead have come to hold a strong power...The nation where that phenomenon is seen most conspicuously is the United States of America. To the questionnaire survey asking 'Do you think a religion is important?,' 72% of people in nine Muslim nations and 86% of American citizens answered 'Yes.'
I think religious statements delivered by Mr. George W. Bush is a political pose toward the conservative layer of people. America has the strongest clout in the world, while it believes in its own fundamentalism that America engaged in the war against totalitarianism is always right. The problem for us and for the rest of the world is how to work with such an America
