A member of a religious minority testifies how her faith allows her to have deeper conversations, even with persons of other religions, than by living an “ordinary” life
Tokyo, 4th November 2024 – Published as the 36th 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 5: The Distorted Image of the “Second-Generation”
“Our encounters become deeper, even when we meet persons with a different religion”
by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
“I deeply feel how much my parents struggled to make donations. However, I also feel that the Family Federation today is a reformed organization that reflects on and has corrected its past excesses. I hope the media will report on it fairly.”
Yuko Takeuchi (竹内祐子), a housewife in her 40s living in Kanagawa Prefecture, was four years old when her parents joined the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church).
Her mother is an active and devoted member, while her father, who once believed, gradually grew resentful toward the church and now merely tolerates his wife’s faith. Due to her parents’ differing attitudes towards the religious organization, Takeuchi grew up without leaning towards either side. She says, “I decided for myself whether to have faith after becoming an adult.”
On the other hand, she says she can “somewhat understand” the feelings of former second-generation members who have repeatedly criticized the organization in the media. She says, “When I was in vocational school, my parents couldn’t pay my dorm fees because of the donations they were making, so I had to cover them with my part-time job earnings. I don’t hold any grudge against my parents now, but at the time, I was unhappy. I think there are people who have let that sense of resentment toward their parents grow and intensify.
However, I couldn’t see Tetsuya Yamagami (山上徹也), who resorted to murder, as ‘right’ at all. While some former second-generation believers appeared in the media saying they ‘understand his feelings’, my opinion hasn’t changed that the incident is unforgivable.
I also found posts on X (formerly Twitter) by a former second-generation member publicly talking about abusing his mother, who is a believer, and it angered me. I don’t know if the post is true, but it’s definitely wrong. I had heard that my mother was asked for donations by church staff in the past, but as an adult, I was never pressured to donate.”
She points out, “There were probably various problems in the past. But now, whether due to a generational change or the church’s compliance declaration, at least around me, I don’t hear about donation-related issues.”
She is puzzled by the stark difference between how she sees the church in her daily life and how the organization is portrayed in the media, “I don’t understand it. It feels like our religious organization has been recast into something far more ‘outrageous’ than it really is. We want society to see our true nature, and we need to make an effort to make that happen.”
Takeuchi, who also has a child in middle school, explains that her child seems unsure of how to perceive the ongoing controversies. Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, her son has been less inclined to attend church. Although Takeuchi has no intention of imposing her faith on him, she firmly states, “I have had moving experiences through these teachings, and regardless of being labeled as part of an antisocial group by society, I will not leave the church.”
One positive outcome of her faith, Takeuchi emphasizes, is that she has become able to accept people with other beliefs genuinely. At one point, she learned that a friend was a follower of another religion. After sharing her own faith, they were able to have deeper conversations than before, “’Before either of us embraced our faiths, we had both struggled to feel hope in society. And it was meaningful to share and empathize over those experiences. Just by living an ordinary life it’s hard to find someone who understands you this well.”
Through this encounter, Takeuchi experienced how her world could expand despite the religious differences. She asserts, “I, too, want to work towards a world where people with religious values aren’t subjected to discrimination or disdain and where ignoring human rights doesn’t become the norm.”
Click here to read more on Religious Persecution
Featured image above: Yuko Takeuchi and her family. Photo: Yuko Takeuchi