About: Japanese Independent Churches

"As latecomers to Japan's religious scene, both Catholic and Protestant churches have experienced considerable difficulty in shedding their reputation as 'foreign religions.' While at times the 'Westernness' of Christianity has contributed to its appeal among Japanese, for the most part it has been viewed as a problem. Many early Japanese converts to Christianity felt that this was largely the fault of the foreign missionaries. Christianity was unnecessarily bound to Western organizational forms, denominational politics, and missionary control. Although the statistics indicate that most Japanese have rejected the evangelistic appeals and demands of Western missionaries, the development of indigenous and independent Christian movements suggests the possibility of a more nuanced yet critic