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SY: Well, just within our Japanese American community we still have fairly strong, the Methodist church is fairly strong and the All Saints church is fairly strong and of course the Buddhist church exists. Are those the main denominations I guess within the religious community, the Japanese American religious community you think? And how large is their impact on people do you think? Is it still really an important part of the Japanese American community?

PS: Yeah, I think so.

SY: Church membership is still holding strong?

PS: Yeah, particularly in the conservative evangelical churches are really surprising. They in uncertain times, my feeling is that people are looking for definite answers and that's what evangelical churches provide. They don't hedge, they tell you what the truth is.

SY: Even if it's something that you don't necessarily agree with.

PS: Yeah, if you can't buy it you don't belong. We don't want to hear anything opposing what our official view is. If that's what makes people comfortable, I guess, and it does because that's where people are going.

SY: People are still attending. It's an important part of the community I guess the point I'm trying to get at, that it's still a very important part.

PS: It serves a function and if people gain from it, why not. I think there's a certain talk about atheism but atheism doesn't give you anything, if you believe not to believe something that's fine, but it doesn't lead anywhere. I mean, no atheist says, "Well, because I don't believe in God I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. I'm going to take a stand because I don't believe in God," no, it's a dead end. I respect people who take that position because there's plenty of reasons, logical reasons for a person not to believe in God. You know, you look at these tragedies, I mean, you figure how can God... but it takes a little digging to come up with ways to still have a faith.

SY: Do you feel that it's offered a place for you 'cause you've had a rather traumatic, would you consider your life to have had its share of problems growing up? And certainly being put in a camp would be one. So does the church offer that to you? I mean, is that one of the reasons you feel that the church is important in your life?

PS: Yeah, well, I did a DVD. I got some money from CCLPEP and I did it on religion in camp because I thought the story needed to be told. So I got two conservatives and two liberal clergy, Paul Nagano who was formerly conservative who is now liberal. I got Roy Sano who is a Methodist bishop more on the liberal wing, and Sam Tonomura who is retired recently from head of JEMS, Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society. And I got John Miyabe who is a senior retired from the Free Methodist church. So I thought the story needed to be told because I think that -- and the title of my DVD was Comforting the Afflicted because they served a real function in comforting people in camp and I think it was important that they be there. And I believe in Ecclesiastics that says, "For everything there is a purpose under heaven, a time to live, a time to die, a time to rejoice, a time to mourn." There's a time for people to cooperate with the government and go along and do because you don't have much choice. But then when that time is passed, then it's time to get accounting from the government for what happened, then you have to seize that opportunity also. I think that's my way of handling this whole issue.

SY: Did you learn anything from getting these guys together and were you surprised by anything and what they said?

PS: No, I wasn't. I really wasn't surprised, but I think the story needed to be told. One of the things they mention is that they were favored, Christianity is the religion of this country so we were... nobody was put in a separate camp because he was a Christian minister. Whereas the Buddhist ministers were picked up and put in separate camps. So the Buddhists had no spiritual leadership, but to their credit many of the Buddhist priests counseled their former members to go to Christian churches. And so many of the Buddhist's became Christians in camp.

SY: That's interesting. And I wonder if they turned back to Buddhism after camp.

PS: I don't know. I don't know what the readings were. But it was interesting hearing the stories of people like Paul Nagano and Roy and you could see... it's my bias, but I could see more change, more growth on the part of Paul and Roy. Maybe the growth on the part of Sam and Reverend Miyabe was more inner growth, more spiritual growth, that wasn't as obvious. But I think the growth socially I think is, I think because that's where my interest lies now. That religious expression should have a social meaning, that's where my emphasis is now.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.