Competing Constructions of Religious Freedom in Allied-Occupied Japan

American Academy of Religion

Despite the Japanese constitution guaranteeing religious freedom since 1889, after World War II, the United States-occupiers deemed that guarantee flawed. In this conversation with, Jolyon Thomas, author of "Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan" shares how the US imposed a new framework of religious freedom onto the Japanese, one that favored some traditions more than others. Thomas's "Faking Liberties" was co-winner of the AAR's 2020 Analytical-Descriptive Studies Award for the Excellence in the Study of Religion. He is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania.