The widespread irreligious phenomena of New Japan are, therefore, not difficult of explanation, when viewed in the light of two thousand years of Japanese religious history.  They cannot be attributed to a deficient racial endowment of religious nature.  They are a part of nineteenth-century life by no means limited to Japan.  If the Anglo-Saxon race is not to be pronounced inherently irreligious, despite the fact that irreligious phenomena and individuals are in constant evidence the world over, neither can New Japan be pronounced irreligious for the same reason.  The irreligion now so rampant is a recent phenomenon in Japan.  It may not immediately pass away, but it must eventually.  Religion freed from superstition and ceremonialism, resting in reality, identifying moral and scientific with religious truth, is already finding hearty support from many of Japan’s educated men.  If appeal is made under the right conditions, the Japanese manifest no lack of a genuine religious nature.  That they seem to be deficient in the sense of reverence is held by some to be proof presumptive of a deficient religious nature.  A few illustrations will make clear what the critic means and will guide us to an interpretation of the phenomena.  Occidentals are accustomed to consider a religious service as a time of solemn quiet, for we feel ourselves in a special sense in the presence of God; His majesty and glory are realities to the believing worshiper.  But much occurs during a Christian service in Japanese churches which would seem to indicate a lack of this feeling.  It is by no means uncommon for little children to run about without restraint during the service, for mothers to nurse their infants, and for adults to converse with each other in an undertone, though not so low but that the sound of the conversation may be heard by all.  I know a deacon occupying a front mat in church who spends a large part of service time during the first two sabbaths of each month in making out the receipts of the monthly contributions and distributing them among the members.  His apparent supposition is that he disturbs no one (and it is amazing how undisturbed the rest of the congregation is), but also that he is in no way interfering with the solemnity or value of the service.  The freedom, too, with which individuals come and go during the service is in marked contrast to our custom.  From our standpoint, there is lack of reverence.

I recently attended a young men’s meeting at which the places for each were assigned by written quotations, from the Bible, one-half of which was given to the individual and the other half placed at the seat.  One quotation so used was the text, “The birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.”  It would hardly seem as if earnest Christians could have made such use of this text.  Some months ago at a social gathering held in connection with the annual meeting of the churches of Shikoku, one of