Christianity: In the Incarceration Camp

In this section, we will talk about Christianity in incarceration camps during World War II. The information was collected from “Christianity, Social Justice, and the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II” by Anne M. Blankenship. As is mentioned in the book, a lot of people benefited from the Christian Youth events that used to happen in the camps. Both Non-Christians and Buddhists would attend the events hosted by Christian Youth, such as Christmas celebrations as well as general meetings and gatherings. Christians tried to make other people attending the meetings and gatherings feel as welcome as possible, which they did. The meetings would discuss resettlement, college admissions, the camp, and the ways of improving it. That was one of the reasons not only Christians attended the meetings. The student Christian Association even wanted to remove the word “Christian” from the name so people felt comfortable. 

Although many Christian people tried to make non-Chsristians and Buddhists feel welcome in their community, there was a lot of hatred that was pointed towards them. Christian people of Japanese descent were seen as ones who had higher social status compared to other non-Christian people because they were not Buddhist, just like the majority of Japanese and Japanese Americans. They saw Christians as collaborators with WRA (War Relocation Authority) and referred to them as dogs by throwing garbage at them. Even the priest (reverend) of the church was beaten up by non-Christian incarcerees on March 6, 1943. ¹