HELP! Did missionaries to Japan force people to convert?

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CatholicWife1

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My secular college is having us criticize St Francis Xavier and I am required to write about at least one “bias” or “inaccuracy” of his in order to get credit. But I need to know this before I start writing: Did he force people to convert and how do I refute this secular ideology without sounding like I’m getting defensive?
 
Our textbook, which has an account of a Japanese convert (Fabian Fucan) who converted back to Buddhism and slanders the church.
 
Most people who reject a religion have an “axe to grind”.

This seems to be a very flimsy basis for an accusation.

One cannot box with a ghost.

www.xavier.edu

Who was Francis Xavier?

Information about the life of St. Francis Xavier.
www.xavier.edu www.xavier.edu
 
That seems like a pretty random assignment. What class is this for?
 
I know. Its just a small assignment, but its for a history class.
 
In that time period a Christian missionary was not going to forcefully convert anyone in ancient Japan…in fact the missionaries were quite limited in what they were able to do by the Emperor…in fact if my memory serves me correctly I believe they were forbidden under penalty of death to try and convert anyone.
I read some about it when I was in Japan many years ago…
In ancient Japan Christians were not exactly welcomed with open arms…

If I were you I would visit an older public library or church library and pull out a pre-revisionist history book and glean your own understanding.

But imperialist ravishes are all the rage now…
 
The Buddhist and Shintoism is still the majority; nobody forced anybody. On the contrary, the Catholic were greatly persecuted. Once everything was safe, other Protestant groups moved in.
 
How does this make any sense? Japan wasn’t the colony of a Catholic imperial power… Catholics were the underdogs in Japan and were at times terribly persecuted. By what power would small bands of missionaries force conversions?
 
When I was in college I would have been insulted by such an assignment. The professor is requiring you to trash your own religion.
I wonder what can happen to you if you don’t comply?
 
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Exactly.
Im trying to say something good about him, but I know that my classmates will probably insult my intelligence if I do.
For example, if I say he was a man of such good character that tens of thousands converted to the faith, my teacher will probably say that I’m uniformed since they only converted because of the authority figures who converted to have a good monetary relationship with Europe.

I have to share this with my classmates as well, so I feel cornered.
 
On the contrary, the Japanese Buddhist monks (bonzes) intrigued against St Francis Xavier in the courts of the feudal lords (daimyos) so he suffered much. But he also made heroic journeys on foot throughout the island. As usual, he was most successful with simple people, who abandoned their idols. In the courts the Buddhist monks opposed him greatly. Another reason bonzes opposed him was that a lot of them were pedophiles, and St Francis Xavier called them on it.
 
The only knowledge I have of Christian missionaries in Japan comes from my reading of the book (and watching of the movie) Silence. Long story short, they were in absolutely no position to force conversions. In fact, they had to be very careful in sharing the gospel or they’d risk attempting to evangelize someone who would later turn them in to Japanese authorities, who would in turn either force the missionary to convert or would kill them if they failed to do so.
 
Be bold, be strong in your faith and the truth…it may be hard but it builds character.
Remember, Christ said you will suffer and be hated for your beliefs…take it as a badge of honor and a indication you must be doing something right!

These people will occupy only a very short period of your life and then be no more…who cares what they think?

To thine own self be true…
 
I’m majoring in history. I hope to teach at a Catholic school after I graduate and get all my certifications.
 
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Understandable. Okay, make your topic the translation of the word, “God,” into Japanese.
 
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