Abstract

The objective of this study was to find how the sectarian values of the SDA church were assimilated among the Japanese SDA church members. In order to clarify the characteristics of the sectarian values, their origin and contents were discussed in the first part of this study. It was concluded that the SDA value system contained three sub-value systems, -- namely, the eschatological ethics of the Advent movement, the pietism of the rivivalistic [sic] tradition, and the rural fundamentalism of the Mid-West. Some factors in the Japanese value system were discussed in relation to the assimilation of the sectarian values, such as the pantheistic emphasis on naturalism, the sentiment of anti-absolutism, and the lack of "sin" consciousness. The value system which was expressed by the sectarian standards of sanctified life naturally faced a cool reception in the general Japanese who were in a completely different value complex. But there were a group of "converts" to the sectarian value=belief system which was mainly foreign to the general Japanese sentiment. A survey was made to analyze how the sectarian standards were held by the Japanese SDA church members. The findings were 1) that the thirteen sectarian standards which were held ideally by the strictest advocates were not held uniformly by the Japanese SDA church members, but the different degrees of "conformity" and "deviance" from the standards were observed, which also indicated the difference between how the standards were held officially and how they were held privately; 2) that the "conformity" to the sectarian standards was most associated with the group of subjects who were characterized by the high age level; 3) that the "deviance" from the sectarian standards was most associated with the group of subjects who were characterized by low age level, shorter years of church membership, and the category of student. Some explanatory discussions on the results of the survey were attempted.

LLU Discipline

Sociology

Department

Sociology-Anthropology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Stirling, Betty R.

Second Advisor

Elick, John W.

Third Advisor

Yahiku, Paul Y.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Level

M.A.

Year Degree Awarded

1971

Date (Title Page)

1-1-1971

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Seventh-day Adventists -- Japan; Seventh-day Adventists -- Attitudes -- Japan

Subject - Local

Sectarian values; Japanese Seventh-day Adventists

Type

Thesis

Page Count

180 p.

Digital Format

Application/PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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