Interest
Japanese YouTube Church Offers ASMR Bible Readings, Complete with Female Mascots
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
Disclaimer: This article is not an endorsement of Christianity, but, rather, an article about the YouTube channel ASMR Church.
As Europe slowly expanded its influence throughout the world in the 1500s, Christianity, predominantly Catholicism followed in its wake. But one of the holdouts was Japan due to a few factors: the policy of isolationism and the culling of Japanese Catholics after the religion's introduction in 1549 by the missionary Francis Xavier. While Christianity is still a relatively minor religion in Japan, it is here and there, such as at the Archdioceses of Tokyo near Tokyo Metro Gokokuji Station. On October 31, 2022, followers of Calvinism, a branch of Christianity, began a new way of bringing interest and help to people learning about the Bible through ASMR Bible readings on YouTube.
The ASMR Church YouTube channel states, "Cute voice actors will heal you by whispering and reciting the Bible. Perfect for those who want to learn Christianity! Also for mental recovery! Please listen to it when you sleep, take a walk, or whenever you like!" With over 685 videos as of press time, there is a wide selection of Japanese readings from both the Old and New Testaments.
The ASMR Church also posts new videos on its Twitter page and retweets those who have mentioned the channel, whether good or bad. Most of the re-tweets show amusement about the channel rather than an interest in the material. Nevertheless, this is a creative and modern way for people to engage with Christianity, as well as an interesting tool to practice Japanese listening skills for non-native speakers.
The Bible readings on the ASMR Church channel are based in Calvinism and uses both the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and The New Interconfessional Translation Bible. The channel uploads daily in a relatively chronological order of the Bible, but not all daily uploads are a continuation of the previous section. Whether or not you are interested in the Bible in a different language, please be respectful.
Sources: ASMR Church's YouTube channel and Twitter account via Hachima Kikō
