A Comparative Study of Religious Songs in the United States : Buddhist Hymns and Black Spirituals

本文通过对美国宗教歌曲的比较研究，重点探讨了《约多神书》佛教歌曲和黑人灵歌的起源和发展。这两种类型的歌曲都是次要文化的产物，都是基督教主导的美国社会文化适应的典范。它们也是表现被压迫人民情感和心态的文化的典范。一种是从日本进口的歌曲，用日语或英语翻译演唱。二是专门为讲英语的佛教徒创作的英文歌曲。它们中的许多都是在黑人福音歌曲在芝加哥和其他地方迅速流行的同一时间创作的，也就是20世纪20年代中期。为儿童创作的英文佛教歌曲是第二次世界大战后为加强日裔美国人作为美国公民的身份而创作的。夏威夷群岛上流行着民间宗教歌曲，特别是…更多的是在科纳，在战争期间和战争结束后，日裔美国人受到最大的压迫。当美国白人在南北战争开始时收集和记录南方的黑人灵歌时，黑人奴隶口头传播了许多歌曲，既有神圣的，也有世俗的。这些歌曲是非洲音乐、宗教传统和基督教传统的文化结晶。内战后，黑人大学合唱团通过举办黑人精神音乐会在全国和世界各地巡回演出，赚了很多钱。然后，在20世纪20年代出现了一场争论，即为音乐会安排的黑人灵歌是否是“真正的”黑人文化。非裔美国人歌曲的音乐会传统和民歌传统变得不同了。几乎就在同一时间，在城市环境中兴起了表达新生代情感和心态的福音歌曲。当时，由于吉姆·克罗的法律和经济萧条，黑人遭受着严重的贫困和压迫。研究表明，新歌曲的创作或歌曲的巨大变化发生在美国社会对少数族裔不宽容的时候。少数民族在宗教歌曲中含蓄地表达了对社会的恐惧。他们一边唱宗教歌曲，一边控制恐惧，以确定自己的社会身份。较少

This comparative study of religious songs in the United States explores especially the beginnings and the developments of Jodoshinshu Buddhist songs and Black spirituals. Both types of songs are the offspring of minor cultures and are good samples of acculturation in Christian dominated American society. They are also examples of cultures which show the feelings and mentality of oppressed people.There are three types of Jodoshinshu Buddhist songs. One type is the songs imported from Japan and sung in Japanese or in English translation. The second is the English songs created especially for English speaking Buddhists. Many of them were created at about the same time when Black gospel songs were rapidly gaining popularity in Chicago and elsewhere, i.e., in the mid 1920s. English Buddhist songs for children were created after the Second World War to strengthen the identity of Japanese Americans as American citizens. There are folk religious songs which sprang in Hawaii islands, especially … More in Kona, during and immediately after the war when Japanese Americans were most oppressed.When white Americans collected and documented Black spirituals in the South at the beginning of the Civil War, black slaves had orally transmitted numerous songs, both sacred and secular. The songs are the acculturated fruits of African music, religious tradition and Christian tradition. After the Civil War, black college chorus groups made much money by touring the country and the world by giving concerts of Black spirituals. Then there rose an argument in the 1920s whether the Black spirituals arranged for concerts were "genuine" black culture. The concert tradition and folksong tradition of African American songs became separate. At about the same time, "gospel songs" arose in urban environment to express the feelings and mentality of new generations. It was the time when the black people suffered from severe poverty and oppression because of Jim Crow laws and economic depression.The research shows that the creation of new songs or great changes in songs occur when American society is intolerant to ethnic minorities. The minority people voice their fear against the society implicitly in religious songs. They make sure of their social identity by controlling the fear while singing religious songs. Less