“Americans themselves know all too well that their genius is not in religion…Americans are great people; there is no doubt about that. They are great in building towers and canals. Americans have a wonderful genius for improving the breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and swine; they raise them in multitudes, butcher them, eat them, and send their meat-products to all parts of the world. Americans too are great inventors. They invented or perfected telegraphs, telephone, talking and hearing machines, automobiles…poison gases. Americans are great adepts in the art of enjoying life to teh utmost…Then, they are great in Democracy. The people is their king and emperor; yea, even their god; the American people make laws, as they make money…They first make money before they undertake any serious work…To start and carry on any work without money is in the eyes of the Americans madness…Americans are great in all these things and much else; but not in religion, as they themselves very well know…Americans must count religion in order to see or show its value…To them big churches are successful churches…to win teh greatest number of converts with the least expense is their constant endeavor. Statistics is their way of showing success or failure in their religion as in their commerce and politics. Numbers, numbers, oh, how they value numbers!”

– Kanzo Uchimura 1926