Apostasy Theme Analysis

Shūsaku Endō’s Silence tells the harrowing story of a Portuguese missionary priest in 17th-century Japan named Father Rodrigues, who must decide to either let Japanese Christians suffer for his own sake, or to apostatize—that is, to symbolically renounce Christianity by placing one’s foot on a metal etching of Jesus Christ called a fumie. Although in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, apostasy is a betrayal of Jesus Christ (whom Christians regard as God) and the worst possible crime a Christian can commit, Rodrigues is forced to choose between his loyalty to the Church and the lives of the Japanese people. Rodrigues’s moral journey suggests that, although apostasy is a symbolic betrayal of institution of Christianity, it is not a morally straightforward act, and is not necessarily a betrayal of Jesus Christ himself.

The Roman Catholic Church regards apostasy as the greatest crime against God, punishable by expulsion, suggesting that it is at the very least a betrayal of the organized institution of Christianity. When the Church hears that Father Ferreira—a highly-regarded Portuguese priest who has led Christians in Japan for 30 years—has apostatized in Japan, many of the priests cannot believe that such a great man could be led to “grovel before the infidel,” language which itself suggests a great deal of institutional pride.  This is confirmed by the fact that Rodrigues and his friend, Father Garrpe, plan their missionary voyage to Japan not only to spread their Gospel in the country, but also to “atone for the apostasy of Ferreira which had so wounded the honor of the church.” This again suggests that the Roman Catholic Church takes its reputation, reflected in the work of its priests, very seriously. Near the end of the story, when Ferreira appeals to Rodrigues to apostatize, he tells Rodrigues, “You dread to be the dregs of the Church, like me,” once more recognizing that Rodrigues’s relationship to the Church and Christianity as a religious institution is at stake, and to apostatize would be to betray that institution and mar its honor.

However, the moral dilemma Rodrigues faces between the Japanese Christians’ suffering and his own loyalty to the Church suggests that, in some cases, there may be crimes greater than apostasy, and circumstances in which apostasy is even necessary. The Japanese officials know that the martyrdom (dying for a religious cause) of the missionaries only encourages the local Christians’ devotion, and decide that they will not kill Rodrigues. Instead, they will break him, forcing him to denounce Christianity by torturing and killing Japanese Christian peasants until Rodrigues willingly apostatizes. Even those Japanese Christians who have themselves apostatized are not spared torture so long as Rodrigues refuses to do the same, meaning that the consequence of Rodrigues’s loyalty to Christ and the Church is the horrible suffering of the Japanese Christians who have no chance to end their own suffering. To continually refuse to apostatize while more and more Japanese Christians are tortured and killed seems an indefensible and even criminal bargain, suggesting that apostasy is not always the most immoral choice for Christians depending on the context of the situation. The novel therefore suggests that apostasy is not the ultimate crime a Christian can commit. Reflecting on Kichijiro, a weak man who apostatizes numerous times throughout his life, Rodrigues admits that in a less difficult and torturous time, Kichijiro could have lived his life as a simple, happy, Christian man like any other, never tested by such suffering or driven to apostasy while watching others be killed. Rodrigues’s recognition that Kichijiro is less a shameful Christian than a man born into an era too difficult for him suggests that although apostasy is a terrible crime and a betrayal of Christianity, one’s circumstances may be more to blame than a weakness in their faith.

Although Rodrigues apostatizes and betrays the church to end the suffering of the Japanese Christians, he feels as if Christ speaks to him and secretly maintains his devotion to God, suggesting that although apostasy may be a betrayal of the church and the Christian institution, it is not necessarily a betrayal of Christ himself. In the moment that Rodrigues is about to apostatize and trample the bronze image of Christ’s face with his foot, he hears Christ’s image speak to him, saying “Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world.” Christ’s affirmation of Rodrigues’s apostasy suggests that it is not an utter betrayal of Christ himself, and the priest places his foot upon Christ’s face, apostatizing and renouncing the Church to his great shame. Rodrigues is forced to become a Japanese agent, helping the government block Christian relics from being smuggled into Japan, and he knows the Church has expelled him and taken away his authority to act as a priest. Yet Rodrigues still maintains his private devotion to God and even secretly administers the priestly rites to Kichijiro. Reflecting on his defeat, Rodrigues prays, “I fell. But, Lord, you alone know that I did not renounce my faith […] I know that my Lord is different from the God that is preached in the churches.” Rodrigues’s continued faith in God and devotion to Christ, even after the Church condemns him, makes the argument that though apostasy certainly betrays the institution of Christianity—the Church, the hierarchy, the organization—it is not necessarily a betrayal of Jesus Christ himself. A person who has apostatized, then, may still keep their faith.

Rodrigues is forced into making a horrifying decision between his lifelong loyalty to his Christian brethren and ending the suffering of the Japanese peasants he came to serve. Although a betrayal of his life’s work and often criticized by readers of the story, Rodrigues’s decision to apostatize but maintain a private commitment to God seems the only reasonable choice he can make.