How is the theme of Religious Beliefs presented/expressed in the book? - What are these beliefs?

The theme of religion is presented as an important part of the family/ community foundation. The Korean people, as presented in the text, are primarily Christian, though they belong to various denominations. Their faith is strong and unshakeable, as evidenced in the character of Mr. Kim, who responds to the forced adoption of a Japanese surname by dressing in traditional Korean clothing and going to the police station, where he chooses the name “Iwamoto," or “‘Foundation of Rock,’” which calls to mind Matthew 16:18, “on this rock I will build my church” (98).

In school, the children are indoctrinated in the national religion of Imperial Japan, Shintoism, which stands in opposition to Christian doctrine. Kim accurately foretells the destruction of the shrine at the end of the occupation, and when the shrine is destroyed the two wooden sticks exposed by the desctruction are referred to by the towspeople as the “two wooden sticks to which we have been bowing and praying all those years” (99). Shinto dominance is seen to be as flimsy as a stick of wood.