Religions of Japan

Religion in Japan (2006)

Religion in Japan is dominated by Shinto (the ethnic religion of the Japanese people) and by Buddhist schools and organisations. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organised religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 3% to 4% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions, and from fewer than 1% to 2.3% are Christians.

Most of the Japanese (50% to 80% considering degrees of syncretism with Buddhism, shinbutsu-shūgō) pray and worship ancestors and gods (神 kami, shin or, archaically, jin) at Shinto shrines or private altars, while not identifying as "Shinto" or "Shintoist" in surveys. This is because these terms have little meaning for the majority of the Japanese, or they define membership in Shinto organisations or sects. The term "religion" (宗教 shūkyō) itself in Japanese culture defines only organised religions (that is, religions with specific doctrines and required membership). People who identify as "non-religious" (無宗教 mushūkyō) in surveys actually mean that they do not belong to any religious organisation, even though they may take part in Shinto rituals and worship.

Scholars Isomae Jun'ichi and Jason Ānanda Josephson have challenged the usefulness of the term "religion" in regard to Japanese "traditions". They have shown that the Japanese term and concept of "religion" (shūkyō) is an invention of the 19th century.

Shinto (神道, Shintō^?), also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous religion of Japan and the people of Japan. It is defined as an action-centered religion, focused on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to a collection of native beliefs and mythology. Shinto today is a term that applies to the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of gods (kami), suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods.

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