S H I N T Oby jennifer le, hillary nguyen, yen tran, and nhu vu

religions of the world:

table of contentsI. Religious Data

II. Religious Diffusion

III. Religious Beliefs

IV. Cultural Interaction in Religion

V. Religious Ecology

VI. Religious Landscape

i. religious data

a. 10 million Japanese participate inrituals but a third call themselvesShintoists.

b. Shinto ranks tenth afterJainism, Baha’ism, Judaism, andSikhism, in ninth-sixth, respectively.

c. Shinto is growing, due to a largenumber of sects blending Buddhismwith it.

d. Adherents feel a strong bond orconnection with nature or have adefining moment where Shinto feelsjust right for them.

ii. religious diffusion

a. Shinto was formed around 550 B. C.in Japan.

b. Shinto is practiced exclusively inJapan or with people of Japaneseheritage.

c. Due to its Japanese basedheritage, the religion has not spreaddramatically to other nations.

d. Today, Shinto continues to mainlyreside with the boundaries of Japan orJapanese immigrants.

iii. religious beliefs

a. There is no all-powerful God in Shino.b. The worship of Kami

i. Kami are gods and spirits that govern over nature and human life.ii. They are believe to animate the world through geographical

sites (Mount Fuji) and natural phenomenon (kamikaze).c. The individual is less than the group.d. Wa (“benign harmony”) is ingrained in nature and human

relationships. i. Anything that disturbs this condition is bad. To keep the

balance of harmony, there are rules to keep society and the natural world from turning into chaos.ii. Wa is reflected in everyday actions. For example, the

removal of one’s shoes before entering a home and taking daily baths.

e. Renewal and purificationi. “Man is kami’s child;” Life was given to people by kamiand has sacred nature.ii. But because divine nature is rarely seen purification isnecessary.iii. A shrine dedicated to kami has a trough of pure waterused for the rituals of rinsing the hands and mouth, requiredbefore approaching the image of kami. This process is calledoharai.iv. Shinto has little care for death and the afterlife. Shinto ismainly a “life religion” concerned with the here and now andnot the afterlife.v. They believe that the soul, or tama, of the dead continues

to have influence on the living before finally becoming a partof the kami ancestors from the family it belongs to.vi. If a person were to pass away, Shintoists would use the

Buddhist idea of afterlife.

iv. culturalinteraction inreligion

a. The Shintoreligion goeshand in handwith traditionalvalues and thedaily customs ofJapan.

b. Japanese societygreatly stressesthe importanceof respect andcharacter.

c. Kotodama, or“words with amagical effecton the world,” isused in Japan.Forexample, itadakimasu is saidbefore eating.

d. Other customsinclude the useof propergreetings or theremoval of one’sshoes beforeentering ahome.

e. Ikebana (flowerarranging), traditional Japanesearchitecture, and garden designhave Shintoroots.

f. In sumo wrest-ling, salt is usedto purify thewrestling arena.

v. religious ecology

a. Shinto teachespeople to be gentleto nature.

b. Everything given tohumans fromnature must bereturned to itsoriginal place.

c. Pollution or defilementis an act of evil or a sin,caused by lack of aware-ness, awe, and reverence.

d. Nature is perceived asholy, divine, and superior.Humans must yield to it.

vi. religious landscape

a. All of the natural landscape, includingvalleys, streams, mountains, and waterfalls, is sacredspace.

b. All shrines are sacred places of worship.i. A pair of stone lion-dog statues called koma-inu guard

shrine entrances to keep spirits away.c. The torii gate is the symbol of the Shinto religion. They can

be placed at the entrance of the shrine of directly in front ofbuildings within.

d. The dead are usually cremated and buried in family graves.e. Most shrines keep a special goshintai, or symbol, that

represents a kami or a legend.f. Kamidana-fuji is white paper that covers the entrance to

household shrines to keep impure spirits away.

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