Shintoism
by: Beoung Han, Pratheek Sharyala, Amogh Singhal
Origin
- means way of the gods
-Teaches that the natural forces of Japan (and only Japan) are divine
- It's an ethnic religion with no known founder and absolute set of beliefs
- 13 sects; 5 major categories for sects: traditionalist, those which emphasize Confucian ethics, those devoted to faith healing, those who worship the mountains in specific, and those who are devoted to purification rites
Geographic Distribution
- died out after WWII when the emperor was forced to give it up as a official religion, but it has slowly come back to the Japanese population.
- Each shrine in Shintoism relates to a kami, or a spirit, so it can be anywhere, and there are shrines in many places.
- Two important shrines are underwater water shrine of Itsukushima shrine, and the controversial Yaskuna shrine, which honors fallen war criminals of WWII.
-Shintoism is practiced mainly in Japan.
-Shintoism only has 4 million primary adherents, but many other secondary adherents are there.
Shrine
This is the front-side of a shrine , a Shinto house of worship
Nature
One of the main cultural beliefs in Shinto is that culture should not attempt to change nature
Kojiki
This is a picture of the oldest Shinto holy writings
Unique Characteristics
- Holy Text: although not exclusively Shinto texts, the Shinto holy texts are the Kojiki
- Symbols: torii gates and amulets for protection by the Kami
- Place of Worship: Shinto worship at local shrines
-Impact on social and family structure: taboos are placed on people and objects for the sake of cleanliness (sometimes temporary); disturbing the social structure is considered bad (thus the feudal pyramid at the bottom)
-Impact on culture: reduces cultural impact on nature; It was at one point the state religion of Japan; usually follows same ethical code as Confucianism or Buddhism; no moral absolutes (all good or all bad); maintaining the natural balance is considered good