Religion in Japan
Religion in Japan is manifested primarily in Shinto and in Buddhism, the two main faiths, which Japanese people often practice simultaneously. According to estimates, as many as 80% of the populace follow Shinto rituals to some degree, worshiping ancestors and spirits at domestic altars and public shrines. An almost equally high number is reported[6] as Buddhist. Syncretic combinations of both, known generally as shinbutsu-shūgō, are common; they represented Japan's dominant religion before the rise of State Shinto in the 19th century.[7]
The Japanese concept of religion differs significantly from that of Western culture. Spirituality and worship are highly eclectic; rites and practices, often associated with well-being and worldly benefits, are of primary concern, while doctrines and beliefs garner minor attention.
Main religions
Shinto
Shinto (神道, Shintō), also kami-no-michi,[a] is the indigenous religion of Japan and of most of the people of Japan.[14] George Williams classifies Shinto as an action-centered religion;[15] it focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently in order to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots.[16] The written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki first recorded and codified Shinto practices 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 of mythology.[17] Shinto in the 21st century is the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of gods (kami),[18] 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 (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods.[17]
The Japanese adopted the word Shinto ("way of the gods"), originally as Shindo,
Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys.[18] This is due to the fact that "Shinto" has different meanings in Japan: most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to Shinto organisations,[9] and since there are no formal rituals to become a member of folk "Shinto", "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting those who join organised Shinto sects.[10] Shinto has 100,000 shrines[18] and 78,890 priests in the country.[22]
Shinto sects and new religions
Profound changes occurred in Japanese society in the 20th century (especially after World War II), including rapid industrialisation and urbanisation.[23] Traditional religions, challenged by the transformation, underwent a reshaping themselves,[23] and principles of religious freedom articulated by the 1947 constitution[24] provided space for the proliferation of new religious movements.[22]
New sects of Shinto, as well as movements claiming a thoroughly independent status, and also new forms of Buddhist lay societies, provided ways of aggregation for people uprooted from traditional families and village institutions.[25] While traditional Shinto has a residential and hereditary basis, and a person participates in the worship activities devoted to the local tutelary deity or ancestor – occasionally asking for specific healing or blessing services or participating in pilgrimages – in the new religions individuals formed groups without regard to kinship or territorial origins, and such groups required a voluntary decision to join.[26] These new religions also provided cohesion through a unified doctrine and practice shared by the nationwide community.[26]
The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership reportedly numbers in the tens of millions.[27]: 234–235 The largest new religion, Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist sect founded in 1930, has about 10 million members in Japan. Scholars in Japan have estimated that between 10% and 20% of the population belongs to the new religions,[22] although more realistic estimates put the number at well below the 10% mark.[22] As of 2007[update] there are 223,831 priests and leaders of the new religions in Japan, three times the number of traditional Shinto priests.[22]
Many of these new religions derive from Shinto, retain the fundamental characters of Shinto, and often identify themselves as forms of Shinto. These include
Buddhism
The six Buddhist sects initially established in Nara are today together known as "
When the
, formed in 1661.With the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and its accompanying centralisation of imperial power and modernisation of the state, Shinto was made the state religion. An order of elimination of mutual influence of Shinto and Buddhism was also enacted, followed by a movement to thoroughly eradicate Buddhism from Japan.
Today, the most popular school in Japan is
Another prevalent form of Buddhism is
As of 2018[update], there were 355,000+ Buddhist monks, priests and leaders in Japan,[32] an increase of over 40,000 compared to 2000.[33]
Minor religions
Christianity
In 2022, there were 1.9 million[34] Christians in Japan,[35] most of them living in the western part of the country, where missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century.
These missionaries were successful in converting large numbers of people in Kyushu, including peasants, former Buddhist monks, and members of the warrior class.[38] In 1559, a mission to the capital, Kyoto, was started.[38] By the following year there were nine churches, and the Christian community grew steadily in the 1560s.[38] By 1569 there were 30,000 Christians and 40 churches.[38] Following the conversion of some lords in Kyushu, mass baptisms of the local populations occurred, and in the 1570s the number of Christians rose rapidly to 100,000.[38]
Near the end of the 16th century,
In 1873, following the Meiji Restoration, the ban was rescinded, freedom of religion was promulgated, and Protestant missionaries (プロテスタント Purotesutanto or 新教 Shinkyō, "renewed teaching") began to proselytise in Japan, intensifying their activities after World War II, yet they were never as successful as in Korea.
Throughout the latest century, some Western customs originally related to Christianity (including Western style weddings, Valentine's Day and Christmas) have become popular among many of the Japanese. For example, 60–70% of weddings performed in Japan are Christian-style.[45] Christianity and Christian culture has a generally positive image in Japan.[46][47][48]
Islam
Islam (イスラム教 Isuramukyō) in Japan is mostly represented by small immigrant communities from other parts of Asia. In 2008, Keiko Sakurai estimated that 80–90% of the Muslims in Japan were foreign-born migrants primarily from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.[49] It has been estimated that the Muslim immigrant population amounts to 10,000–50,000 people, while the "estimated number of Japanese Muslims ranges from thousands to tens of thousands".[50]
Bahá'í Faith
The
Judaism
Judaism (ユダヤ教 Yudayakyō) in Japan is practiced by about 2,000 Jews living in the country.[54] With the opening of Japan to the external world in 1853 and the end of Japan's sakoku foreign policy, some Jews immigrated to Japan from abroad, with the first recorded Jewish settlers arriving at Yokohama in 1861. The Jewish population continued to grow into the 1950s, fueled by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with Tokyo and Kobe forming the largest communities.
During World War II, some European Jews fleeing the Holocaust found refuge in Japan. These mainly Polish Jews received a so-called Curaçao visa from the Dutch consul in Kaunas, Jan Zwartendijk.[55] This allowed one Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul to Lithuania, to issue Japanese transit visa. In doing so, both Zwartendijk and Sugihara disregarded orders and helped more than 6,000 Jews escape the Nazis. After World War II, a large portion of Japan's Jewish population emigrated, many going to what would become Israel. Some of those who remained married locals and were assimilated into Japanese society.
There are community centres serving Jews in Tokyo
In September 2015, Japan nominated a
Hinduism
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, there were 25,597 Hindus in Japan in 2020.[60]
Sikhism
Sikhism (シク教 Sikukyō) is presently a minority religion in Japan mainly followed by families migrated from India.
Jainism
Jainism (ジャイナ教 Jainakyō) is a minority religion in Japan. As of 2009[update], there were three Jain temples in the country.[61]
Other religions of East Asia
Happy Science was founded in 1986 by Ryuho Okawa. This Japanese religion has been very active in its political ventures to re-militarize Japan.
Ryukyuan religion
The Ryukyuan religion is the indigenous belief system of the people of
One of its most ancient features is the belief onarigami (おなり神), the spiritual superiority of women derived from the goddess Amamikyu, which allowed for the development of a class of noro (priestesses) cult and yuta (female media). This differs from Japanese Shinto, where men are seen as the embodiment of purity. Ryukyuan religion has been influenced by Japanese Shinto and Buddhism, and various Chinese religions. It includes sects and reformed movements such as Ijun or Ijunism (Ryukyuan: いじゅん Ijun; Japanese: 違順教 Ijunkyō), founded in the 1970s.
Ainu folk religion
The Ainu religion Ainu no shūkyō (アイヌの宗教) is the indigenous belief system of the Ainu people of Hokkaido and parts of Far Eastern Russia. It is an animistic religion centered around the belief that Kamuy (spirits or gods) live in everything.
Chinese folk religion
Most Chinese people in Japan practice the Chinese folk religion (Chinese: 中国民间宗教 or 中国民间信仰; pinyin: Zhōngguó mínjiān zōngjiào or Zhōngguó mínjiān xìnyǎng; Japanese: 中国の民俗宗教; rōmaji: Chūgoku no minzoku shūkyō), also known as Shenism (Chinese: 神教; pinyin: Shénjiào; Japanese pronunciation: Shinkyō), that is very similar to Japanese Shinto.
The Chinese folk religion consists in the worship of the ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors,
Taoism
Taoism (道教 Dōkyō) was introduced from China between the 7th and 8th centuries, and influenced in varying degrees the Japanese indigenous spirituality. Taoist practices were absorbed into Shinto, and Taoism was the source of the esoteric and mystical religions of Onmyōdō, Shugendō and Kōshin.
Taoism, being an indigenous religion in China, shares some roots with Shinto, although Taoism is more hermetic while Shinto is more shamanic. Taoism's influence in Japan has been less profound than that of Japanese Neo-Confucianism. Today, institutional Chinese Taoism is present in the country in the form of some temples; the Seitenkyū was founded in 1995.
Confucianism
The social aspects of the philosophy are hierarchical with a focus on filial piety. This created a Confucian social stratification in Edo society that previously had not existed, dividing Japanese society into four main classes: samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants.[64] The samurai were especially avid readers and teachers of Confucian thought in Japan, establishing many Confucian academies.
Neo-Confucianism also introduced elements of ethnocentrism into Japan. As the Chinese and Korean Neo-Confucians had regarded their own culture as the center of the world, the Japanese Neo-Confucians developed a similar national pride.[63] This national pride would later evolve into the philosophical school of Kokugaku, which would later challenge Neo-Confucianism, and its perceived foreign Chinese and Korean origins, as the dominant philosophy of Japan.
Religious practices and holidays
Most Japanese participate in rituals and customs derived from several religious traditions. Life cycle events are often marked by visits to a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temples. The birth of a new baby is celebrated with a formal shrine or temple visit at the age of about one month, as are the third, fifth, and seventh birthdays (
There are two categories of holidays in Japan:
Some of the holidays are secular in nature, but the two most significant for the majority of Japanese—
Religion and law
In early Japanese history, the ruling class was responsible for performing propitiatory rituals, which later came to be identified as Shinto, and for the introduction and support of Buddhism. Later, religious organization was used by regimes for political purposes; for instance, the Tokugawa government required each family to be registered as a member of a Buddhist temple. In the early 19th century, the government required that each family belong to a shrine instead, and in the early 20th century, this was supplemented with the concept of a divine right to rule bestowed on the emperor. The Meiji Constitution reads: "Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief".
Article 20 of the 1947 Constitution states: "Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority. No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, rite or practice. The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity". This change in constitutional rights provided mechanisms for limiting state educational initiatives designed to promote Shinto beliefs in schools and freed the populace from mandatory participation in Shinto rites.[66]
In postwar years, the issue of the separation of Shinto and state arose in the Self-Defense Force Apotheosis Case. In 1973, Nakaya Takafumi, a member of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and husband of Nakaya Yasuko, died in a traffic accident.[67] Despite Yasuko's refusal to provide relevant documents for her husband's enshrinement at the Yamaguchi prefectural National-Protecting Shrine, the prefectural Veterans’ Association requested the information from the Self-Defense Forces and completed the enshrinement.[67] As a result, in 1973, Yasuko sued the Yamaguchi Prefectural Branch of the Self-Defense Forces, on the grounds that the ceremony of apotheosis violated her religious rights as a Christian.[67]
Although Yasuko won the case at two lower courts, the ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court of Japan on June 1, 1988, based on the precedent established by the Tsu City Shinto Groundbreaking Ceremony Case. First, the Supreme Court ruled that because the Veterans’ Association—which was not an organ of the state—had acted alone when arranging the ceremony of apotheosis, no violation of Article 20 had occurred.[68] Second, the Supreme Court held that the Self-Defense Forces' provision of Takafumi's documents to the Veterans’ Association did not constitute a religious activity prohibited by Article 20, because neither the intention nor the effects of its action harmed or patronized any religion.[69]
Third, the Supreme Court adopted a narrow interpretation of individual religious rights, by ruling that violation of individual rights to religion did not occur unless the state or its organs coerced individuals to perform some religious activity or limited their religious freedom.[70] On June 2, 1988, a report by the Los Angeles Times described the Japanese Supreme Court's decision as “a major setback for advocates of stronger separation of religion and state in Japan.”[71] On June 7, 1988, an article published in the New York Times expressed concern that the Japanese Supreme Court's decision was likely to encourage the resurgence of State Shinto and nationalism.[72] Because the prefectural National-Protecting Shrines perform the same ceremony of apotheosis as the Yasukuni Shrine does, the significance of this case also lies in its implications for the constitutionality of state patronage of and official visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.[68]
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[73]
Opposition to organised religion
In the early 1990s, Shichihei Yamamoto argued that Japan has shown greater tolerance towards irreligion than the West.[74]
Comments against religion by notable figures
- Shin'ichi Hisamatsu, philosopher and scholar who rejected theism, claimed that God or Buddha, as objective beings, are mere illusions.[75]
- Ito Hirobumi, four-time Prime Minister of Japan, who reportedly said: "I regard religion itself as quite unnecessary for a nation's life; science is far above superstition, and what is religion – Buddhism or Christianity – but superstition, and therefore a possible source of weakness to a nation? I do not regret the tendency to free thought and atheism, which is almost universal in Japan because I do not regard it as a source of danger to the community".[76]
- Hiroyuki Kato, who headed the Imperial Academy from 1905 to 1909 and said: "Religion depends on fear".[76]
- Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novelist who wrote: "God only exists in people’s minds. Especially in Japan, God's always has been a kind of flexible concept. Look at what happened to the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being a God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person".[77]
- Fukuzawa Yukichi, who was regarded as one of the founders of modern Japan and found it impossible to combine modern learning with belief in gods,[79] openly declaring: "It goes without saying that the maintenance of peace and security in society requires a religion. For this purpose any religion will do. I lack a religious nature, and have never believed in any religion. I am thus open to the charge that I am advising others to be religious while I am not so. Yet my conscience does not permit me to clothe myself with religion when I have it not at heart...Of religions there are several kinds – Buddhism, Christianity, and what not. From my standpoint there is no more difference between those than between green tea and black...".[80]
Anti-religious organisations
The Japan Militant Atheists Alliance (Nihon Sentoteki Mushinronsha Domei, also known as Senmu) was founded in September 1931 by a group of
Two months later, in November 1931, socialist Toshihiko Sakai and Communist Takatsu Seido created the Japan Anti-religion Alliance (Nihon Hanshukyo Domei). They opposed "contributions to religious organizations, prayers for practical benefits (kito), preaching in factories, and the religious organizations of all stripes" and viewed religion as a tool used by the upper class to suppress laborers and farmers.[81]
Demographics
According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2015 by the Agency for Culture Affairs, Government of Japan: there are 181 thousand religious groups in Japan.[82]
According to surveys carried out in 2006[83] and 2008,[84] less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organized religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 3% to 4% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions, and from fewer than 1%[85][86][87] to 2.3% are Christians.[note 1]
Religion | 1984[88] | 1996[89] | 2008[84] |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese Buddhism | 27% | 29.5% | 34% |
Shinto sects | 3% | 1% | 3% |
Christianity | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Prefecture | Tendai or Shingon | Jōdo or Shin | Zen | Nichiren | Soka Gakkai | Other Buddhist schools | Buddhism overall | Shinto sects | Christianity | None |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hokkaido | ~3% | 13.3% | 8.2% | 3.2% | ~2% | ~2% | ~31.7% | ~2% | ~1% | ~65.3% |
Aomori Prefecture | ~1% | 10.3% | 5.6% | 3.4% | ~2% | ~3% | ~25.3% | ~2% | ~1% | ~71.7% |
Iwate Prefecture | ~2% | 6.1% | 12.8% | ~0 | ~2% | ~3% | ~25.9% | ~0 | ~1% | ~73.1% |
Miyagi Prefecture | ~3% | 4.8% | 9.5% | ~2% | ~2% | ~2% | ~23.3% | ~0 | ~1% | ~75.7% |
Akita Prefecture | ~0 | 6.9% | 9.5% | ~3% | ~2% | ~2% | ~21.4% | ~3% | ~0 | ~75.6% |
Yamagata Prefecture | ~4% | 5.6% | 8.5% | ~3% | ~3% | 3.4% | ~27.5% | ~2% | ~1% | ~69.5% |
Fukushima Prefecture | 5.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% | ~0 | ~3% | ~3% | ~21.2% | ~0 | ~0 | ~78.8% |
Ibaraki Prefecture | 7.1% | 4.1% | ~2% | ~2% | ~3% | ~2% | ~20.2% | ~1% | ~1% | ~77.8% |
Tochigi Prefecture | 6% | 3.1% | ~3% | ~3% | 3.1% | ~2% | ~20.2% | ~0 | ~1 | ~78.8% |
Gunma Prefecture | 6.6% | 3.6% | 5.8% | ~3% | ~3% | ~2% | ~24% | ~1% | ~2% | ~73% |
Saitama Prefecture | 5.8% | 5.2% | ~3% | ~2% | 3.3% | ~1% | ~20.3% | ~0 | ~2% | ~77.7% |
Chiba Prefecture | 3.8% | 4.5% | ~1% | 3.3% | ~3% | ~1% | ~16.6% | ~0 | ~1% | ~82.4% |
Tokyo | 3.4% | 8.3% | ~2% | 3.3% | 4% | ~2% | ~23% | ~1% | 3.4% | ~72.6% |
Kanagawa Prefecture | ~3% | 5.5% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 3.5% | ~2% | ~21.4% | ~1% | ~3% | ~74.6% |
Niigata Prefecture | 3.2% | 10.6% | 4.9% | ~1% | ~2% | ~2% | ~23.7% | ~1% | ~1% | ~74.3% |
Toyama Prefecture | ~2% | 41.3% | ~1% | ~2% | ~1% | ~1% | ~48.3% | ~0 | ~0 | ~51.7% |
Ishikawa Prefecture | ~2 | 36.2% | ~1% | ~1% | ~0 | ~3% | ~43.2% | ~1% | ~1% | ~54.8% |
Fukui Prefecture | ~2% | 41.4% | 5.5% | 3.9% | ~1% | ~3% | ~56.8% | ~1% | ~0 | ~42.2% |
Yamanashi Prefecture | ~1% | 4.5% | 6.2% | 8.9% | ~3% | ~3% | ~26.6% | ~1% | ~1% | ~71.4% |
Nagano Prefecture | 3.5% | 11.8% | 7.6% | ~2% | ~3% | ~2% | ~29.9% | ~1% | ~1% | ~68.1% |
Gifu Prefecture | ~3% | 23.2% | 6.8% | ~1% | ~3% | ~1% | ~38.1% | ~1% | ~1% | ~59.9% |
Shizuoka Prefecture | ~1% | 6.2% | 9.4% | 7.3% | 3.6% | ~4% | ~31.5% | ~1% | ~1% | ~66.5% |
Aichi Prefecture | ~3% | 16.7% | 8.5% | ~1% | ~3% | ~2% | ~34.2% | ~2% | ~2% | ~61.8% |
Mie Prefecture | ~3% | 22.9% | 4.2% | ~1% | ~2% | ~2% | ~35.1% | ~1% | ~1% | ~62.9% |
Shiga Prefecture | 3% | 26.7% | 3.2% | ~2% | ~3% | ~0 | ~37.9% | ~0 | ~1% | ~61.1% |
Kyoto Prefecture | ~3% | 17.5% | 3.4% | ~2% | ~3% | ~3% | ~31.9% | ~2% | ~2% | ~66.1% |
Osaka Prefecture | 5.9% | 15.6% | ~3% | 3% | 5.2% | ~1% | ~33.7% | ~1% | ~1% | ~64.3% |
Hyōgo Prefecture | 8.6% | 12.2% | 3.1% | ~3% | 3.1% | ~3% | ~33% | ~2% | ~2% | ~63% |
Nara Prefecture | 4.2% | 17.3% | ~1% | ~3% | ~3% | ~2% | ~30.5% | ~0 | ~1% | ~68.5% |
Wakayama Prefecture | 9.6% | 13.5% | ~3% | ~1% | 3.5% | ~2% | ~32.6% | ~0 | ~0 | ~67.4% |
Tottori Prefecture | ~3% | 10.4% | 8.8% | 4% | ~2% | ~3% | ~31.2% | ~3% | ~1% | ~64.8% |
Shimane Prefecture | ~4% | 18.4% | 6.5% | ~2% | ~1% | ~3% | ~30.9% | ~2% | ~1% | ~66.1% |
Okayama Prefecture | 16.6% | 5.1% | 3% | 5.9% | ~3% | 0 | ~33.6% | ~2% | ~1% | ~63.4% |
Hiroshima Prefecture | 4.4% | 35.3% | 3.6% | ~2% | 4.9% | ~1% | ~51.2% | ~2% | ~2% | ~44.8% |
Yamaguchi Prefecture | ~3% | 21.9% | 3.8% | ~2% | 3.8% | ~1% | ~35.5% | ~1% | ~1% | ~62.5% |
Tokushima Prefecture | 19.8% | 6.7% | ~0 | ~1% | 3% | ~1% | ~31.5% | ~1% | ~1% | ~66.5% |
Kagawa Prefecture | 14% | 18% | ~1% | ~2% | ~3% | ~1% | ~39% | ~0 | ~1% | ~60% |
Ehime Prefecture | 9.3% | 6.7% | 5.3% | ~2% | ~3% | ~1% | ~27.3% | ~1% | ~2% | ~69.7% |
Kōchi Prefecture | 6.3% | 6.3% | ~0 | ~1% | ~3% | ~1% | ~17.6% | 5.5% | ~0 | ~76.9% |
Fukuoka Prefecture | ~2% | 24.1% | 3.3% | 3% | 3.3% | ~2% | ~37.7% | ~1% | ~2% | ~59.3% |
Saga Prefecture | ~4% | 21.9% | 6.1% | ~3% | ~2% | ~3% | ~40% | ~0 | ~0 | ~60% |
Nagasaki Prefecture | 4.9% | 19.5% | 3.6% | 5.1% | ~3% | ~3% | ~39.1% | ~2% | 5.1% | ~53.8% |
Kumamoto Prefecture | ~2% | 28.4% | ~3% | ~2% | ~2% | ~1% | ~38.4% | ~0 | ~1% | ~61.6% |
Ōita Prefecture | ~3% | 20.7% | 4.7% | ~3% | ~3% | ~1% | ~35.4% | ~2% | ~1% | ~61.6% |
Miyazaki Prefecture | ~3% | 18.2% | ~3% | ~3% | ~3% | 3.3% | ~33.5% | 3.8% | ~1% | ~61.7% |
Kagoshima Prefecture | ~2% | 29.8% | ~1% | ~2% | ~3% | 6% | ~43.8% | ~3% | ~0 | ~53.2% |
Okinawa Prefecture | ~0 | ~0 | ~0 | ~0 | 3.6% | ~0 | ~3,6% | ~0 | ~3 | ~93.4% |
Japan | 4% | 12.9% | 4.1% | ~3% | 3% | ~2.5% | ~29.5% | ~1% | ~2% | ~67.5% |
See also
- Ainu religion
- History of religion in Japan
- Koshinto
- Religion in Asia
- Religion in China
- Religion in Korea
- Religion in Mongolia
Footnotes
- ^ According to the Dentsu survey of 2006: 1% Protestants, 0.8% members of the Catholic Church and 0.5% members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[83]
- ^ Both mean the "way of the divine" or "of the gods". Other names are:[13]
- Kannagara-no-michi, "way of the divine transmitted from time immemorial";
- Kodo, the "ancient way";
- Daido, the "great way";
- Teido, the "imperial way".
- Shenism", the Chinese indigenous religion, distinguishing it from the new Buddhist religion. (Brian Bocking. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Routledge, 2005. ASIN: B00ID5TQZY p. 129)
References
- CIA, Government of the United States.
- ^ a b "Population Estimates Monthly Report - December 1, 2020 (Final estimates)".
- ^ CIA World Factbook:[1]
- Shinto: 70.5%
- Buddhism: 67.2%
- Christianity: 1.5%
- Other: 5.9%
Percentages calculated using the official total population figure of 126,088,000 as of the end of 2020.[2]
- ^ "ISSP" (PDF). NHK. 2018.
- ^ 宗教年鑑 令和3年版 [Religious Yearbook 2021] (PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. 2021.
- ^ Population figures from the Agency for Cultural Affairs Religious Yearbook 2021, as of the end of 2020, are as follows:[5]
- Shinto: 87,924,087
- Buddhism: 83,971,139
- Christianity: 1,915,294
- Other: 7,335,572
Percentages calculated using the official total population figure of 126,088,000 as of the end of 2020.[2]
- ISBN 978-0-674-47184-9.
- ^ Kisala, Robert. 2006. Japanese Religions. Pp. 3-13 in Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions, ed. Paul L. Swanson and Clark Chilson. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
- ^ a b Engler, Price. 2005. p. 95
- ^ a b Williams, 2004. pp. 4-5
- ^ Kawano, Satsuki. 2005. Ritual Practice in Modern Japan: Ordering Place, People, and Action. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
- ^ LeFebvre, J. (2015). "Christian wedding ceremonies: 'Nonreligiousness' in contemporary Japan". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 42(2), 185-203
- ^ Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiv
- ^ Williams, 2004. p. 4
- ISBN 9781438106465. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
Shinto is an action-centered religion (one based on actions) and not a confessional religion (one that requires a set of beliefs or a profession of faith).
- ^ John Nelson. A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine. 1996. pp. 7–8
- ^ ISBN 978-0-13-509282-8.
- ^ a b c Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1
- ^ a b Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxi
- ^ OCLC 40672426.
- ^ a b Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxii
- ^ a b c d e f Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65
- ^ a b Earhart, 2013. pp. 286-287
- ^ Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. pp. 64-65.
- ^ Earhart, 2013. pp. 289-290
- ^ a b Earhart, 2013. p. 290
- ^ Shimazono, Susumu (2004). From Salvation to Spirituality: Popular Religious Movements in Modern Japan. Pacific Press.
- ^ a b c d Brown, 1993. p. 455
- ^ a b c Brown, 1993. p. 456
- ^ a b Brown, 1993. p. 454
- ^ Brown, 1993. p. 453
- ^ Agency for Cultural Affairs (2019). 宗教年鑑 令和元年版 [Religious Yearbook 2019] (PDF) (in Japanese). p. 35.
- ISBN 978-432406748-2.
- ^ 宗教年鑑 令和元年版 [Religious Yearbook 2019] (PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. 2019. p. 35.
- ^ US State Department 2022 Religious Freedom Report
- ^ a b c Higashibaba, 2002. p. 1
- ^ Higashibaba, 2002. p. 5
- ^ a b c d e Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12
- ^ LeFebvre, 2021.
- ^ LeFebvre, 2021. "The Oppressor's Dilemma: How Japanese State Policy toward Religion Paved the Way for Christian Weddings"
- ^ Religion in Japan by prefecture. 1996 statistics.
- ISBN 9789400723870.
A 2006 Gallup survey, however, is the largest to date and puts the number at 6%, which is much higher than its previous surveys. It notes a major increase among Japanese youth professing Christ.
- ^ "After fatalism, Japan opens to faith". mercatornet. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
The 2006 Gallup poll, however, disclosed that an astounding 12 per cent of Japanese who claim a religion are now Christian, making six per cent of the entire nation Christian.
- ISBN 9781441246004.
- ^ LeFebvre, J. (2015). "Christian wedding ceremonies: 'Nonreligiousness' in contemporary Japan." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 42(2), 185–203.
- ISBN 978-1-57181-108-0.
- S2CID 144740841.
- ^ "A Little Faith: Christianity and the Japanese". Nippon.com: Your Doorway to Japan. 22 November 2019.
Christian culture in general has a positive image.
- ^ Emile A. Nakhleh, Keiko Sakurai and Michael Penn; "Islam in Japan: A Cause for Concern?", Asia Policy 5, January 2008
- ^ Yasunori Kawakami, "Local Mosques and the Lives of Muslims in Japan", Japan Focus, May 2007
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- Alexander, Agnes Baldwin (1977). Sims, Barbara (ed.). History of the Baháʼí Faith in Japan 1914-1938. Osaka, Japan: Japan Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 12–4, 21.
- ^ "QuickLists: Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ Golub, Jennifer (August 1992). "Japanese Attitudes Toward Jews" (PDF). Pacific Rim Institute of the American Jewish Committee.
- ^ "Jan Zwartendijk. - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum".
- ^ "Jewish Community of Japan". Archived from the original on 2006-01-17. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
- ^ "Jewish Community of Kansai".
- ^ "Chabad Japan". Chabad Jewish Center of Japan.
- ^ "Japan Gets First-Ever Chief Rabbi". September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Japan, Religion And Social Profile | National Profiles | International Data | TheARDA". www.thearda.com. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ^ 2009 Jain Diaspora Conference. Los Angeles, USA: JAINA: Federation of Jain Associations in North America. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ Kim Ha-tai (April 1961), "The Transmission of Neo-Confucianism to Japan by Kang Hang, a Prisoner of War", Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (37): 83–103
- ^ a b c Craig 1998, p. 552.
- ^ Craig 1998, p. 553.
- ^ a b LeFebvre, J. (2015). Christian wedding ceremonies: “Nonreligiousness” in contemporary Japan. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 42(2), 185-203. http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4454
- ^ LeFebvre, J. (2021) "The Oppressor's Dilemma: How Japanese State Policy toward Religion Paved the Way for Christian Weddings"
- ^ ISBN 978-0691020525.
- ^ ISBN 978-0691020525.
- ISBN 978-0691020525.
- ISBN 978-0691020525.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde. "Tokyo Journal; Shinto Is Thrust Back Onto the Nationalist Stage". Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-08
- ISBN 9780819182944.
- ISBN 978-0802841087.
- ^ ISBN 9781426474316.
- ^ Hays, Jeffrey (July 2012). "Religion in Japan and the Irreligious Japanese". Facts and Details. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ISBN 9788120810044.
- ISBN 978-0824810061.
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- ^ ISBN 9780824833312.
- ^ Iwai, Noriko (11 October 2017). Measuring religion in Japan: ISM, NHK and JGSS (PDF) (Report). JGSS Research Center.
- ^ a b Dentsu Communication Institute, Japan Research Center: Sixty Countries' Values Databook (世界60カ国価値観データブック).
- ^ a b "2008 NHK survey of religion in Japan — 宗教的なもの にひかれる日本人〜ISSP国際比較調査(宗教)から〜" (PDF). NHK Culture Research Institute.
- ^ Mariko Kato (February 24, 2009). "Christianity's long history in the margins". The Japan Times.
The Christian community itself counts only those who have been baptized and are currently regular churchgoers — some 1 million people, or less than 1 percent of the population, according to Nobuhisa Yamakita, moderator of the United Church of Christ in Japan
- Mission Network News. 3 September 2007. Archived from the originalon 11 June 2010.
The population of Japan is less than one-percent Christian
- ISBN 978-1-57181-108-0.
... followers of the Christian faith constitute only about a half percent of the Japanese population
- ^ 1984 NHK survey of religion in Japan. Results recorded in: Bestor, Yamagata, 2011, p. 66
- ^ a b Religion in Japan by prefecture, 1996. English language bar table.
Sources
- John Breen & Mark Teeuwen. Shinto in History. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2000. ISBN 0700711708
- John Breen & Mark Teeuwen. A New History of Shinto. Blackwell, 2010. ISBN 1405155167
- Craig, Edward (1998), ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3
- Delmer Brown & John Whitney Hall, eds. ISBN 0521223520
- Earhart, H. Byron. Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity, 5th edn. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 2014.
- Steven Engler & Gregory P. Grieve. Historicizing “Tradition” in the Study of Religion. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2005. ISBN 3110188759. pp. 92–108
- Ikuo Higashibaba. Christianity in Early Modern Japan: Kirishitan Belief and Practice. Leiden: Brill, 2002. ISBN 9004122907
- Inoue, Nobutaka et al. Shinto, a Short History. London: Routledge Curzon, 2003. online
- LeFebvre, J. (2015). ‘Christian Wedding Ceremonies: “Nonreligiousness” in Contemporary Japan’, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 42(2), 185–203. http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4454
- LeFebvre, J. (2021). ‘The Oppressor's Dilemma: How Japanese State Policy toward Religion Paved the Way for Christian Weddings’, Journal of Religion in Japan. https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/aop/article-1163-22118349-20210001/article-1163-22118349-20210001.xml
- Victoria Lyon-Bestor, Theodore C. Bestor, & Akiko Yamagata, eds. Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society. Routledge, 2011. ASIN B004XYN3E4, ISBN 0415436494
- Matsunaga, Daigan; Matsunaga, Alicia (1996), Foundation of Japanese Buddhism, Vol. 1: The Aristocratic Age, Los Angeles; Tokyo: Buddhist Books International. ISBN 0-914910-26-4
- Matsunaga, Daigan, Matsunaga, Alicia (1996), Foundation of Japanese Buddhism, Vol. 2: The Mass Movement (Kamakura and Muromachi Periods), Los Angeles; Tokyo: Buddhist Books International. ISBN 0-914910-28-0
- Matsunami, Kodo (2004). "A guide to Japanese Buddhism" (PDF). Tokyo: Japan Buddhist Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- Picken, Stuart D. B. (1994). Essentials of Shinto an Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313369797.
- Reader, Ian. Religion in Contemporary Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1991.
- Shimazono, Susumu. From Salvation to Spirituality: Popular Religious Movements in Modern Japan. Melbourne, Vic.: Trans Pacific Press, 2004.
- Sims, Barbara (1989). Traces That Remain: A Pictorial History of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Faith Among the Japanese. Osaka, Japan: Japan Bahá'í Publishing Trust.
- Staemmler, Birgit & Ulrich Dehn, eds. Establishing the Revolutionary: An Introduction to New Religions in Japan. Münster: LIT, 2011. ISBN 978-3-643-90152-1
- George Williams. Shinto. Philadelphia, Penn.: Chelsea House, 2004. ISBN 0791080978
Further reading
- Barbara R. Ambros. Women in Japanese religions. NY: New York University Press, 2015.
- Roy C. Amore et al. World religions: Eastern traditions, 5th edn. NY: Oxford University Press, 2019.
- Roger J. Davies. Japanese culture: the religious and philosophical foundations. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2016.
- Ugo Dessì. Japanese religions and globalization. Abingdon: Routledge, 2013.
- Lucia Dolce, ed. Japanese religions. 4 vols. London: SAGE, 2012.
- Robert S. Ellwood & Richard B. Pilgrim. Japanese religion: a cultural perspective. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016.
- Joshua Frydman. The Japanese myths: a guide to gods, heroes and spirits. London: Thames & Hudson, 2022.
- James W. Heisig et al., eds. Japanese philosophy: a sourcebook. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2011.
- Joseph Kitagawa. On understanding Japanese religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
- Takashi Miura. Agents of world renewal: the rise of yonaoshi gods in Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2019.
- Mark Mullins. Yasukuni fundamentalism: Japanese religions and the politics of restoration. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2022.
- Hirochika Nakamaki. Japanese religions at home and abroad: Anthropological perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor & Francis, 2012.
- Ronan Alves Pereira & Hideaki Matsuoka, eds. Japanese religions in and beyond the Japanese diaspora. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California, 2007.
- Inken Prohl & John K. Nelson, eds. Handbook of contemporary Japanese religions. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
- Rein Raud. Asian worldviews: religions, philosophies, political theories. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
- Ian Reader, Esben Andreasen, & Finn Stefánsson. Japanese religions: past and present. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1993.
- Wendy Smith et al., eds. Globalizing Asian religions: management and marketing. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019.
- Paul L. Swanson & Clark Chilson, eds. Nanzan guide to Japanese religions. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006.
- Michiko Yusa. Japanese religions. London: Routledge, 2002.
External links
- International Religious Freedom Report 2015: Japan, most recent International Religious Freedom Report by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
- Fitzgerald, Tim (2003-07-10). "Religion and the Secular in Japan: Problems in History, Social Anthropology and the Study of Religion". Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies.
- Kavanagh, Christopher M. and Jong, Jonathan (2020). Is Japan Religious? 14(1), DOI 10.1558/jsrnc.39187, pp. 152–180, https://journals.equinoxpub.com/OLDJSRNC/article/view/39187
- LeFebvre, J. (2015). Christian wedding ceremonies: “Nonreligiousness” in contemporary Japan. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 42(2), 185–203. http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4454
- LeFebvre, J. (2021). The Oppressor's Dilemma: How Japanese State Policy toward Religion Paved the Way for Christian Weddings. Journal of Religion in Japan. https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/aop/article-1163-22118349-20210001/article-1163-22118349-20210001.xml