Religion of Shinto

Shinto is an indigenous religion of Japan that is defined as a type of theology that focuses on ritual practices that establishes a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto was first used in the 6th century A.D., although the roots of this religion can be traced back to 6th century B.C. 

The religion of Shinto has no founder, no sacred books and no formalized doctrine. Shinto practices are not exactly considered a 'unified religion', but more of native and mythological beliefs. While this theology as first instituted around the 6th century B.C., Shinto practices were first recorded in the 8th century A.D. and are known as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. 

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.

Various practices of Shinto is as follows:

• Omari - Anyone may visit a shrine. Typically there are a few basic steps to visiting a shrine. 

• Harae - The rite of ritual purification [usually done daily at a shrine] is a ceremony of offerings and prayers of several forms

• Misogi - The practice of purification by ritual use of water while reciting prayers is typically done daily by regular practitioners, and when possible by lay practitioners.

• Imi - Another form of ritual cleanliness is avoidance, which means that a taboo is placed upon certain persons or acts.

• Ema - Are small wooden plaques that wishes or desires are written upon and left at a place in the shrine grounds so that one may get a wish or desire fulfilled. 

• Ofuda - Are talismans—made of paper, wood, or metal—that are issued at shrines. They are inscribed with the names of kamis and are used for protection in the home

• Omamori - Are personal-protection amulets sold by the shrines. They are frequently used to ward off bad luck and to gain better health.

• Omikuji - Are paper lots upon which personal fortunes are written.

• Daruma - Is a round, paper doll of the Indian monk, Bodhidharma. The recipient makes a wish and paints one eye; when the goal is accomplished, the recipient paints the other eye. 

• Dorei - Are earthenware bells that are used to pray for good fortune. 

For more information on Shinto practices and rituals, please visit: Shinto Practices

Kagura traditional dance,
Katori Jingu, Katori City

Kagura is the ancient Shinto ritual dance of shamanic origin. The word "kagura" is thought to be a contracted form of kami no kura or "seat of the kami" or the "site where the kami is received." In Japanese collections, Ame-no-uzeme’s dance is described as asobi, which in old Japanese language means a "ceremony that is designed to appease the spirits of the departed", and which was conducted at funeral ceremonies. 

There is no sacred text in Shinto, as the Bible in Christianity, the Tanakh in Judaism or the Qur'an in Islam. Instead there are book collections of folklore and history which provide a background to various Shinto beliefs. All written compilations are based on ancient oral traditions:

• The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) The foundation to written Shinto history.

• The Shoku Nihongi and its Nihon Shoki (Continuing Chronicles of Japan)

• The Rikkokushi (Six National Histories) which includes the Shoku Nihongi and Nihon Shoki

• The Jinnō Shōtōki (a study of Shinto and Japanese politics and history) written in the 14th century

It is interesting to note the syncretism with Buddhism.  When Buddhism was introduced in the 6th century and adopted by the Court soon after, it was necessary to explain the apparent differences between native Japanese beliefs and the teachings of Buddha. 

One Buddhist explanation saw the kami as supernatural beings still caught in the cycle of birth and rebirth (also known as reincarnation). The kami are born, live, die, and are reborn like all other beings in the karmic cycle. However, the kami played a special role in protecting the fundamental teachings of Buddha and allowing Buddhism to flourish.

This explanation was later challenged by Kūkai (774–835), who saw the kami as different embodiments of the Buddhas themselves (honji suijaku theory). For example, he linked Amaterasu (the sun goddess and ancestor of the Imperial family) with Dainichi Nyorai, a central manifestation of the Buddhists, whose name means literally "Great Sun Buddha". In his view, the kami were just Buddhas by another name.

Fushimi Inari—Main Gate,
one of the oldest shrines in Japan

Present-day Shinto is a term that applies to the religiosity of public shrines which are devoted to the worship of the kami (or multiple gods), suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. 

Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these followers identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys. 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 an institutional "Shinto" religion, 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. The estimated number of people practicing Shinto worldwide is 2.7 million.

Shinto has 100,000 shrines and 78,890 priests in the country. 

According to Inoue (2003):

"In modern scholarship, the term is often used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals and practices. In these contexts, "Shinto" takes on the meaning of "Japan’s traditional religion", as opposed to foreign religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism."

There’s No Such Thing as ‘Radical Islam’

The following article was written by Dean Obeidallah, a journalist and contributor to the The Daily Beast.

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There’s No Such Thing as ‘Radical Islam.’ There Are Only Terrorists Who Are Muslim 

Dean Obeidallah

02.06.15  5:45 AM  ET

ISIS is about as Islamic as the KKK is Christian. They just use religion. Their real agenda is political. Get with it.

How many Muslims does ISIS have to slaughter before people will stop calling the group “Islamic” anything? Seriously, can someone please tell me the number of innocent Muslim men, women, and children who have to die at the hands of ISIS before people will realize that ISIS is truly unIslamic and arguably anti-Islamic?

On Tuesday, we saw more of ISIS’s barbaric brutality on display with the release of the video depicting its killing of Jordanian Muslim fighter pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh. He was flying sorties as part of the U.S.-organized coalition to destroy ISIS.

The way he was killed sets a new low in depravity. ISIS militants first chained Kasasbeh in a cage and then poured flammable fluids into his cell. With Kasasbeh watching, an ISIS militant lit the fluid on fire. Then while Kasasbeh was burning to death, they dropped debris on him, like brick masonry. Finally they drove a bulldozer over him several times.

What makes the killing of this man so noteworthy is not just the viciousness of his execution, but that it actually received national U.S. media coverage. We rarely see our media cover the Muslims killed by ISIS or al Qaeda. I often wonder, is it because some in the media feel that Muslims lives don’t matter? Or is it because they sense that collectively, most (though not all) Americans could care less about it when non-Americans are killed, so that translates into low ratings for these types of stories?

To be honest, how many have heard about the details of ISIS slaughtering of Muslims? In 2014 in Iraq alone, can you guess how many Muslims civilians—not fighters, civilians—ISIS killed? At least 4,325. ISIS is murdering an average 12 Muslim civilian men, women, and children every single day.

And these killings are not “collateral damage” deaths. Per a United Nations report released last September, ISIS targeted Muslims, both Sunnis and Shias, who refused to submit to it. We are talking a Sunni leader from the Salah ad Din province of Iraq beheaded (PDF) in August for refusing to swear allegiance to ISIS. Do you recall U.S. media wall-to-wall coverage of that beheading, like when Westerners were beheaded?

Three Sunni nurses were executed in Mosul for refusing to treat ISIS fighters. A Sunni imam in eastern Baquba was killed for simply denouncing ISIS.

And in neighboring Syria, per the London-based Syrian Human Rights Committee, in December 2014 alone, ISIS killed at least 49 civilians, executing almost all in front of their families.

Look, there’s no such thing as “radical Islam.” There is only one Islam. But there are radical Muslims. And there are Muslims who engage in terrorist acts. They are called terrorists.

Why do these facts matter? Because I think it makes it clear to any reasonable person that ISIS is not about the tenets of Islam. Their religion is power.

Those aren’t just my words. In September, more than 120 Islamic scholars and clerics wrote a letter to ISIS in both English and Arabic denouncing ISIS and its invoking of Islam to justify its horrific actions. They even explained in great detail how ISIS is violating the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, concluding that ISIS is truly unIslamic.

Yet these words don’t move many on the right in America, who continue to argue in essence: If a Muslim yells “Allahu Akbar” after committing any action, that absolutely means that their conduct is based on the faith. That is beyond simplistic—it’s idiotic.

And nearly as ludicrous is the claim by people like Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who stated on Fox News on Sunday that we need to call it “radical Islam” because we “have to define our enemy.”

Look, there’s no such thing as “radical Islam.” There is only one Islam. But there are radical Muslims. And there are Muslims who engage in terrorist acts. They are called terrorists. That is the proper way to describe them.

That is exactly what White House Press secretary Josh Earnest stated a few weeks ago when refusing to use the term “radical Islam” to describe al Qaeda or ISIS. As Earnest noted, it’s about “accuracy,” noting correctly that “these terrorists are individuals who would like to cloak themselves in the veil of a particular religion.”

Just read the ISIS magazine and you will see how they desperately seek to frame its battle with the United States as an “American crusade against Islam.” (PDF) That is why when Sen. Lindsey Graham recently called the fight with al Qaeda a “religious war,” I can only imagine these terrorists were high-fiving each other because he was parroting their words.

Using the word Islam in any way to describe ISIS or al Qaeda, or framing our fight as a religious war, is exactly what they want. It helps them recruit and raise funds. Let’s call ISIS—as well as al Qaeda—what they are. They are terrorists with a political agenda who are using the Islamic faith, not acting in accordance with it. That is our enemy. Now let’s defeat them.