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Shinto
Current Status as a world
religion
Shinto
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Shinto is an ancient, polytheistic Japanese
religion.
The name Shinto comes from the Chinese
word “shen” meaning divine and “tao”
meaning way.
Shinto followers believe in many deities called
kami.
Shinto has religious leaders called shamans
who ensure rituals are carried out correctly
Shinto followers try to be of service(matsumi)
to the kami
Shinto teaches animism-that kind, intelligent
spirits dwell in all living things.
World Religions
 There
are many long-established world
religions with a huge number of followers
belonging to each one.
 The five major world religions are
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam
and Judaism.
 Shintoism is considered a world religion
although not one of the five major world
religions
Shinto as a World Religion
 Shinto
used to be the national religion of
Japan but was replaced by Buddhism as
the dominant religion.
 Shinto is now practised by many
Japanese as a folk religion, often
alongside Buddhism.
 It is now often seen as more part of the
cultural identity of Japan than a major
religion.
Shinto as a World Religion
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Shinto became the state religion of Japan
once again in 1868 in an attempt to remove
Buddhist influences from Shinto but Shinto lost
its status as the state religion of Japan in 1945.
State Shinto was used to promote Japanese
superiority.
Shinto is different from the major world
religions in that it has no single founder and
no sacred text.
There are many different forms of Shinto.
Shinto as a World Religion
 Shinto
(alongside Buddhism) remains
Japan’s major religion.
 There are around 2.9 million Shinto
followers today.
 Many Japanese have Shinto shrines in
their homes.
 Shinto involves many rituals, many of
which focus on purification.