"Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion."
A Shinto-based religious education system where students learn about Shintoism, its history, and beliefs.
Origins of Shinto: A brief history of the origins of Shinto and the development of its religious practices over time.
Shinto Cosmology and Deities: A discussion of the structure of the Shinto cosmology, including key deities and spirits.
Shinto Festivals and Celebrations: An overview of the major festivals and celebrations in the Shinto calendar, including their significance and how they are celebrated.
Shinto Shrines: A description of the role of Shinto shrines in religious practice, including their design and construction, and how they are used in worship.
Shinto Rituals and Practices: A discussion of the key rituals and practices associated with Shinto, such as purification, prayer, and meditation.
Shinto Ethics and Values: An exploration of the ethical and moral principles that underlie Shinto religious education, including concepts like harmony and respect for nature.
Shinto and Society: A discussion of the role of Shinto in Japanese society, including how it has influenced politics, culture, and social norms.
Shinto and Buddhism: An exploration of the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, including how they have intersected and how they differ in terms of philosophy and religious practice.
Shinto and Modernity: A consideration of the challenges and opportunities facing Shinto in contemporary Japan, including how it is adapting to modernity and globalization.
Shinto in Comparative Perspective: An examination of Shinto in comparative perspective, looking at how it compares to other religions and spiritual traditions around the world.
Jinja-Hakubutsukan Education: It's a type of education that teaches the students about the history and culture of ancient Shinto shrines.
Shinto Studies: It teaches about the core beliefs and principles of Shinto, festivals, and rituals, and its historical evolution.
Shinto Eductation for Priests (Kannushi): It's a specific form of education that trains and prepares students for priest roles in Shinto shrines.
Shinto Folklore Education: It teaches about the traditions, myths, legends, and supernatural deities of Shinto Folklore.
Shinto Ethics Education: It inculcates values of respect, harmony, gratitude, and reverence towards nature and deities among the youth.
Shinto Festival Education: It teaches the significance and rituals of Shinto festivals such as Shogatsu, O-bon, Hatsumode, and others.
Shinto Art and Craft Education: It teaches artistic expression methods and techniques typical of Shinto Culture, such as calligraphy, pottery, and painting.
Shinto Music Education: It emphasizes the importance of music and dance performances in Shinto rites and ceremonies.
Shinto Martial Arts Education: It emphasizes the importance of strength, discipline, and spiritual awareness in the practice of martial arts in the Shinto tradition.
Shinto Philosophy Education: It delves deep into the spiritual and philosophical aspects of Shinto beliefs, values, and traditions.
"Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves."
"There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners."
"Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami."
"The kami are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations."
"The kami are worshipped at kamidana household shrines, family shrines, and jinja public shrines."
"The latter are staffed by priests, known as kannushi, who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific kami enshrined at that location."
"This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami and to solicit the latter's blessing."
"Other common rituals include the kagura dances, rites of passage, and seasonal festivals."
"Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the religion's adherents."
"Shinto places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship."
"Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami."
"The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine, and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms."
"Although historians debate at what point it is suitable to refer to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to 300 CE)."
"Religious syncretization made kami worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called shinbutsu-shūgō."
"The earliest written tradition regarding kami worship was recorded in the 8th-century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki."
"During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion."
"Shinto is primarily found in Japan, where there are around 100,000 public shrines."
"Numerically, it is Japan's largest religion, the second being Buddhism."
"Most of the country's population takes part in both Shinto and Buddhist activities, especially festivals, reflecting a common view in Japanese culture that the beliefs and practices of different religions need not be exclusive."