Japan Religion
Japan Religion: what religions are practiced in Japan and how are they practiced?
The two most popular religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. There are other religions followed by a smaller proportion of the population including Christianity.
It is estimated that around 2,000 people in Japan practice Judaism.
Small minorities of people follow Islam, Sikhism and the native religion of Okinawa, Ryukyuan.
Japanese will often state they are not religious but nevertheless be married by a Shinto priest and be cremated before a Buddhist monk.
What Are The Beliefs Of Japanese Buddhism? Japanese Buddhism is but one branch of a world-wide movement that originates from Asia. In plain words, the history, beliefs, and symbols of
Japanese TemplesSome of my favorite symbols of Japanese religion are the temples. Japanese temples are historic, artistic, and worth spending time seeing, but which temples and shrines to see in Japan, there are so many?
Saijoji: the famous temple near my homeThe famous temple just up the hill from our home exudes this dichotomy by having temples dedicated to both Shintoism and Buddhism. My own father-in-law carved and hammered the intricate roof work decorations on many of these temples in Minamiashigara City.Shinto Shrine Visits Many important events in the religious life of Japanese take place at
Shinto shrines.
Wikipedia offers more information on
religion in Japan.
From Japan Religion to Japan Living (home)
Christianity in JapanI have met many Christians over the years in Japan--Japanese as well as non-Japanese Christians. They are often quite devout to their particular demonomination of Christianity. If indeed they do not attend church regularly, they at least (seem to me) to be strong believers in their religion.One Japan religion that has strong believers and an interesting and heroic history is the Catholic religion. Those interested in knowing more about the Catholic Religion will be happy to find St. Anne's Helper. Not only do they describe what Catholics believe, they have Catholic Audio Books and Catholic Ebooks. This is a giant help to those who teach English in Japan since the text and the audio are available on the same Downloads, verbatim; and the pronunciation is clear and crisp for your students to imitate.
The Wedding Celebrants of JapanOne aspect of Japan religion that is discussed is the fact that the Japanese love to imitate and it doesn`t really matter if the trappings are real of not, just the pomp of the ceremony is what matters. Japanese are master imitators, they have historically taken the best the West has to offer and improved upon it, they imitate European cars (that is not a BMW it is a Toyota), and they imitate Western ceremonies.Why become a full-blooded Christian they seem to think, we`ll just have a Christian style wedding! Are you interested in working part-time as a wedding celebrant? Most Japanese are not Christian, and those that are not, often want to have a "Christian style" wedding. My wife and Ihad one in Oiso conducted by an Irish Catholic priest. He wasvery willing to conduct our non-Christian wedding ceremony in his church. This is not a criticism, this is just a fact. I was open about the fact that I was an athiest at that time. My wife had studied about Christianity but if anything she is more a a Shintoist (Japan`s native) religion. What is it like to be a
wedding celebrant in Japan?
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