Shinto resurgence among young Japanese?

[Russell]

shinto is inseparably bound up with Tennou(emperor) system. you guys do need to study it bitch
it still invisibly binds j-society on the root.
j-totalitarianism, j-irresponsivility, j-antiforeignism.....
it all ends up to tennou system if you dig it up to the bottom.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A ... 4622083477
this book is a bible to understnd tennou system

it has no english version. just read it by japanese. here is japan.

Actually, there is certainly a connection between Shintoism and the emperor, and some Japanese also regard Shintoism related to the totalitarianism before and during WW2.

[Russell]

... Not necessarily. Belief in things like an afterlife or a creator in and of themselves aren't what I would classify as superstition. Depending on how you see those beliefs affecting your daily life they might be though.

There not being one iota of evidence for an afterlife or a creator, IMO belief in them is belief in superstition. I do believe in some things for which I have no evidence - but where I believe others have that evidence. Not so with afterlife, creators, Bigfoot, fairies, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, etc. That said, I have no problem with people believing in any, or all of these.

Most people I know visit the shrines as a part of their life rituals – like gargling, sending gifts, saying good morning, doing year-end house cleaning, etc. Very light hearted and without seriousness beyond being seen to be following the prescribed cultural ritual.

I still don't understand why my Missus gets mad at me when I say loudly in Japanese that I am an atheist when visiting a shrine. She seems to be afraid that I offend people. If Shintoism were not a religion, then she would not worry about that, methinks...

[Salty]

... Not necessarily. Belief in things like an afterlife or a creator in and of themselves aren't what I would classify as superstition. Depending on how you see those beliefs affecting your daily life they might be though.

There not being one iota of evidence for an afterlife or a creator, IMO belief in them is belief in superstition. I do believe in some things for which I have no evidence - but where I believe others have that evidence. Not so with afterlife, creators, Bigfoot, fairies, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, etc. That said, I have no problem with people believing in any, or all of these.

Most people I know visit the shrines as a part of their life rituals – like gargling, sending gifts, saying good morning, doing year-end house cleaning, etc. Very light hearted and without seriousness beyond being seen to be following the prescribed cultural ritual.

I still don't understand why my Missus gets mad at me when I say loudly in Japanese that I am an atheist when visiting a shrine. She seems to be afraid that I offend people. If Shintoism were not a religion, then she would not worry about that, methinks...

I suspect it is simply that one does not speak loudly at a shrine, or anywhere else for that matter. But I do agree that Shintoism is a religion for some, but is just a light hearted thing to do for most.

[Russell]

... Not necessarily. Belief in things like an afterlife or a creator in and of themselves aren't what I would classify as superstition. Depending on how you see those beliefs affecting your daily life they might be though.

There not being one iota of evidence for an afterlife or a creator, IMO belief in them is belief in superstition. I do believe in some things for which I have no evidence - but where I believe others have that evidence. Not so with afterlife, creators, Bigfoot, fairies, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, etc. That said, I have no problem with people believing in any, or all of these.

Most people I know visit the shrines as a part of their life rituals – like gargling, sending gifts, saying good morning, doing year-end house cleaning, etc. Very light hearted and without seriousness beyond being seen to be following the prescribed cultural ritual.

I still don't understand why my Missus gets mad at me when I say loudly in Japanese that I am an atheist when visiting a shrine. She seems to be afraid that I offend people. If Shintoism were not a religion, then she would not worry about that, methinks...

I suspect it is simply that one does not speak loudly at a shrine, or anywhere else for that matter.

Nope, that isn't it.

[kurogane]

Yeah, it's just fusawashikunai (inappropriate) given the context. I get in loads of trouble for that sort of stuff, or for ringing the bell so loud it wakes the ancestors in the next prefecture.

Anyways, the disputed religiosity of the Japanese comes down to the lesser penetration of secularism in daily life and modern society: religious ritual remains so deeply intertwined with normal life that it is not opposed to daily life or modernity and the secular as it is in The West, plus the use of the word Shukyo for religion triggers a reaction against identification with non-Japanese belief systems such as Judeo-Christian ones. Buddhism and Shinto are expressly excepted from and opposed to Shukyo in normal Japanese discourse and dialogue, and if these pollsters would get their heads out of their asses and put in some real work they would likely get quite different results (they regularly use the terms Shukyo and Mukyo, even though they should know better by now). In addition, Japanese are not exegetically inclined on matters of personal belief and spiritual orientation, hence the mistaken assertion that shrine visits and such do not constitute religious activity as such, which they do. More Japanese are considerably more religious than, say, most Canadians are, they simply don't talk about it the way many Christians might.

Anyways, I thought that a rather well written article, esp. for Yahoo News, but am I alone in thinking that SJ's title was rather tangential to the main thrust of the article (J'Accuse!!!!!! ), namely that religious activity remains common in Japan? I would suggest this is simply a cyclical affair: people about that age often take to new or renewed interest in old activities and practices, and the media occasionally notices the same and frames it as a significant tidal change when it is more likely just the same old ebb and flow.

[Coligny]

... Not necessarily. Belief in things like an afterlife or a creator in and of themselves aren't what I would classify as superstition. Depending on how you see those beliefs affecting your daily life they might be though.

There not being one iota of evidence for an afterlife or a creator, IMO belief in them is belief in superstition. I do believe in some things for which I have no evidence - but where I believe others have that evidence. Not so with afterlife, creators, Bigfoot, fairies, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, etc. That said, I have no problem with people believing in any, or all of these.

Most people I know visit the shrines as a part of their life rituals – like gargling, sending gifts, saying good morning, doing year-end house cleaning, etc. Very light hearted and without seriousness beyond being seen to be following the prescribed cultural ritual.

I still don't understand why my Missus gets mad at me when I say loudly in Japanese that I am an atheist when visiting a shrine. She seems to be afraid that I offend people. If Shintoism were not a religion, then she would not worry about that, methinks...

I suspect it is simply that one does not speak loudly at a shrine, or anywhere else for that matter.

Nope, that isn't it.

Might be for the same reason people look embarassed when their pup make noise if they bring it along for new years rituals. She brought her gaijin to the temple and he's so badly trained that he can't behave, should have left it at home, in the car or at a kennel.
I often feel like this when i'm only with me bitch and her full-o-shit grandmother's upbringing surface. Never when Mom&Dad are with us...

(We share in common having been raised by batshit insane grand'mas that should have been shot in the head before turning 50.)

[Samurai_Jerk]

Anyways, I thought that a rather well written article, esp. for Yahoo News, but am I alone in thinking that SJ's title was rather tangential to the main thrust of the article (J'Accuse!!!!!! ), namely that religious activity remains common in Japan?

It's called clickbait. It was also keeping in spirit with the clickbait title Yahoo used on their top page to get me but when I read the article I had the same reaction you did to my title.

[Salty]

more and more Japanese

uptick in the number of young

growing number of young

Phrases from the article that suggest an increase in religiosity, but nothing quantitative. Pure speculation, personal opinion, or anecdotal evidence. My take on it is that this is simply a period piece – the author had some time on his hands, and maybe access to travel funds.

Not to say that everything in the article is wrong. For someone who doesn`t live here, it might be somewhat enlightening.

[kurogane]

It's called clickbait.

It never occurred to me that it hadn't occurred to you what you were causing to occur

Anyways, as I said, a nice article. I thought it brought out quite well the old rigamarole we have been discussing about religiosity and belief and the old praxis vs consciousness dichotomy or dilemma. Especially for a sterling news site like Subliterate Central, aka Yahoo News (LOLzzzz! OMGgggggggggg!!!!!!!). That boy deserved his fellowship, ferschur. And he published under it

Anyways, Japan is way more religious than any other OECD country. DIBSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[wagyl]

It's called clickbait.

It never occurred to me that it hadn't occurred to you what you were causing to occur

You won't believe that I didn't fail to believe what you didn't want me to believe!

[kurogane]

OOoooh, self-referential clickbait!!!!!! A veritable circle jerk of intertexuality

You win.

Japan is way more religious than any other OECD country.

Discuss.

[Coligny]

Japan is way more religious than any other OECD country.

Discuss.

No, laughing should be enough...

[Buraku]

Students preparing for entrance exams take part in Shinto shrine ritual
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231018_12/

Unification minister says NK leader's daughter could be successor
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231027000644

Monk arrested after high school girl stabbed in neck in Ibaraki Prefecture
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/M ... Prefecture

In secular Japan, what draws so many to temples and shrines? Stamp collecting and tradition
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20 ... na/057000c