WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -The main belief in Shinto is the worship of kami, which are spirits that inhabit the natural world. Kami is a difficult concept to explain. According to Shintoists, this is because human beings have no way of truly understanding the nature of kami.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shinto sees human beings as basically good and has no concept of original sin, or of humanity as ‘fallen’. Everything, including the spiritual, is experienced as part of this world. Shinto has no place for any transcendental other world. Shinto has no canonical scriptures.

Detailed explanation-3: -Shinto is involved in every aspect of Japanese culture: It touches ethics, politics, family life and social structures, artistic life (particularly drama and poetry) and sporting life (Sumo wrestling), as well as spiritual life.

Detailed explanation-4: -Shinto (literally “the way of the gods”) is Japan’s native belief system and predates historical records. The many practices, attitudes, and institutions that have developed to make up Shinto revolve around the Japanese land and seasons and their relation with the human inhabitants.