culture

Religion

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In Japan, freedom of religion is guaranteed to all under the Constitution, Article 20 of which states that "No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority. No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, rite or practice. The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity."

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The predominant religion in Japan today is Buddhism, which had a following of 90 million as of the end of 1994. Christianity is also a major practiced religion with 1.5 million Christians in Japan as of the end of 1994. There are also an estimated 100,000 Muslims, including non-Japanese temporarily residing in the country.

Although not a predominate religion Japan's original religion is Shinto, which has its roots in the animistic beliefs of the ancient Japanese. Shinto developed into a community religion with local shrines for household and local guardian gods. People deified heroes and outstanding leaders of their community for generations and worshipped the souls of their family ancestors. Shinto exists side by side with and sometimes overlaps in the popular mind with Buddhism. Many Japanese today go through Shinto rites when they marry and Buddhist funeral rites when they die.

History

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Buddhism was introduced to Japan from India by China and Korea around the middle of the sixth century (officially in A.D. 538), and the Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier brought Christianity into Japan in 1549. Christianity spread rapidly in the second half of the century, an age of internal strife and commotion, being welcomed by those who needed a new spiritual symbol as well as by those who hoped to obtain trade benefits or new Western technology, especially firearms. Immediately after World War II several new religious movements gained momentum, some of them based on Shinto, some related to certain sects of Buddhism, and others of mixed religious orientation.