Can
the sacred be found in nature? Does the Creator permeate the creation?
Recall
the most beautiful natural setting you’ve ever seen. Remember how you felt
when you were there? Would you say you felt close to God in those surroundings?
The
Shinto religion is based on a sense of sacredness in and of nature
originating in the natural beauty of Japan. It is religion of feeling and acting
(ceremonies, rites and rituals) more than of belief - thus it is sensory (in
touch with surrounding nature and ritual activity) and communal (rich in public
and national festivity and providing a sense of connection to a people)
The
name Shinto comes from two words: shen (chi, "spirit") + tao
(way). Thus Shinto means "The way of the gods" or "The Spirit
Way".
Shinto
is the ancient, indigenous religion of Japan - an ethnic religion, a
nationalistic and cultural religion. All Japanese are Shinto by virtue of
being Japanese. They may also be part of any other religion.
There
is no founder of this faith and it had no name until sixth cent. CE (it was
only given a name to distinguish it from Buddhism once the foreign religion
reached Japan's shore).
The
closest thing to scripture are mythological books of ancient Japanese
history: Kojiki is myths of gods and man, Nihongi is ancient history of
Japan - both texts were written down by early eighth century but passed down
orally before then.
Shinto
is, perhaps, the only indigenous "nature" religion to successfully
compete with the "classic" religions and develop into a
contemporary religion in its own right.
