]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/d9dc6cdc-4e6f-47f0-a6d8-0583cf1dfae2/let-s-be-real.RSS for NodeFri, 01 May 2026 04:31:48 GMTTue, 14 Apr 2026 08:34:20 GMT60@georgia

A lot of people say "Japanese people don't have religion, they don't believe in god"

It's like, as a former shintoist, I feel the need to point out, that there's a misconception there... Kami are not "Gods" in the western sense. About 22 of them meet the definition out of 80,000 ish total. (they're actually kind of similar to Devas, to the point that there's a legend where a Kami kills Agni and that's why humans struggle to build fires easily). There's also the fact that "religion" has a negative connotation and refers to only foreign and new religions. Not to Buddhism, Shinto, Onmyoudo, or Shugendo. A very astounding number of Japanese pray at shrines, so saying they don't believe in anything is a hell of a stretch. But for ordinary practice of Japanese religions, there isn't really a mandate that you must do x y z, and I think that confuses unfamilliar people. They're superstitous and following a shamanic philosophical way of life, they're not exactly all atheists though. And of course there are exceptions.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brain.worm.pink/objects/0e2556a5-5364-4826-9413-e8da9b81c3achttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brain.worm.pink/objects/0e2556a5-5364-4826-9413-e8da9b81c3acTue, 14 Apr 2026 16:14:54 GMT