In 'non-religious' Japan, the shrine can still exert a pull
Japan is one of the world's least religious countries, according to a Gallup survey this year. Yet some observers have noted an uptick in the number of young people visiting religious sites at pivotal moments in their lives.
Visitors stand in line to pray at one of the many shines in Ise, Japan. The Grand Shrine, which isn't allowed to be photographed, is the most sacred place in Shinto. (Michael Holtz/The Christian Science Monitor)
By Michael Holtz, Staff writer
September 6, 2015
Ise, Japan — Yasunori Ueda may visit the Ise Grand Shrine every summer to pray to for his family and good health, but that doesn’t make him religious.
“Visiting a shrine to pray is different from being religious,” he says while walking along the gravel path that leads to the main shrine, the most sacred spot in all of Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion. “It has nothing to do with religion. Most Japanese, including me, don’t think about whether we’re religious or not.”
It’s a common refrain at Japan's more than 80,000 shrines and temples. Yet evidence of an instinctive spirituality that infuses daily life can be spotted across the country, from the small shrines tucked behind busy Tokyo streets to the sacred grounds that dot rural byways.
A survey published earlier this year by Gallup International and the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research found that Japan is among the world's least religious countries. Sixty-two percent of respondents identified themselves as either not religious or atheist, placing the country behind only China and Hong Kong in Asia.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0906/In-non-religious-Japan-the-shrine-can-still-exert-a-pull