Japanese Still Godless Pagans
- Filed under: Japan, News
- Date: May 30, 2008 09:05 JST
- Tags: Japan, Mass Media, Religion, Statistics
According to a Yomiuri survey, 72% of Japanese profess no belief in religion of any sort. Of course, as you might expect from these kinds of statistics, things are a little more nuanced than at first they seem, though the general ambivalence of the Japanese to religion does not appear to be in doubt.
Only 45% of respondents thought Japanese to be impious, 56% percent though there was some power in nature transcending that of man, and most interestingly 94% said they honoured the ancestors. A mere 30% believed in reincarnation, and a further 24% in an afterlife, though only 18% accepted annihilation as their fate upon death.
So it would appear that whilst organised religions and religious thought are not popular in Japan, superstitions of the more disorganised and general kind remain as popular as anywhere. Not enough miko to keep people visiting the shrines? Via Itainews.
Very good news. I’m glad that Christian and Islamic god-mongers haven’t tainted their minds much (yet).
Part of the reason is that Buddhism is more of an “atheistic ethical system” than a religion, something I learned from my anthropology class.
This is a very nice picture. Where can I find a hi-res version for wallpaper? Thanks.
I think that’s the original resolution…