Themes Of Japanese Religion

3 Pages 818 Words

Japanese Religious History

1: Earhart’s six themes attempt to explain the established Japanese world view, which is a perception of the world gathered through experience and memory of experience. In Japan, being religious is being Japanese, and Earhart’s themes are an understanding of the religious dimensions of the Japanese people’s cultural identity.
The closeness of human beings, Gods, and nature is the thickest thread in Japan’s religious tapestry. Perhaps it is because of the awe-inspiring landscape of the island nation and its early dependency on the land through fishing and agriculture that brought the Japanese people to a harmonious state with nature and the Gods. However deplorable comparisons may be, they do serve a purpose in experiential understanding through comparison to personal knowledge. In a sense, the inclusive idea of kami is similar to some Native American tribes’ relationships with the land and the inherent sacredness they realized through their understanding and dependency in their traditional physical connection to the land. The unity between people, nature, and the divine is a prominent theme of Japanese religion.
The religious character of the family is also an important theme, considering the home is the center of religious devotion, and the family is the most important social and religious institution. The family connection is significant for maintaining the practice of rituals honoring ancestral spirits and providing solidity for religious activity. If religious devotion is dependent on the family unit, then the religious character of the family is a necessary theme to provide a world view. Moreover, the family is typically the center of social unity in most cultures, especially in regards to religious devotion and worship, so their influence and involvement in the themes to understand religion in Japan is obvious.
The significance of purification, rituals, and charms and local fe...