SHINTO Introduction Good Afternoon, The religion of ancient origin which I've have chosen is Shinto. Shinto means ‘the way of the gods’ or also known as ‘the way of kami’. The religion Shinto is an indigenous faith meaning that is only native and deeply rooted in the Japanese people. The religion actually has no founder or has any scared texts or scriptures. Throughout this presentation we will be covering the origins of the universe, principal beliefs, supernatural powers and deities, rituals, influence on society and human search for meaning. Origins of the universe The people who follow the religion, Shinto believed that the universe was created by their “gods” for them. The origin of the universe does not have a specifically have …show more content…
Shinto beliefs are sculptured around the sensibilities that underline their entire approach to the world. The Shinto religion has four affirmations used to teach the right practices, attitudes and spirituality for their followers. The first affirmation is tradition and family which is one of their main mechanisms because it is how they preserve their traditions. The second affirmation is the love of nature. The love of nature is a sacred element in this belief. It is very sacred because the kami are believed to be related to all nature. The third affirmation is the physical cleanliness. The followers of Shinto must show a clean physical appearance. The fourth and last affirmation is the Matsuri. Matsuri are the festivals where Kami are worshipped and …show more content…
Kami are the central beliefs to Shintoism. Kami are the forces which occur in the world. The kami are represented through many different physical forces throughout the world such as: wind, fire, rain, plants, animals and many other aspects of the natural world. Since there are believed to be so many kami in the world, they have major and minor kami. the major kami are perceived as the more powerful and imprint sprits. Rituals In Shinto rituals are believed to be a part of on large public festival call a Matsui. Mature is one of the affirmations we talked about before, it is known as worshipping and celebrating Kami. There are hundreds and thousands of festivals which then fill up their calendar throughout the year. These festivals are community-oriented and represent certain things. These can include seasons in nature, the New Year, Japanese history, agricultural traditions and more. Some of their rituals are more specialised events that happen at certain shrines or scared sites. The rituals are usually performed by male priests who may also be assisted by female shrine functionary, they are known as