Current issues paper and class handout University of Phoenix REL/133 David Bolton 3/17/2015

Shintoism is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion but over the years that has changed due to many other religions that have moved in. Shinto as a religion is different and more unique than other religions and even though it has fallen from the time of when it was popular it is still being practice. Unlike many religions women have always been a part of Shinto and although it has its ups and down women still practice it with no discrimination.
Now this may not answer the question at hand but please allow me to explain why Shinto does not have a lot or any at all common characteristic to other religions. Because Shinto is more than so different than other religions. Because at the heart of Shinto it is more focused on ritual rather than belief. Like other religions there are several things that Shinto does not have like they have no founder, no written documents before the 8th century CE, no list of formalized ethics, no system of dogmatic beliefs or creeds, no inclusive, canonical scripture, and no organized system of theology. The goal of Shinto is to obtain happiness and fulfillment in this life. Shinto considers the best way to do this is by having respect for family, respect for nature, keeping clean in mind and body, and celebrating the harmony between nature and humanity through the Kami. Shinto unlike other religions does not put their focus on the afterlife but more so in the present. When someone practices Shinto they are choosing to live a life not because it will earn you eternal peace in the afterlife but because it is the right way to live it.
Shinto currently faces many problems from a religious perspective, the fast growing of other religions especially the monotheistic Christianity and Islam has dented the position of Shinto in Japanese culture. The two religions find Shinto as a pagan practice due to its lack of belief in a common and Supreme Being; God/ Allah (Robbins, 2004). To control the Christianity that was multiplying fast in Japan, and which was making individuals to be more loyal to religion than to the state, Japanese were ordered to be Buddhists, just to crash the growing Christianity. Even though the practice ended, to date every Japanese household has a particular amount of allegiance to Buddhism especially where particular family members were buried. This was during the Tokugawa regime (between 1600 and 1868) when every household was supposed to be affiliated with a certain Buddhist temple. Shinto’s here were forced to be off from their religion (Oxtoby, 1996). The Meiji Government has aided Shinto become a recognizable religion in the world when they were coming into power However, economic advancements which have resulted in the desire for a change in lifestyles have forced the Japanese to be more sensitive to economic needs than to cultural and religious affiliations which has affected allegiance to the Shinto religion. The fact that the world has become more of a global village has made the Japanese want to travel to new places where the Shinto religion is quite alien. This has been a problem especially for the Shinto Japanese in places like Europe and the US. (Lucas, & Robbins 2004). This however hasn’t hindered them from practicing their religion since they get replicas of their Shinto shrines wherever they go. They also send their children back in Japan to learn more of the same religion, understands the practices better and learn their family affiliation to their Shinto ways and shrines.
Until the Meiji Restoration of 1867, women held an important place in Shinto. From then until the end of WWII the Western idea of "men were better" was implemented by the government and women were no longer allowed to be priests. This was relaxed towards the end of WWII because there weren't enough men left. After WWII, women have been slowly making a comeback. There are women priests again now in most, if not all, major shrines and the main priest of the Ise Jingu is traditionally always a woman. There is nothing in Shinto that limits women's rights, and throughout most of history women and men have been equal as far as Shinto was concerned. In pre-historic Shinto it appears that women were superior to men in ritual matters.
Shinto is very different from other religions and I find it good that it focuses on the fact that life should be lived like this because it is truly a peaceful way to go about it. Unlike many of the religions in the past Shinto is the one that had no discrimination against women practicing it and there was no consequence for a women to do this. They were free to practice the same way men also practices this.

References
D, J. (2011). Pat Ormsby, Shinto priest. Retrieved from http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/2011/09/26/pat-ormsby-shinto-priest/
Encyclopedia of Shinto. (2002-2006). Retrieved from http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/
Karan, P. P. (2005). Japan in the 21st century: Environment, economy, and society.. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
Lucas, P., & Robbins, T. (2004). New Religious Movements in the 21st Century Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global.. London: Routledge. Oxtoby, W. G. (1996). World religions: Eastern traditions. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Robbins, T. (2004). New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
University of Phoenix. (2012). Experiencing the World’s Religions, Ch. 7. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, REL/133 website.