Shinto Current Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shinto Current Issues - Essay Example In this respect, religions of the Oriental world appear to be extremely interesting for research and deductive in their heart from the perspective of their main principle of leading a spiritual life in harmony with inner and outer world. One of such confessions or rather to say ways of life is the Shinto religion. So, lets consider common characteristics of Shintoism and Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism in general and a specific contemporary state of Shintoism in particular. â€Å"Today, if you ask what religion they follow, most Japanese would say that they do not follow any religion† (Miyamoto, 2011).The same image appears in other countries of the Oriental world, for its peoples really don’t confess any religion but abide this or that living philosophy. One way or another, there is nothing surprising in the fact that all nations of the same semantically unionized area share some common traits in their believes. As it has been mentioned above, Shintoism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism advocate the same key principle of a balanced life within nature and the world. It refers to a grateful and favorable attitude towards everything of animated and inanimate nature, as any creature comes laden with a particular meaning for the world (everything has its sole). Moreover, a destiny of stones, trees, animals, humans is defined by their positively or negatively lived being, which is led by a particular way of thinking. As a r esult, souls are degenerated influenced by deeds and their effects while living. Hence, there is another common characteristic, that is, a belief in circulation of life and death, reincarnation of soul into bodies of inanimate subjects, animals, humans and gods (Bumb, 2010). Polytheism is the next common denominator of the Oriental religions, since there are numerous gods, the great people and