Is the Japanese religion of Shinto, a sect of Buddhism, or a totally different religi

I thought it was ( that it was a type of Buddhism), but I have all these people in the history section telling me otherwise.
That is why I'm asking in the religion and spirituality section.

Buddhism is NOT a religion for there is no god in it!
It is a PHILOSOPHY of life!

It is different. It is a completely Japanese thing.

Shinto is, basically, a mythical history of the formation of the Japanese islands and it`s line of Emperors.

It has no connection to Buddhism.

(In Japan it is, again, basically, Shinto for nice things, like weddings, Buddhism for sad things, like funerals)

* Oh thumbs down ... Omoshiroi!

Basically Shintoism used to be an entirely different religion however when Buddhism entered Japan from India the two belief systems fused together...So today in Japan they are practiced concomitantly with each other....In the same manner that Buddhism fused with Confucianism when it entered China..Also ignore the guy who said Buddhism isn't a religion..these hippies don't know the first thing about Buddhism.

It's a totally separate religion than Buddhism.

In Japan, though, many people follow both Buddhism and Shinto, and much of Japanese Buddhism has adopted Shinto beliefs and practices.

They could hardly be more different,BTW Buddhism is a religion,one of many atheistic religions.

Shinto is the traditional Japanese religion and is separate from Buddhism.
Nothing says that you can not follow both religions together though, and many people do.
Shinto is the religion with spirits called Kami that live everywhere including inside rocks.

It's completely different. Shinto is rather non-intellectual and unstructured, more like a series of superstitions and legends than an organized religion in the way we in the West are accustomed to it. Buddhism, on the whole, is a formal philosophically-oriented religion which is in a sense a technique, successful or otherwise, for reaching enlightenment. However, many Japanese would accept both.

I'm sorry, but I'm not here to answer your question. Just to mention how Craig B. doesn't know what he's talking about.

Religion: set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of life.

Too bad Craig B, but the definition of Religion does not say anything about it needing to have a god.

Ok, this is how it works: there are native religions and there are non-native religions. A native religion is one that originated there. A non-native religion is one that came from someplace else. Buddhism is native to India, although it traveled to China and Korea and Japan. Shinto was a native religion to Japan. It involved worship ping deities or beings called Kami. Then Buddhism came to Japan later. Buddhism and Shinto have influenced each other though. Many times when Buddhism moves to a new country, the gods of the native religion will be adopted as part of Buddhism by the common people. I think there was some of that that went on. Plus, Buddhism was so radically intelligent and influential that it had a large influence on Shinto as well, making Shinto far more Buddhist. Plus, in these kinds of countries like China and Japan, religion is a cultural thing and there are several religions in the culture and have been for hundreds of years and so people will believe in multiple religions simultaneously so a person could be a Shinto practitioner and a Buddhist at the same time.

Buddhism is not interested in the worship of deities although it believes in heavenly beings. It is interested in working toward enlightenment. Enlightenment is the goal in Buddhism, not worship of beings. At least in Theravada Buddhism (original historically valid buddhism) this is the case. however, the buddhism which has largely taken hold in China and Japan is what is called Mahayana Buddhism which believes in a less human and more cosmic Buddha and other enlightened beings like him called Bodhisattvas. These beings are worshipped very much the way that gods in other religions are worshipped and often this tendency toward worship in Mahayana leads to the adoption of the gods of other religions like the Kami of Shinto for example. I hope that helps.

Shinto is a different religion and has been practiced in Japan for longer than Buddhism. (Saying that it's the "native" religion depends on whom you think the native Japanese are.) However, during the 6Th and 7Th centuries Chinese religions, such as Buddhism, were imported into Japan because the first rulers of Japan looked to China for their culture. (Culture includes writing, fashion, and religion). Before this Shinto never even had a name, it was just how you lived. The term Shinto was coined to distinguish it from the Chinese religions.

Because the rulers were enamored with Buddhism, the Shinto priests did a very clever thing. They made Shinto the guardian of Buddha. This meant that there was a Shinto shrine attached to every Buddhist temple. Although the Shinto priests and Buddhist priests mostly remained separate, it's unlikely that the general population differentiated between the two, and even the most Buddhist of rulers still honored the Kami. In addition it allowed Shinto to develop in a different way focusing on rituals and daily life rather than the metaphysical which was already taken care of by Buddhism.

The interaction between Shinto and Buddhism lasted until the Meiji Restoration of 1867 when the government forcibly separated the two (any religious cent re could be either Shinto or Buddhist but not both). This was done so that Shinto could be used to promote nationalism and modernize Japan. The Japanese government was embarrassed at how backwards the country was compared to the West and was also fearful of being just another colony of some Western power the way parts of China were. After WWII the separation was no longer required but most religious cent res are still either Buddhist or Shinto.

The difficulty here is the fact that (specifically with some Asian faiths) it's quite possible to practice two different religions at the same time.

I remember being taught that in the 70's in school, Shinto was definitely one of them.

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No, they are not the same. To put it simply, Shinto is a purely Japanese religion, playing a similar role to Hinduism in India (as in, it is the major religion for that country), and both of them are in some ways influenced by Buddhism, which is a religion started in India. Buddhism spread from India (where it had already influenced Hinduism in some ways) into Tibet (where it influenced Bonism) and China (where it influenced Shenism) and Korea and Mongolia (where it influenced the native Shamanism of these countries). Then it spread to Japan and influenced Buddhism, adding the concepts of Karma, Dharma and reincarnation to Japan and Shinto. Many Japanese followed Shinto and Buddhism at the same time, and most still do.

Shinto deals with life. It is about the worship of the Kami, who are best seen as 'gods' (and are seen as the divine spark in all things in the universe), and even some of the Oni (Raijin etc.) who are best seen as 'demons' who oppose the Kami. There are many traditions and festivals, most involving the worship of the gods, charms to avoid demons and evil, various shamanic traditions, and visiting shrines to worship nature. Basically, Shinto is just about nature worship, remaining clean, and living a good life (in this sense it is comparable to Hinduism in India which was just about worship of nature gods and living a good life prior to Buddhism).

When Buddhism arrived it brought the concept of doing good deeds to reincarnate into a higher form, eventually becoming a Kami, and reuniting with the source of the universe. Buddhism also deal ed with the soul, reincarnation, the afterlife, karma, this world being just an illusion, and the idea of devotion and avoiding things which bring about bad karma (this sort of fused with the idea of being 'unclean' in Shinto). So Buddhism deals with death and the afterlife, as well as the purpose of life. This is why Shinto deals with life, and Buddhism with death and afterlife, hence why Japanese follow both.

The confusion (of them being the same) may arise from the fact that many Japanese write 'Shinto-Buddhist' as their religion to show that they follow both.

Shinto, the word is a takeoff from the Chinese character (Shen), which means "Gods, Spiritual and spirits". To is same as the Chinese character (Tao); put together Shen Tao means- Path of Gods, Realm of Gods, or The Ways of Gods.

So Shen Tao is same as Shinto, and Shinto is just the off pronunciation of the Chinese characters.

The myth started with the worshiping of their God, the Creator of Japan Islands, who descend from Heaven and married a human woman and begotten some children, these children then became the ancestors of the Japanese Emperor clan. within this religion system, they also believe in Pan-spiritualism, where all things have spirits,,,, Later when Buddhism was introduce to Japan, they adopt some ideas of Buddhism and regard some Buddhist deities as greater spirits...

Buddhism on the other hand, is not just a philosophy, but actually the teachings of the Truth of the Universe:

1) It explains such things as how the Universe was formed.
2) The sentient beings of this Universe- how they derived and how they live.
3) It explains why you are born in a particular realm and environment.
4) It explains how Karma works- how it affects our births and rebirths, the conditions of our life and the conditions of our future rebirths.
5) It explains how this world is full of Suffering, because of Greed, Stupidity, and Angers and all other conceptual misunderstandings and attachments.
6) It explains a way to be free from Sufferings and reincarnations, learn and practice Buddhism.
7) Practice mental exercises to alleviate our mind to go beyond the triviality of life?., and much more?.
8) It explains how to be a good person with high morals is important for a chance to see your true self and achieve Enlightenment.

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For the uneducated answerer's of Buddhism,...

There is a difference between no recognized Creator and no God(s), we rejected the Gods of any subdivisions of Judaism being the Creator of the Universe, however we acknowledge their existence and give them respects for their efforts in supporting Buddhism, as well their contribution to certain human races. (Read the Buddha Sutras and Biography of Siddhartha Gautama then you understand...)

Gods of all human religions are the same two, that is constantly meddle with human affairs; although there are other higher beings that don't bother with humans at all, nevertheless are the important parts of the make ups of the Universe and the interactive alternate realities of this material worlds as well as spiritual realms.

Shinto = W = GODS PATH =Nature Path = Branch of Taoism from China

Buddhism is all encompassing and thus the merging of the two for the core teachings are not different.

This is similar to the merging of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucius teachings into one as the core teachings are the same.

In times to come, the merging of Christianity back to the core will see the ultimate merging of Taoism, Confucius teaching, Shinto, Christianity, Buddhism all into one as the core teachings are the same and Buddhism being the all encompassing.