To Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist World Alliance | Jamaica | 45,150 | 1.78% | 303 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Baptist World Alliance web site; page: "BWA Statistics " (viewed 31 March 1999). | "Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals "; [BWA stats. in individual countries are sum of figures for member bodies of BWA in the countries.]; [County population figures for 1998 from United Nations data available here.] |
| Brethren | Jamaica | 10,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Protestants 75%. Community 903,000. Denominations 70. Largest groups: Anglicans 350,000 adherents; Baptists (3) 160,000; all Pentecostals (6+) 150,000; Methodists 55,000; Brethren 10,000 |
| Catholic | Jamaica | - | 7.00% | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Total Population: 2,100,000. Roman Catholics 7%. |
| Catholic | Jamaica | 184,320 | 8.00% | - | - | 1987 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | Est. 2304000 total pop. About 75 percent of Jamaica's population was Protestant, and 8 percent was Roman Catholic; various Muslim, Jewish, and spiritualist groups were also present. Rastafarians constituted roughly 5 percent of the population. |
| Catholic | Jamaica | - | 5.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Catholic | Jamaica | 107,000 | 4.20% | 78 units |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997), pg. 333-367. | Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995. Number used for "congregations " is from number of Catholic parishes. |
| Catholic | Jamaica | 120,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Catholic | Jamaica | 130,779 | 5.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Catholic | Jamaica | - | 11.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Christianity | Jamaica | 2,000,000 | 80.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 2 - Americas. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 259-260. | "Location: Jamaica; Population: 2.5 million "; Pg. 260: "Religion is an important part of life for Jamaicans. More than 80% are Christian. Jamaicans' major religions include Anglicanism, Protestantism, and Roman Catholicism. " |
| Church of God | Jamaica | 481,267 | 18.40% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Church of God in Christ, Mennonite | Jamaica | 7 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site. Directory 1998. Web page: "Carribean, Central & South America: Mennonite & Brethren in Christ Churches " | JAMAICA: Church of God in Christ, Mennonite; Members: 7 |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Jamaica | 3,300 | 0.10% | 15 units |
- | 1995 | Deseret News 1997-98 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1996), pg. 188-408. | "Year-end 1995: Est. population [of country]; Members, [number shown in '# of adherents' column to left] " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Jamaica | 3,500 | - | 15 units |
- | 1995 | *LINK* LDS-GEMS | In 1995 there were 3,500 members in two districts (Kingston and Mandeville) in fifteen branches. |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Jamaica | 3,700 | 0.10% | 13 units |
- | 1997 | Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1998), pg. 267-410. | Information from a variety of sources. Figures for year-end 1997. |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Jamaica | - | - | 19 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* LDS-GEMS | There are currently nineteen branches in Jamaica. |
| Church of the Nazarene | Jamaica | 2,154 | 0.08% | 28 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* official organization web site: Nazarene World Mission Society | Church Statistics: Churches; 6 Jan 1998; total population: 2,706,000 |
| Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the United States of America | Jamaica | 10,000 | - | 10 units |
- | 1984 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 139-140. Section: Non-Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. | "Membership: In 1984, the Church reported 34 parishes and misions, 5,000 members, and 15 clergy. There are approximately 10,000 members in 7 parishes and 3 missions in Jamaica. " |
| Evangelical | Jamaica | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Protestants 75%. Community 903,000. Denominations 70. Largest groups: Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Brethren. Evangelicals 20%. A majority of the Protestants are nominal but the Evangelicals are strong. |
| Islam | Jamaica | 4,200 | 0.20% | - | - | 2000 | K. F. Bin Mohd Noor. "Muslims Statistics... for Year 2000 " [orig. src: Barrett. World Christian Encyclopedia, 1982] | Table |
| Jamaica Baptist Union | Jamaica | 45,150 | - | 303 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Baptist World Alliance web site; page: "BWA Statistics " (viewed 31 March 1999). | "Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals " |
| Jamaica Mennonite Church | Jamaica | 550 | - | 12 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site. Directory 1998. Web page: "Carribean, Central & South America: Mennonite & Brethren in Christ Churches " | JAMAICA... Jamaica Mennonite Church; Members: 550; Congregations: 12 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jamaica | 7,176 | 0.31% | 166 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jamaica | 10,614 | 0.42% | 183 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 32,903. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jamaica | 11,003 | 0.44% | 183 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jamaica | - | 0.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Jamaica | 19,256 | - | 166 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Data from columns: "No. of congs. " and "Memorial attendance " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Jamaica | 32,903 | 1.32% | 183 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | From 1997 Statistics "Memorial attendance " column. Count of all who attend this once-a-year meeting, whether or not a "publisher " in full standing. Most would be considered adherents. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Jamaica | 28,063 | 1.12% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; "Memorial attendance " column indicates attendance at yearly communion meeting. |
| Judaism | Jamaica | 300 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Jewish Communities of the World web site (1998) | Table: World Jewry. "collected our data from from demographic and other academic studies, community reports, and up-dates in the general media... consulted with experts to verify findings before reaching our assessments and estimates. " |
| King of Kings Mission | Jamaica | 800 | - | - | - | 1943 | Chevannes, Barry. Rastafari: Roots and Ideology. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press (1994), pg. 141-142. | "...in the early 1940s... Being secretary, Biini saw the mission through an intensive period of growth, in which, he said, membership grew from a mere 100 to about 250 in a matter of 8 months, and over the next few years to some 800... division and conflict in the organization between the young men in leading positions, and among the membership led to the breakup of the King of Kings Mission... By mid-1940s a group of them elected Morris... " |
| Mennonite World Conference | Jamaica | 557 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site; page: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals " (viewed 8 Aug. 1999). | Table: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals "; "based on the most recent data available... from 1996 or 1997... statistics indicate baptized members "; Dif. religious bodies: 2. |
| Methodist | Jamaica | 55,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Protestants 75%. Community 903,000. Denominations 70. Largest groups: Anglicans 350,000 adherents; Baptists (3) 160,000; all Pentecostals (6+) 150,000; Methodists 55,000; Brethren 10,000 |
| Methodist | Jamaica | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 478. | "[Methodist] Churches having more than 20,000 members are found in... New Zealand; Germany, Ireland; Jamaica, Mexico, and Brazil. " |
| Methodist | Jamaica | 81,083 | 3.10% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Mt. Zion Sanctuary | Jamaica | - | - | 12 units |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 251. Chapter: Pentecostal Family; section: White Trinitarian Pentecostals. | Church reporting. |
| Nonreligious | Jamaica | - | 18.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Obeah | Jamaica | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Davis, Rod. American Voudou: Journey Into A Hidden World. Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Press (1998), pg. 9. | "In different areas, voudou has different rituals and doctrines, running a sectarian range roughly comparable to that from Judaism through Protestantism to Catholicism. In Haiti, the religion metamorphosed into vodun or vaudoux; in Cuba, santeria, in Brazil, candomble; in Trinidad, Shango Baptist; in Mexico, curanderismo; in Jamaica, obeah. In the American South, it became voodoo and, in the most extreme caricature, hoodoo... " |
| other | Jamaica | 980,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table; "other " = NOT Roman Catholic, Anglican or Protestant |
| Pentecostal | Jamaica | 150,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Protestants 75%. Community 903,000. Denominations 70. Largest groups: Anglicans 350,000 adherents; Baptists (3) 160,000; all Pentecostals (6+) 150,000; Methodists 55,000; Brethren 10,000 |
| Pentecostal | Jamaica | 136,010 | 5.20% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Protestant | Jamaica | - | 75.00% | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD -1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Protestants 75%. Community 903,000. Denominations 70. Largest groups: Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Brethren. Evangelicals 20%. A majority of the Protestants are nominal but the Evangelicals are strong. |
| Protestant | Jamaica | 1,728,000 | 75.00% | - | - | 1987 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | Est. 2304000 total pop. About 75 percent of Jamaica's population was Protestant, and 8 percent was Roman Catholic; various Muslim, Jewish, and spiritualist groups were also present. Rastafarians constituted roughly 5 percent of the population. |
| Protestant | Jamaica | - | 56.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% "; Protestant "includes all non-Roman Catholic denominations " |
| Protestant | Jamaica | 1,230,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Protestant | Jamaica | 1,462,110 | 55.90% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Protestant | Jamaica | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Protestant Reformed Churches in America | Jamaica | - | - | 7 units |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 160. | "Protestestant Reformed Churches in America... There is a mission in Jamaica with seven congregations. " |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | - | - | - | - | 1930 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 600-601. | "Rastafari movement... originated in Jamaica in 1930, as a religious response to the coronation of Crown Prince Ras Tafari, as Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia... " |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | - | - | - | - | 1970 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 13). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1832. | "...the Ras Tafari movement of Jamaica. Like some other movements in less-developed societies, the Ras Tafarians are not a distinct sect with a coherent organization, but a collection of groups of greater or lesser degrees of permanence, centred around a number of spasmodically emerging leaders, who proclaim a broad similar set of beliefs. " |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | 115,200 | 5.00% | - | - | 1987 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | Est. 2304000 total pop. About 75 percent of Jamaica's population was Protestant, and 8 percent was Roman Catholic; various Muslim, Jewish, and spiritualist groups were also present. Rastafarians constituted roughly 5 percent of the population. |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | 70,000 | - | - | - | 1987 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: 4/6/87 issue of GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Approximately 70,000 followers live in the slums of Jamaica, while another 180,000 have scattered across the Caribbean islands, then into the black ghettoes of the U.S. and Britain, making converts as they settle. |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | - | 5.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | - | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "RASTAFARIAN: JAMAICAN religious SECT which believes in the DIVINITY of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie... " |
| Rastafarian | Jamaica | 100,000 | 4.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 2 - Americas. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 259-260. | "Location: Jamaica; Population: 2.5 million "; Pg. 260: "Nearly 100,000 call themselves Rastafarians. Rastafarians are members of a Jamaican messianic movement dating back to the 1930s. Jamaican Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association... Today Garvey is a national hero. " |
| Rastafarian or sympathizers | Jamaica | - | 60.00% | - | - | 1988 | *LINK* web site: New Religious Movements (University of Virginia); web page: "Rastafarianism " (viewed 24 April 1999). Prepared by Rebecca Haessig, Spring 1996; Last updated: 03/15/99. | "Size of the Group: six out of ten Jamaicans are believed to be Rastafarians or Rastafarian sympathizers. " |
| Seventh-day Adventist | Jamaica | - | 6.67% | - | - | 1993 | *LINK* web site: "Adventist Images "; web page: "Membership Density " (viewed 25 June 1999); "Copyright 1996 - Pacific Union Conference of Seventh Day Adventists " | "Adventist Believers - High and Low Density "; Table: "Ratio of church membership to country population "; Ratio: 1:15 |
| Seventh-day Adventist | Jamaica | 180,475 | 6.90% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Spiritism | Jamaica | - | 9.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands | Jamaica | 70,621 | 2.70% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% (1982); Total population: 2,615,582 (1997). |
| Unity Church | Jamaica | - | - | 6 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* official organization web site (viewed 1998) | Counted the churches in their directory. |
| Universal Foundation for Better Living | Jamaica | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1998 | *LINK* official organization web site | directory |
| affiliated | Japan | 15,600,000 | 13.60% | - | - | 1978 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 379. | 1979 survey "asked people about their membership... With regard to religious orgs., only 13.6 were members. This percentage, applied to the 1978 population, suggests that only 15.6 mil. people counted themselves as adherents of religious organizations. " |
| affiliated | Japan | 219,838,672 | 176.00% | 183,873 units |
- | 1995 | *LINK* web site: "Basic Facts Christianity in Japan at a Glance " (viewed 1998). 1996, 1997, 1998 Paul Tsuchido Shew. Source: 1995 Shukyo Nenkan (Religious Yearbook), Ministry of Education, Agency for Cultural Affairs, pp.30-31. | Table: "Statistics on Religious Organizations in Japan as of December 31, 1995 " [ "Affiliated " here is the total counted by religious organizations. Represents multiple counting by Buddhist & Shinto organizations.] |
| Agon-shu | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* Wilson, Andrew (ed). "The World Religions and their Scriptures " in World Scripture. International Religious Foundation, 1991. (viewed 9 July 1999) | "Another new religion with Buddhist roots is Agon-shu, which uses the Dhammapada and other Theravada sutras as scripture combined with esoteric Shingon Buddhist practices. " |
| Ainu | Japan | 23,797 | - | - | - | 1807 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 26. | "An 1807 survey reported the Hokkaido and Sakhalin Ainu population as 23,797. Mixed marriages between Ainu and mainland Japanese became more common over the last century. In 1986 the total number of people in Hokkaido identifying themselves as Ainu was 24,381. " |
| Ainu | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 17. | "Ainu religion: The Ainu people, are the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan who were, from about the seventh century A.D., gradually driven northward by the Japanese. By the Meiji era (late nineteenth century) they were found only in the northernmost of the main islands of the Japanese archipelago, Hokkaido. Since that time the tendency has been for them to be assimilated by the dominant Japanese culture. " |
| Ainu | Japan | 24,381 | - | - | - | 1986 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 26. | "Mixed marriages between Ainu and mainland Japanese became more common over the last century. In 1986 the total number of people in Hokkaido identifying themselves as Ainu was 24,381. " [Ainus had a distinctive religion. But these statistics are measures of ethnic/cultural affiliation, not how many practice Ainu religion.] |
| Ainu | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1992 | Peddicord, Kathleen (ed). The World's Best: The Ultimate Book for the International Traveler. Baltimore, MD: Agora, Inc. (1992), pg. 295. | "Hokkaido is also known as the home of the Ainu, a fast-disappearing people originally from Honshu who have been forced north into the mountains. The Ainu are Caucasians, who, unlike other Japanese, have light skin and hairy bodies. The men often have thick beards, and the women have blue tattoos around their mouths. The best place to see their huts and their rituals of worship--the Ainu practice a form of nature worship influenced by Shintoism--is a small colony in Asahikawa, Hokkaido's 2nd-largest city. You also can visit a display village in Shiraoi, near Noboribetsu Spa on the south coast. " |
| Ainu | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1996 | Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Surrey, England: Curzon (1996), pg. 1. | "Ainu: Or emishi, (y)ezo). Indigenous inhabitants of Japan who were gradually pushed back to the northern island of Hokkaido by Japanese expansionist wars. Hokkaido was fully colonised by the Japanese only in the 20th century. Ainu culture is different from Japanese, but there have been many cross-influences in the long course of Japanese-Ainu relations... The best-known Ainu festival is the iyomante or kuma matsuri (bear sacrifice festival). " |
| Ainu | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1997 | Leibo, Steven A. East, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific 1997 (The World Today Series). Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications (1997), pg. 47. | "Ethnic Background:... There is a very small community of Ainu on Hokkaido Island who are physically very different from the Japanese, possibly descended from the earliest inhabitants of the islands. " |
| Ainu | Japan | 25,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 26. | "Ainu: Location: Japan (Hokkaido); Population: 25,000; Religion: Traditional pantheistic beliefs "; "As with indigenous people in the U.S. and many other nations, the Ainu have largely assimilated. And like many other such groups, there have been signs of cultural revival recently. " [Ainus had a distinctive religion. But these statistics are measures of ethnic/cultural affiliation, not how many practice Ainu religion.] |
| Amidism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1282 C.E. | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 538. | "Nichiren Buddhism has been criticized as... intolerant... Nichiren condemned other sects in the stinging phrase: Nembutsu mugen, Zen tenma, Shingon bokoku, Ritsu kokuzoku (the Nembutsu--Amida Buddhism--is hell; Zen is a devil; Shingon is the nation's ruin; and Ritsu is treason).' " |
| Amidism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1300 C.E. | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 285. | "Back in the Kamakura Period, when religion was a much more vital social force than it is today, the Amidaists directly contended for converts with the followers of the obstinate reformer Nichiren... " |
| Amidism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1986 | Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid, et al. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy & Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala: Boston (English: pub. 1994; orig. German: 1986), pg. 8. | "Amidism: generic term under which are comprehended all schools of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism that have made Amitabha the central point of their teaching. Included are the Pure Land school, Jodo-shin-shu, and Jodo-shu. " |
