To Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amidism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 284. | "Amida Buddhism: There are today an estimated 56 main divisions, and 170 subdivisions, in Japanese Buddhism. The single most popular sect is Jodo Shinshu, founded by Shinran... who preached an 'easy road to salvation' by means of the nembutsu prayer to the Amida, a bodhisattva who made a vow eons ago to save all who placed faith in him or her, and to guide them to the Blissful Land of Purity. About half of the Japanese Buddhists belong to either Jodo Shinshu, or to Jodo, another form of Amidaism established by Honen... Amidaism is perhaps the form of Buddhism closest to the core Japanese beliefs, in its slight concern for moral judgement and exultation of natural inclinations beyond considerations of good and evil. This, no doubt, helps account for its popularity. " |
| Ananaikyo | Japan | 201,360 | 0.17% | - | - | 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. 373. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | "Table: Some surviving new religious orgs. in Japan "; "Membership figures, voluntarily reported..., as found in the 1979 ed. of the Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook). " Classified as Shinto new religion (year of origin: 1949). |
| Ananaikyo | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1996 | Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Surrey, England: Curzon (1996), pg. 5. | "Ananai-kyo: 'The teaching (kyo) of the three (ana) and the five (nai)'. A messianic Shinto group founded in 1949 by Nakano, Yonosuke (b. 1887)... teaches a yogic-type practice of chinkon kishin... It has an ecumenical approach to other religions. The 'three' in the group's title refers to the teachings of (1) chinkon kishun (2) the form of Taoism taught in the 'red swastika' movement in Manchuria associated with Deguchi, Onisaburo... and (3) the Baha'i Faith. The 'five' refers to the traditions of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, and Taoism from which Ananai-kyo draws inspiration. " |
| ancestor veneration | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 281. | "...this animism, mixed with ancestor worship -- a shared trait with Buddhism -- that characterizes Shinto... As for ancestor worship, the Yamato 'race' always believed that it had descended from heaven, and so worshipped Amaterasu Omikami -- the sun goddess, she who ruled the heavens -- as the ancestress of the imperial family, if not all the people. " |
| Apostolic Christian Churches of America | Japan | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990), pg. 30. | "There are more than 11,000 members and 80 congregations--two in Japan, one in Canada, and the remainder in the U.S. " |
| Apostolic Christian Churches of America | Japan | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1993 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (10th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1995). | "There are more than 4,000 members and 80 congregations--two in Japan, one in Canada, and the remainder in the U.S. " |
| attendance - weekly | Japan | - | 3.00% | - | - | 1997 | "Religious Spirit " in American Demographics (Aug. 1998), pg. 62. | Survey question: "attend church once a week, excluding funerals and christenings. " National sample of adults in 60 countries by Diane Swanbrow at University of Michigan. |
| attendance - weekly | Japan | - | 3.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web site: "The University of Michigan News and Information Services "; web page: "Study identifies worldwide rates of religiosity, church attendance " (viewed 17 April 1999). "News Release: December 10, 1997 " By Diane Swanbrow. | "...according to a worldwide study based at the University of Michigan. Fully 44% of Americans attend church once a week, not counting funerals, christenings and baptisms, compared with 27% of people in Great Britain, 21% of the French, 4% of Swedes and 3% of Japanese. " |
| attendance - weekly | Japan | - | 3.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web site: "The University of Michigan News and Information Services "; web page: "Study identifies worldwide rates of religiosity, church attendance " (viewed 17 April 1999). "News Release: December 10, 1997 " By Diane Swanbrow. | Table: weekly church attendance in various nations. "Source: Based on latest avail. data from... World Values surveys. Results with an asterisk are from the 1990-1991 survey; all others are from 1995-1997 survey. " |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | 15 | - | - | 1 country |
1984 | Jones, Greg (Asia Bureau of Dallas Morning News). "Japanese Cult Making Comeback as Leader's Terrorism Trial Goes On " in Dallas Morning News (Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999), pg. A1, A20. | "Mr. Asahara founded the [group] with 15 members in 1984 and called it Aum Shinsen no Kai. In August 1989, he changed the name to Aum Shinri Kyo. " |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | 10,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* "World: Asia-Pacific Doomsday cultist sentenced to death " in BBC Online Network [Friday, October 23, 1998 Published at 04:36 GMT 05:36 UK] | "the cult, which released Sarin gas in Tokyo's underground railway in March 1995... More than 400 of the cult's 10,000 members in Japan were arrested and it was forced to disband. " |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | 5,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web site: "Toronto Consultants on Religious Tolerance " (viewed 1998) | "government failed in 1997-JAN to have the group disbanded. A legal panel ruled that there were insufficient grounds to believe that it remained a threat... with only 1,000 full & part time members. Estimates of the number of members in the group vary widely from 1,000 to 5,000. " |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | 500 | - | - | - | 1998 | "Japanese sect is on rise again " in Christian Century (March 11, 1998), pg. 256. | "The [Japanese government] report said the sect now has about 500 members in Japan " [after a decline from 10,000 in Japan, 40,000 in Russia after over 500 members were indicted in connection to the subway bombing] [NOTE: I wonder if this is a typo?] |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | 2,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: New Religious Movements (University of Virginia) (viewed Sept. 1998); "Created by Jackie Fowler For Sociology 497, Fall 1998 " | "A pamphlet handed out by the group reports that there are over 2,000 Japanese members. Yet another report states that that number is ridiculously low. " [Note: This text was originally on this web page (Fall 1998), but was no longer there after the author updated the page ( "Last updated: 12/22/98 ")] |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | - | - | 26 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* web site: New Religious Movements (University of Virginia); web page: "Aum Shinrikyo " (viewed 31 Jan. 1999); "Created by Jackie Fowler For Sociology 497, Fall 1998 " [Orig. source: "The Human Cost: The Aum Shinrikyo victims have their say ", by Kavitha Rao and Murakami Mutsuko, Tokyo; in Asia Week (3 Oct. 1997).] | "As of May 1998 when the new Tokyo Center was completed, there are now twenty six centers nationwide. " |
| Aum Shinrikyo | Japan | - | - | 34 units |
- | 1999 | Jones, Greg (Asia Bureau of Dallas Morning News). "Japanese Cult Making Comeback as Leader's Terrorism Trial Goes On " in Dallas Morning News (Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999), pg. A1, A20. | "...34 known Aum facilities around Japan. " |
| Baptist | Japan | 500 | - | 16 units |
- | 1947 | Armstrong, O.K. & Marjorie Armstrong. The Baptists in America. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1979) [revised 2nd edition; originally published in 1967 under the title The Indomitable Baptists], pg. 299. | "Only sixteen Japanese congregations of Baptists related to the Southern Baptist Convention survived the war. Membership was about 500. A small group of leaders met in Fukuoka in 1947 and organized the Japan Baptist Convention. " |
| Baptist World Alliance | Japan | 41,863 | 0.03% | 346 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.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 538 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. 523. | "Introduced to Japan in A.D. 538 and first supported by the Soga clan, Buddhism rose over the objections of the pro-Shinto Mononobe. When in 710 Emperor Shomu established a new capital at Nara modeled after the capital of China, Buddhism received official support and began to flourish. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 552 C.E. | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 283. | "The traditionally-accepted date for Buddhism to have arrive din Japan is AD 552. While this may be true, it wasn't until centuries later that it ceased to be the exclusive province of aristocrats. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 42,250,000 | - | 79,000 units |
- | 1940 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 387. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | "The latest available statistics of Japanese Buddhism (1940) report: 42,250,000 adherents, 71,300 temples, 7,700 churches, 56,000 temple heads and 178,000 other priests. These figures cover the 13 main sects and some 50 sub-sects. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 42,249,228 | - | 79,079 units |
- | 1945 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 97. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | "Truly Japan is the land of Buddhism, where there are 42,249,229 adherents, 71,326 temples and 7,753 churches, where most Buddhist schools still flourish... " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 47,714,868 | 54.86% | - | - | 1953 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | 46,000,000 | - | - | - | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957), pg. 57. | "Of the world's many millions of Buddhists, 46 million live in Japan... Japanese Buddhists are very devout, and Japanese Buddhism, reinvigorated by numerous revival and reform movements, holds a stronger position in the life of the people than Buddhism does in China and adjacent areas of the mainland. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 48,974,840 | 53.37% | - | - | 1958 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | 46,000,000 | - | - | - | 1958 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Western Publishing Co. (1972). [11th printing; original edition: 1958]. Pg. 53. | "Japan's 46 million Buddhists are divided among many sects but are devout and strong in their faith. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 69,843,368 | 72.64% | - | - | 1963 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1966 | Welty, Paul Thomas. The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny (Revised Edition). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1966), pg. 246. | "Buddhism is still a major force in Japan. The monasteries do educational work ranging in level from the kindergarten to the university; the people still flock to the Buddhist temples and priests for funerals and memorial services; and the Buddhist monk remains a common sight. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 83,278,496 | 82.18% | - | - | 1968 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1970 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 11). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1492-1494. | "The modern Japanese take religion calmly, even indifferently. Like Christianity in Europe, Buddhism in Japan has left behind a rich heritage of art, architecture, music and literature; but as a vital religious force it is spent. There are new sects that appeal to a vociferous minority; and Zen still exerts an influence over a thinking few. But in general the role of Buddhism in modern Japan is merely to bury the dead and to keep their graves. It may seem paradoxical to say this of a religion that still has a priesthood, possesses scriptures, conducts regular services, maintains magnificent temples and large estates, administers schools and engages in social welfare. But among the intelligent young in Japan it is far more common to find a burning faith in Marxism than in Buddhism. Buddhism has become a matter of rituals, of services and of festivals; it has long since ceased to have an organic life of its own. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 84,573,824 | 77.52% | - | - | 1973 | Reid, D. "Japanese Religions " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st pub. 1984], pg. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | 88,020,880 | 76.42% | - | - | 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. 368. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | Table: #s of adherents to major religious traditions "Numbers of people claimed by religious organizations as of 31 Dec. in a given year " [Note: figures consistently exceed pop. of Japan by up to 75% due to overlapping claims of Shinto & Buddhist org.] |
| Buddhism | Japan | 90,296,504 | 78.40% | - | - | 1979 | 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. | "Another survey, conducted in 1979, asked people if they professed any religious faith. Affirmative replies [were] to 33.6%. " Most who said yes identified their faith as Buddhist (78.4%). Only 3.3% identified their faith as Shinto. |
| Buddhism | Japan | 40,000,000 | - | 80,000 units |
- | 1983 | Dolan, Jr., Edward F. & Shan Finney. The New Japan; New York: Franklin Watts (1983), pg. 56. | "Today, Japan's 80,000 Buddhist churches and temples claim about 40 million followers. Both the temples and their members are divided among several branches of Buddhism. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 92,065,000 | 76.09% | 84,613 units |
- | 1985 | *LINK* [Orig. source: The International Society for Educational Information, Inc., Tokyo (1998)] | "Figures on religious orgs... in 1985 as reported by religious orgs. to the Agency for Cultural Affairs are as follows: Shinto Buddhism Christianity miscellaneous: Shrines, Temples & Churches: 90,832 84,613 8,616 42,027; Priests, Clergy & Ministers 102,000 269,000 22,000 253,000; Members: 115,602,000 92,065,000 1,688,000 14,444,000 "; "The total membership of all religious organizations exceeds the total population of the nation (121 million). The number of adherents to either Shinto or Buddhism alone comes close to the national population. This results from the fact that the same person is often counted as a member by the Shinto shrine of his neighbor hood and again by the Buddhist temple with which his ancestors became affiliated. (Christian church member ship, in principle, excludes affiliation with other religious groups.) " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 38.00% | - | - | 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% " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1992 | *LINK* web site: "A Brief Survey of Religion in Modern Japan " (1998). By Paul A. Shew, December 1, 1992. (Waseda University, Tokyo) | "In independent surveys where people are asked to state their own religion, there are the approximate results: Shinto 2-3%; Buddhism 20%; Christianity 1-2%; a new religion 10%; no religion 65% " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 90,000,000 | - | - | - | 1992 | Wolff, Michael. Where We Stand: Can America Make it in the Global Race for Wealth, Health, and Happiness? Bantam Books: New York (1992). Pg. 205. | "In Japan, although Shintoism claims almost 100 million adherents and Buddhism nearly 90 million (more than the total Japanese population), polls indicate that fewer than 30% of Japanese people have any real religious beliefs. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 13.00% | - | - | 1992 | Wolff, Michael. Where We Stand: Can America Make it in the Global Race for Wealth, Health, and Happiness? Bantam Books: New York (1992). Pg. 206-207. | Chart |
| Buddhism | Japan | 95,155,256 | 76.30% | - | - | 1993 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | 124,711,551 [total pop.] (1993). Shinto 95.8 percent, Buddhist 76.3 percent (most observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites), and 12 percent other religions, including 1.4 percent Christian. |
| Buddhism | Japan | 88,000,000 | 73.33% | - | - | 1994 | Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Surrey, England: Curzon (1996), pg. 75-76. | "It should be remembered that most of Jinja Honcho's 'Shinto' believers will also be among the 88 million or so who identify themselves in surveys as 'Buddhist' believers in a total population of ca.120 million. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 90,000,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Japan Information Network website; "Religion and Customs " page. (Viewed 6 Oct. 1999) | "The predominant religion in Japan today is Buddhism, which had a following of 90 million as of the end of 1994. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 58.00% | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: Feb. `95 issue of GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | TOTAL POPULATION IN 1995: 126,319,000. Shinto: 80 percent -- (Overlaps with Buddhist); Buddhist: 58 percent; New Religions: (mostly Buddhist or Shinto offshoots) 24 percent; Muslim: 0.2 percent; Christian: 1.5 percent. |
| Buddhism | Japan | 89,828,504 | 72.00% | 78,002 units |
- | 1995 | *LINK* web site: "Basic Facts Christianity in Japan at a Glance " (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 " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 90,520,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table; "Many Japanese practice both Shintoism and Buddhism, " so many people are double-counted |
| Buddhism | Japan | 93,000,000 | 77.50% | - | - | 1996 | Halverson, Dean C. (ed.) The Compact Guide to World Religions; Colorado Springs, Colorado: International Students Inc. (1996). [Publisher is an Evangelical missionary organization.] Pg. 206. | "Only about 1.5 million of the 120 million Japanese declare themselves Christians. But 112 million adhere to Shinto. Many Japanese see themselves as followers of several religions, for 93 million are also Buddhists! " |
| Buddhism | Japan | 89,650,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997), pg. 160-161. | List: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; ( "Including many who also practice Shintoism "); (Rank: 2) |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1997 | Breuilly, Elizabeth, et al. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions & Festivals. Facts on File Inc.: New York, NY (1997). Pg. 10-11. | "There are over 3 million Buddhists worldwide... More than 85% of the population of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand is Buddhist, as is more than 70% of that in Cambodia, Laos, and Japan. " NOTE: The 3 million figure is obviously a typographical error. |
| Buddhism | Japan | 105,615,544 | 84.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%); Total population: 125,732,794. |
| Buddhism | Japan | 69,213,192 | - | - | - | 1998 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998), pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; Rank: #1 |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 58.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions "; "There is considerable overlapping " between Shinto and Buddhism. |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 281. | "Polls asking Japanese in which religion they believe consistently yield results that total well over 100 percent -- most say they are followers of both Shinto and Budhism. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 284. | "There are today an estimated 56 main divisions, and 170 subdivisions, in Japanese Buddhism. " |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 72.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Basic Facts Christianity in Japan at a Glance " (1998). 1996, 1997, 1998 Paul Tsuchido Shew | Table: "Statistical Variences of Religion Affiliation in Japan: Official Membership Statistics vs. Independent Survey Results ": Official organization reporting: Buddhists 72.%; survey of religious preference: 20% |
| Buddhism | Japan | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Basic Facts Christianity in Japan at a Glance " (1998). 1996, 1997, 1998 Paul Tsuchido Shew | Table: "Statistical Variences of Religion Affiliation in Japan: Official Membership Statistics vs. Independent Survey Results ": Official organization reporting: Buddhists 72.%; survey of religious preference: 20% |
| Buddhism - households with Butsudan | Japan | - | 60.00% | - | - | 1996 | Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Surrey, England: Curzon (1996), pg. 13. | "Butsudan: Buddhist altar, found in the home of the senior living member of a family. This currently amounts to about 60% of Japanese homes... The institution of the butsudan reflects, as well as an expression of attachment to the deceased and filial piety, a widespread belief in the continuing existence of the personality after death... " |
| Buddhism - households with Butsudan | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 281. | "Until recently, nearly every home was equipped with a kamidana god shelf with Shinto symbols, or else a butsudan Buddhist household altar containing memorials for the family's ancestors, before which offerings of flowers, food, drink or incense are made daily. Many had both. " |
| Buddhism - monastic | Japan | 269,000 | 0.22% | - | - | 1985 | *LINK* [Orig. source: The International Society for Educational Information, Inc., Tokyo (1998)] | "Figures... 1985 as reported by religious orgs. to the Agency for Cultural Affairs are as follows: Shinto Buddhism Christianity miscellaneous: Priests, Clergy & Ministers 102,000 269,000 22,000 253,000... total pop...121 mil. " |
| Buddhist-Shinto | Japan | - | 60.00% | - | - | 1992 | Wolff, Michael. Where We Stand: Can America Make it in the Global Race for Wealth, Health, and Happiness? Bantam Books: New York (1992). Pg. 206-207. | Chart |
| Buddhist-Shinto | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998), pg. 281. | "Until recently, nearly every home was equipped with a kamidana god shelf with Shinto symbols, or else a butsudan Buddhist household altar containing memorials for the family's ancestors, before which offerings of flowers, food, drink or incense are made daily. Many had both. Likewise, people passing by any of the thousands of Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples throughout the country still tend to drop in for a bref devotion before going on their busy way again. It is hard to attribute all this to simple custom; the Japanese definitely seem to have a sense of religious piety and spiritual yearning, although it is far different from that in the West. The main differene seems to be that the line between the sacred and the profane is much less clearly drawn in Japan. In many ways, community life nad religion are one and the same. Similarly, the distinction between good and bad, or sinful, and righteous, is less clear in Japanese society. " |
| Bushido | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1600 | 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. 152. | "Bushido... The social code of the military class developed from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and systematized during the Tokugawa (1600-1867), especially in the writings of Yamaga Soko... on the warrior's creed (bukyo) and way of the samurai (shido)... " |
| Bushido | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1600 | Welty, Paul Thomas. The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny (Revised Edition). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1966), pg. 232. | "Bushido, or 'the Way of the Warrior,' is the name for a code of behavior and morals which had its origin in the military history of Japan. It developed from the intimate relationships that existed between the early landholder and his armed retainers. Gradually it evolved into an expected pattern of behavior that governed soldiers under the stress of war. From vague beginnings in the early feudal and prefeudal period to the seventeenth century, this creed of Bushido served as a well-known social guide, rule of life, and set of ideas for the Samurai, or military class. " |
| Bushido | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1700 | Lewis, Brenda Ralph. Growing up in Samurai Japan. London: Batsford Academic and Educational Limited (1981), pg. 11-12. | "...like the medieval knights, the samurai had a strict code of honour--the code of Bushido (Way of the Warrior)--and they believed that loyalty to their lord was the most important virtue soldiers could possess. They took this loyalty to extreme limits, and were willing to sacrifice themselves for their lord, quite literally laying down their lives to protect him. " |
| Bushido | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1943 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 12). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1557. | "Kamikaze... The belief that death is the honourable and desirable objective of the fighting man also goes back to medieval Japan, to the code of behaviour of the samurai warrior caste, which was later called bushido and survived the abolition of the caste itself. The warrior regarded himself not so much as a man but as a weapon, a tool in the hands of his mater, and his honour required that if he was ordered to die, he obeyed. Early in the Second World War the Japanese Prime Minister, General Tojo, enshrined this principle in the instruction that a soldier should be ashamed of surrender, however hopeless the circumstances. " |
| Bushido | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1966 | Welty, Paul Thomas. The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny (Revised Edition). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1966), pg. 232. | "With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, Bushido was codified and given a definite philosophical base. It became a system of practical ethics which was to serve not only as a guide for the samurai, but as a set of high ideals for all good Japanese citizens. It was an ambitious attempt to apply the code of the warrior to citizens. Taken from the context of war and battle, it became somewhat elaborate, ceremonial, and cmplex, but the ideal and spirit of Bushido still remains a part of every Japanese. Bushido incorporated elements from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shinto. " |
| Bushido | 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. 152. | "The spirit of Bushido passed through the samurai class to become the moral idea of ordinary Japanese citizens, and continues in the fusion of spirituality and martial arts, corporate ideals of discipline, respect, and loyalty in Japanese culture today. " |
| Bussho Gonenkai | Japan | 1,354,662 | 1.18% | - | - | 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. 373. [Orig. src: Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook), Ministry of Education & Bureau of Statistics.] | "Table: Some surviving new religious orgs. in Japan "; "Membership figures, voluntarily reported..., as found in the 1979 ed. of the Shukyo Nenkan (Religions Yearbook). " Classified as Buddhist new religion (year of origin: 1950). |
| Byakko shinko-kai | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1996 | Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Surrey, England: Curzon (1996), pg. 13-14. | "Byakko shinko-kai: A successful postwar Shinto-related sect (formerly Byakko koseikai) founded by Goi, Masahisa (b. 1916) a spiritualist and disciple of Taniguchi, Masaharu, founder of Seicho-no-ie... It has a special 'white light'-producing ritual prayer for world peace and is responsible for erecting poles across the world inscribed with the words 'may peace prevail on earth.' " |
| Catholic | Japan | 45,000 | - | - | - | 1891 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977), pg. 340. | "...by 1891, when Leo XIII set up a Japanese hierarchy with the metropolis at Tokyo, there were some 45,000 Catholics. " |
| Catholic | Japan | 108,000 | - | - | - | 1936 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977), pg. 340. | "By 1936 Catholics totaled some 108,000. " |
| Catholic | Japan | 121,000 | - | - | - | 1940 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977), pg. 340-341. | "In 1940 the entire episcopate was handed over to native Japanese, and at the outbreak of World War II, Catholic membership stood at 121,000. " |
| Catholic | Japan | 119,000 | - | - | - | 1940 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 387. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | "For the same period [close of 1940] the Roman Catholic Church reported 119,000 adherents, and the Greek Orthodox Church an additional 41,000. " |
| Catholic | Japan | 359,000 | - | - | - | 1973 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977), pg. 341. | "An estimate in 1973 counted some 359,000 Catholics [in Japan] and almost twice that number ofProtestants. " |
| Catholic | Japan | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1988 | Reischauer, Edwin O. The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (1988), pg. 212. | "Even today its adherents number less than 2% of the population--divided fairly evenly between Catholics and Protestants. " |
| Catholic | Japan | 440,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Japan Information Network website; "Religion and Customs " page. (Viewed 6 Oct. 1999) | "Among Christians in Japan, it was estimated that there were 440,000 Catholics and around 1 million Protestants as of the end of 1994. " |
