The place of religion in Japan
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can analyse whether the idea of religion makes sense when examining Japanese worldviews.
Key learning points
- Surveys consistently state that most Japanese identify as non-religious.
- However, many Japanese people commonly engage with both Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies in their lives.
- Religion is often seen as more about cultural identity rather than belief in Japan.
- Smart's dimensions can be applied to the Shinto tradition in deciding if it is a religion or not.
Keywords
Dimensions - for Smart, these are the different aspects or parts that make up a religion
Kami - 'spirit' or 'superior' in Japanese and refers to all spiritual entities worshipped in the Shinto religion
Mushukyo - in Japan this refers to 'non-belief', describing people who don't affiliate with organised religions
Shinto - literally means 'the way of the gods' and is seen as the indigenous 'religion' of Japan
Common misconception
That everyone in Japan is not religious.
Many people state they are 'mushukyo', which is often translated as non-religious but often means that they are not affiliated to just one religion exclusively, but take part in rituals and practices from across different religions.
Teacher tip
Students can research what happens in various yearly festivals in Japan and see the Shinto, Christian and / or Buddhist influences on these.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What did Ninian Smart propose to help study religion?
Q2.Which of the following can Smart’s dimensions be applied to?
Q3.Smart used as a secular example to show the dimensions at work.
Q4.What is one key strength of Smart's dimensional model?
Q5.One criticism of Smart’s model is the 'cabinet of '.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What word do many Japanese use to describe themselves?
Q2.A major tradition in Japan is ...
Q3.Many people engage in both Shinto and ceremonies.
Q4.Why do some Japanese people choose Christian weddings?
Q5.According to Ninian Smart's framework, what does Shinto place less emphasis on compared to some other religions?
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: The place of religion in Japan, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: The place of religion in Japan, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Belief: what is religion and does everyone understand it in the same way? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.