Shinto, the oldest and most accepted paganism?

[Goblin]

Shinto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


i sit and read about shinto, and it aligns with the beliefs of myself and many if not most pagans i know.
when paganism is understood in its esoteric aspects of anamism, or some sort of poly-pantheism it appears to be a european shinto, shinto itself being a collective of practices & religions from japan.

which leads me to ask is shinto japanese paganism, which is also an indigenous collection of folk religions which are anamistic and shamanistic.

what are your thoughts on the corralates between japanese shinto and european paganism

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Shinto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


i sit and read about shinto, and it aligns with the beliefs of myself and many if not most pagans i know.
when paganism is understood in its esoteric aspects of anamism, or some sort of poly-pantheism it appears to be a european shinto, shinto itself being a collective of practices & religions from japan.

which leads me to ask is shinto japanese paganism, which is also an indigenous collection of folk religions which are anamistic and shamanistic.

what are your thoughts on the corralates between japanese shinto and european paganism

To answer your first question: yes. Both Shinto and European Paganism are animistic and, to a certain extent, both have shamanic elements. I consider it to be a Pagan religion; the oldest continuous Pagan religion there is depending on whether or not a person considers Hinduism to be Pagan or not. There's a lot in common between Shinto ("Japanese Shinto" is a tautology ) and some flavours of European Paganism. Shinto accepts ancestor worship and veneration, some paths like Heathenry, Religio Romana, Hellenism etc have this too, both focus on domestic and temple worship (whether your temple is a dedicated artificial structure, a circle of stones or even some trees), like many European-based paths, Shinto has a calendar of festivals and religious occasions that varies from region to region.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

As far as the polytheistic religions in history, the Sumerian religion predates all of them, even Shinto, Judaism, Hinduism and the Egyptian religion.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

The oldest would probably be traditional African religions and Australian aboriginal religion.

 

[Baladas]

Whenever common trends arise uniting different traditions, I tend to take an interest. It indicates to me that there is something to it.
It fascinates me that so many different cultures had such similar practices...so, not much as far as insight goes, but I am interested.

 

[Sees]

All pagan traditions have strong similarities, some on the surface and some deep, along with beautiful, unique aspects. They all go back to the birth of religion itself and evolve organically with the people. Cohesively reflecting spiritual experiences/expression, language, landscape, etc.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I find all paganisms have an underlying unity. Household worship is much the same in Hellenism, Hinduism, and Chinese Shenjiao: the main difference in Shinto is that they don't normally use images. Some of the gods seem to get around a bit too: reading about Voudoun recently, I encountered Erzulie and said "Hey, you're Aphrodite!" Or Ashtart, or Inanna.

Animism is a term that the American academic Jordan Paper called "useless". That's hardly surprising, as it originated in the 19th century paradigm of "religious evolution": fetishism > animism > polytheism > monotheism > Christianity. ( with > Atheism as an optional extra!)

Shaman is often misused, for a medium (who is unconscious when entranced) or a medicine person (who doesn't use trance). True shamanism is a circumpolar thing, from Siberia through Japan to the Eskimo — and, of course, the ancient Germans.



Here's a site belong to the Shinto University in Japan, which tell you more than you'll ever need to know (nearly 200 pages...)
Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home

 

[Whiterain]

I don't know much about Shinto but recently learned archaeologists may be on to finding the tomb of 'Himiko'.

http://enterjapan.me/himiko-shaman-queen-of-ancient-japan/

fantastic article:
Bronze mirror linked to Himiko found in China for 1st time - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun


I don't know anything about Shinto but that would be a breakthrough for Japan, none imply she was a Shinto God but was respected in Shinto.

Would be an awesome find for Japan.

 

[Riverwolf]

As far as the polytheistic religions in history, the Sumerian religion predates all of them, even Shinto, Judaism, Hinduism and the Egyptian religion.

The oldest would probably be traditional African religions and Australian aboriginal religion.

Technically correct, but I think we're talking in terms of a pagan religion that's existed more or less uninterrupted until today, and is practiced by people who live in a developed country rather than in tribal villages.

 

[Riverwolf]

In any case, what about Shendao or Mugyo? I know Japan has more visibility in the States than China or Korea, but I think they count pretty good, as well.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Technically correct, but I think we're talking in terms of a pagan religion that's existed more or less uninterrupted until today, and is practiced by people who live in a developed country rather than in tribal villages.

Then wouldn't the umbrella of religions under the label of Hinduism be the oldest?

 

[Riverwolf]

Then wouldn't the umbrella of religions under the label of Hinduism be the oldest?

We're talking primarily about Paganism, so it depends on whether or not you consider Hinduism to be under that particular umbrella.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

We're talking primarily about Paganism, so it depends on whether or not you consider Hinduism to be under that particular umbrella.

Well, if you're including Shinto under that umbrella, then Hinduism could reasonably be included, too.

 

[Riverwolf]

Well, if you're including Shinto under that umbrella, then Hinduism could reasonably be included, too.

It really depends on who you talk to.

I, personally, consider Hinduism to be too diverse to be regarded as wholly Pagan in itself. I'd consider the historical Vedic religion to be Pagan, as well the various forms of Hinduism as practiced in villages. That would pretty much mean it's almost completely Pagan. However, once we start getting into the highly philosophical branches, such as Vedanta, Smarta, etc., it becomes much trickier to determine, IMO.

 

[Sees]

You guys will just hurt your brain trying to pick the oldest

Pagan traditions constantly evolving and having new skins makes it too hard. Hunter-gatherer folks' shamans, seers, story-tellers migrated and interacted like crazy.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It really depends on who you talk to.

I, personally, consider Hinduism to be too diverse to be regarded as wholly Pagan in itself. I'd consider the historical Vedic religion to be Pagan, as well the various forms of Hinduism as practiced in villages. That would pretty much mean it's almost completely Pagan. However, once we start getting into the highly philosophical branches, such as Vedanta, Smarta, etc., it becomes much trickier to determine, IMO.

It doesn't really matter if you try to refine the meaning of the term to something specific, because to the strident Christians and Muslims, we're all "pagans", "infidels" and "heathens".

 

[Riverwolf]

It doesn't really matter if you try to refine the meaning of the term to something specific, because to the strident Christians and Muslims, we're all "pagans", "infidels" and "heathens".

Indeed. ^_^

 

[Quintessence]

I would wager that the oldest (not as if that matters) form of Paganism is some oral tradition that existed tens of thousands of years ago of which we have no record of. And while it's possible that some of the oldest relics (such as cave paintings) are indicative of these religious traditions, there is no definitive proof.

 

[Midnight Rain]

Shinto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


i sit and read about shinto, and it aligns with the beliefs of myself and many if not most pagans i know.
when paganism is understood in its esoteric aspects of anamism, or some sort of poly-pantheism it appears to be a european shinto, shinto itself being a collective of practices & religions from japan.

which leads me to ask is shinto japanese paganism, which is also an indigenous collection of folk religions which are anamistic and shamanistic.

what are your thoughts on the corralates between japanese shinto and european paganism

Part of the reason why I am ecclectic with a focus on Celtic pantheon is because I believe that there are gods and goddesses all around the world and there are as many interpretations of them as there are followers. The fundamental basics of what most animistic paganism is like often is uniform across the globe.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I, personally, consider Hinduism to be too diverse to be regarded as wholly Pagan in itself. I'd consider the historical Vedic religion to be Pagan, as well the various forms of Hinduism as practiced in villages. That would pretty much mean it's almost completely Pagan. However, once we start getting into the highly philosophical branches, such as Vedanta, Smarta, etc., it becomes much trickier to determine, IMO.

But "Hinduism as practiced" is Hinduism. Shankara's philosophy is just that — philosophy, talk about Hinduism. If you want to know what Christians believe, you listen to their prayers, rather than read Aquinas or Kirkegaard.