by Alicia Alligood

Created on: December 15, 2008   Last Updated: March 10, 2009

I have actually taken an anthropology course entitled "Magic, Religion and Science," which did a great job of introducing primary topics in the anthropology of religion.

It is important to first understand that today's meaning of "religion" is a very recent term in human history. Romans used early versions of this term, including "religio," to refer to various patterns of worship. Early Christians used the same meaning, but it was not until the 1600s that Europeans used forms of the word "religion" to refer to specific set of beliefs. Not coincidentally, this was the same of European expansion. Europeans of this era were most familiar with Christianity and Judaism, and so they used these faiths as models for what a religion is (and is not). There were actually specific traits a belief system & its people were supposed to have in order to be classified as a religion. Although the topic and hand is not the history of religion, it is important to consider these early standards for religion as we expolore religions and belief systems around the world.

Let's consider Japan: In a 2000 survey on religion and religious practices in Japan, 52% of the hundreds of Japanese who participated indicated that they are NOT religious. However, 36% of participants reported that they are Buddhist (one of the country's primary belief systems), 11% stated that they belong to Shinto faith (the indigenous, nature-based faith said to be as old as the Japanese people), and 11% stated that they associate themselves with Christianity. Now, with such a tremendous report of religious affiliation, why do over half of the Japanese report that they are not religious?

The Japanaese language actually did not even have a term for religion until the Europeans came along (and I mean this quite literally). The Japanese literally created a term to adopt the European idea of religion. I stated earlier that the European definition consisted of specific traits which make a person religious. These are: 1), Religions were supposed to have one central text, such as the Bible or Torah, 2), people were supposed to "belong" to one religion only (the practice of exclusivity), and 3), religion was supposed to make up a distinct social doman, separate from other domains such as economics and government (although many would argue that some European countries have NOT separated church and state).

Many Japanese do not practice exclusivity; a person may visit Shinto shrines, have a Christian wedding ceremony, and

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