Spotlights

[Research News] Understanding Japan’s Complex Religious Landscape

Japanese Religious Life Is Rooted More in Culture and Practice Than in Formal Belief

Japan is often described as a highly secular country, yet millions who identify as “nonreligious,” participate in Shinto and Buddhist rituals. To shed light on this paradox, a research team led by Koki Shimizu, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Social Studies at Doshisha University, analyzed data from a nationally representative survey, examining religious identity, ritual participation, and beliefs simultaneously. Their findings reveal that religiosity in Japan is rooted in cultural habits and inherited traditions, and that small changes in question wording can dramatically shift the estimates of how religious the population.

Reference
Koki Shimizu, Yoshihide Sakurai, Ambiguous Boundaries of Religious Belief, Behavior, and Belonging in Japan: A Descriptive Analysis of Plural and Cultural Religiosity, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2026 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.70065

For more details, please see the website of Organization for Research Innovation, Doshisha University. 
https://research.doshisha.ac.jp/news/news-detail-97/

This achievement has also been featured in the “EurekAlert!.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1127242

Title: Population distribution in Japan based on religious identity
Caption: A recent study explores the plural, layered, and culturally rooted aspects of religion in Japan. This graphical representation shows the population distribution of Japanese people across different religious and nonreligious domains.
Credit: Assistant Professor Koki Shimizu from Doshisha University, Japan
Image link: https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.70065
Image license: CC-BY 4.0
Usage restrictions: Credit must be given to the creator.