Shinto
Demographics

Official statistics show Shinto to be Japan's largest religion, with over 80 per cent of its population engaging in Shinto activities. Conversely, in questionnaires only a small minority of Japanese describe themselves as "Shintoists." This indicates that a far larger number of people engage in Shinto activities than cite Shinto as their religious identity. There are no formal rituals to become a practitioner of "folk Shinto". Thus, "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting only those who do join organized Shinto sects. Shinto has about 81,000 shrines and about 85,000 priests in the country. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organised religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 30% to 40% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions. In 2008, 26% of the participants reported often visiting Shinto shrines, while only 16.2% expressed belief in the existence of kami in general.
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