Religion In Japan and Thailand
By Neil Melançon
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
Some folks have asked me about the finer points about religion in Japan and Thailand, so I thought I’d go over some of the general ideas and major religions of the area.
In general, the three major religions are Buddhism, Shinto and Hinduism. Buddhism is the one religion kind of connecting Japan and Thailand, although in a weird way, it also separates them and even more strange, there’s a stronger connection between Shinto and Hinduism. I’ll try and break that down for you in parts. First, a very quick overview of each religion.
Buddhism
Buddhism can be divided into three major sects. Think of these as overarching sects like Catholic and Protestant. They can be further subdivided, but we won’t get that deep here. The three sects are Vajravana, Mahayana and Hinayana/Theravada.
Vajravana (Diamond Vehicle”) is the “Yellow Hat” sect that is commonly known as “Tibetan Buddhism.” You find Vajravana, though, in Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal and Northern India. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual head of this sect and can be thought of as the same level as the Pope.
Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Is a sect that has a wide variety of sub-sects, of which Zen is one of them. Mahayana is found in China and Japan, primarily.
Hinayana/Theravada {“Lesser Vehicle/Old Teachings”) is the Buddhism of southeast Asia, including Thailand. Theravada is at once the oldest organized Buddhism and a subject of Hinayana Buddhism. The primary characteristic of this sect is that they actively worship the Buddha as a deity, despite Buddha’s own insistence that he was neither god nor saint. Note of caution: Hinayana is considered insulting in some areas, so please be careful with this term. I only include it here to distinguish the major sects.
Shinto
Shinto is an animistic religion that originated in Japan by the Ainu, the original inhabitants of the island. Over the years, Shinto has absorbed many elements to it, including those from Buddhism and Hinduism, such that it is a syncretic (combined) religion that includes practices from many areas.
The easiest way of understanding it is they believe there is a kami or spirit to all things. Sometimes, these kami can be equivalent of major deities, or sometimes they can be fairy-like entities. People can become kami through notable acts.
Hinduism
The religion of India, it spread eastward through all of southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific such as Indonesia. Hindus believe in many deities and a soul that is reincarnated until it achieves a state of perfection. Hinduism also believes in many different levels of spirits, such as asuras, devas and garudas, including local spirits in the manner that Shinto adherents do as well.
Religion in Japan
There’s a saying that Japanese people are born and die Buddhist, but live Shinto. This is because the funerary rites in particular are associated with Buddhism, thanks to a decree from the Shogun in the 1500’s in order to prevent Western influence from spreading. In general, people go to Shinto shrines mainly to pray for things like success with exams, blessings for cars to be safe and new endeavors. In addition, many homes have a kamidana, a shelf for the divine where they have pictures of their ancestors who have died. In general Japanese will say they are not very religious, but in fact, it is so tightly interwoven in Japanese consciousness and behavior, it’s impossible to separate out where their spiritual life begins and ends.
One interesting thing you’ll see brought over from Buddhism is the use of Sanskrit characters, which is from Hinduism. Both Shinto and Buddhism hold the letters sacred, and many of the deities of both religions have strong ties to the Hindu deities. Essentially, as word of the Hindu deities spread eastward, the Japanese basically said “sure, they’re gods, too” and blended them fairly seamlessly with their own native deities.
I did say deities of both religions—I realize I’ve also said Mahayana Buddhism does not recognize Buddha as an entity. Much like Catholics incorporate pagan gods as saints, Buddhism incorporated local deities as their own. While Buddha is not a god, the gods are considered to have “Buddha-nature.”
In general, these two religions co-exist peacefully with each other. Indeed, many Buddhist temples have Shinto shrines on their grounds. The giant Senso-ji complex in Tokyo is Buddhist, except for that gigantic pagoda, which is part of a big Shinto shrine.
All that said, many western holidays are celebrated as secular holidays in Japan, such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, when having Kentucky Fried Chicken is a must!
Religion in Thailand
Thailand is about 95 percent Buddhist of the Theravada sect. Buddhist holidays are raucous affairs, with lots of parades, flowers and incense. However, the Thai people are very accommodating and have not spent much time purging other influences. Therefore, you’ll see Hindu shrines in exactly the same way as Shinto shrines in Japan. Most properties, especially businesses, will have a Hindu shrine to honor the local spirits so they don’t interfere, at the very least.
As our tour guide said, the Thai will use any excuse to celebrate holidays that they can. As we’re here, it’s the Lunar New Year, and the streets are red, which is a lucky color. Right now, they’re working on incorporating Easter in. This is very similar to what the Japanese do as well.
King Rama IV is venerated as one of the most important kings in Thai history. One of the reasons is he negotiated access to the country for Western powers, which prevented the country from getting colonized. The country as already a major crossroads of trade from Indonesia to the south, China to the north and India to the west. Western religions were welcomed into Thailand, but have never taken much hold.
Christianity in Thailand and Japan
Christianity represents about one percent of adherents in both countries. As I mentioned, in Thailand it was because they were already used to multiple foreign ideas, but they were full up between Buddhism and Hinduism.
Japan it’s a bit darker. The nature of the island nation prevented the spread of Western religion because it’s fairly far north and across a sea to get there. However, Jesuit missionaries did make their way there in the 1500’s and small colonies began to be established, in exchange for access to firearms.
However, it began to spread rapidly across the southern island of Japan, Kyushu, and the Shogun became worried the warlords would have reason to rebel. As such, he condemned many Christians either to be expelled, converted or die by crucifixion. One of the methods used was baptism and funerary rites be conducted by Buddhist priests, which is where those rites became associated with that religion. People were also required to step on Christian icons in order to prove they were not of that faith and those who would not were killed. One samurai lord who had converted to Christianity took his entire clan off Japan and settled in the Philippines, which has made for some interesting legends.
In modern Japan and Thailand, Christianity is of course tolerated and welcomed in many areas. Western influence is really seen in popular culture, fashion and business, so many people in both countries see their native faiths as ways to preserve their own cultural identity. The sweeping, grand edifices of Buddhism and Shinto the class has gotten to see also is unmatched by any other religions in the area and the governments of both countries have done much to preserve them, especially now that they’re such tourist meccas.
I hope this was helpful in giving you a taste of what the religious and spiritual life of both lands are like. Of course, there is much more nuance and detail, but I think this is a good starting point for anyone interested.