State Shinto

State Shinto

State Shintō (国家神道, Kokka Shintō?) has been called the state religion of the Empire of Japan, although it did not exist as a single institution and no "Shintō" was ever declared a state religion. Fridell argues that scholars call the period 1868-1945 the "State Shinto period" because, "during these decades, Shinto elements came under a great deal of overt state influence and control as the Japanese government systematically utilized shrine worship as a major force for mobilizing imperial loyalties on behalf of modern nation-building." The term "state Shinto" appears in the Shinto Directive" of 1945, which concerned that part of the Shinto world which it termed "a nonreligious national cult commonly known as State Shinto, National Shinto, or Shrine Shinto."

The idea of "State Shinto" was popularized in 1970 by the postwar religious scholar Shigeyoshi Murakami to classify those ideals, rituals and institutions that were created by the government to promote the divinity of the emperor and the uniqueness of Japan (kokutai). Murakami's book was one of the most popular books about religion in postwar Japan. While the concept has since been considered by scholars to be overreaching the actual scope of government interference in religion, it is certain that the government interfered.