What state religion unique to Japan believes in worship of the emperor?

What state religion unique to Japan believes in worship of the emperor?

• A. Buddhism
• B. Shinto
• C. Confucianism
• D. Taoism

Answer: (B)

Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan and centers on living connections with kami, spirits found in nature and ancestors. In Japan’s modern history, especially during the Meiji era, Shinto was elevated as a national ideology that taught the emperor was divine, a direct descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. This belief tied religious authority to the emperor and helped unify the country, giving him a sacred, unquestioned role in state rituals and governance. That combination—a native religious tradition plus the notion of the emperor’s divine status—makes Shinto the option that fits the idea of a state-supported worship of the emperor. Buddhism is widely practiced in Japan and influential culturally, but it does not center on emperor worship. Confucianism and Taoism originate in China and, while they influenced Japanese ethics and thought in various periods, they are not the tradition uniquely tied to worship of the emperor in Japan.

Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan and centers on living connections with kami, spirits found in nature and ancestors. In Japan’s modern history, especially during the Meiji era, Shinto was elevated as a national ideology that taught the emperor was divine, a direct descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. This belief tied religious authority to the emperor and helped unify the country, giving him a sacred, unquestioned role in state rituals and governance. That combination—a native religious tradition plus the notion of the emperor’s divine status—makes Shinto the option that fits the idea of a state-supported worship of the emperor.

Buddhism is widely practiced in Japan and influential culturally, but it does not center on emperor worship. Confucianism and Taoism originate in China and, while they influenced Japanese ethics and thought in various periods, they are not the tradition uniquely tied to worship of the emperor in Japan.