| Place of origin | China |
Japan |
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| Use of statues and pictures | Permitted. |
Permitted. |
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| Practices | Visit to temples to pay homage to Ti'en (while it can refer to God or Heaven, it traditionally refers to social power), Confucius, and ancestors; To practice ('Jing zuo, ') or 'Quiet Sitting', a neo-Confucian seeking of self-cultivation. |
Visit to shrines to pay homage to Shinto deities; Shamanism, etc. |
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| Life after death | Ancestors and heritage is important, but not worshiped. |
Yomi |
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| Belief of God | Depending on the religion held, usually Buddhist. Confucianism is not strictly a religion but rather advises a schema of social order. |
Numerous deities. |
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| Clergy | Bureaucrats. |
Priests, miko, etc. |
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| Scriptures | Analects of Confucius and Mencius; I Ching; Doctrine of Mean, etc. |
Kojiki, Nihon Shoki |
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| Literal Meaning | Disciple of Confucius. |
The Way of the gods. |
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| Founder | Kong Qiu (Confucius) |
No founder. |
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| Concept of Deity | Most believe in One God, but this is not necessary since Confucianism is not a religion but a belief system about social ordering. |
Numerous deities. The sun is one of the most important ones(they believe that the sun is a goddess). |
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| Place of worship | Temples. |
Shrines. |
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| Status of women | Socially inferior to men. |
Women may become priestesses. But are still seen as less than men |
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| Geographical distribution and predominance | Asia. |
Shinto has influenced Japan for several millenia, with the height appearing before World War 2 |
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| View of the Buddha | Buddha is followed by many Confucians. |
Buddha is followed by many Shintoists. |
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| Original Language(s) | Mandarin or Cantonese |
Japanese |
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| Goal of religion | To have a structured society. |
To serve the Shinto deities, or Kami, as they are known. |
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| Concept of God | One God. |
Numerous deities. |
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| Followers | Confucianists |
Shintoists. |
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| View of Oriental religions | Confucianists usually follow other Oriental religions too. |
Although Shinto became organized, in order to prevent being overtaken by Buddhism or any other religion, it sees no contradiction in belonging to any other religion. |
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| Belief | Confucianism is sometimes mistakenly seen as a religion but it is really a philosophy of China, and of Asia as a whole. It stresses human conduct over belief in God. |
Shinto is both a religion and way of life of Japan. Numerous kami (gods/goddesses/spirits). |
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| Original Languages | Mandarin or Cantonese |
Japanese. |
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| Principle | Key principles are Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), Li (propriety/ritual), Zhi (Wisdom), Xin (trustworthiness), Xiao (filial piety), Zhong (loyalty), Min (diligence) and Hui (kindness). Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, and Xin are the "Five Constants". |
The essence of Shinto is the Japanese devotion to invisible spiritual beings and powers called kami, to shrines, and to various rituals. |
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| Holy days/Official Holidays | Chinese New Year, Teacher Day, Ancestor Day. |
The Japanese national holidays, as well as local shrine festivals (matsuri). |
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| Time of origin | Approx. 550 B.C.E.(Before Common Era) |
Approx. 700 B.C. |
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| Offshoot religions | Cao Dai. |
Tenrikyo, other Japanese sects. |
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| Can atheists partake in this religion's practices? | Yes. |
No. |
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| Views on Other Religions | Confucianists see no contradiction in following more than one religion. |
Shintoists usually follow Buddhism or another religion too. |
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| Use of statues, images | Permitted. |
Permitted. |
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| Branches | Han Confucianism; Neo Confucianism; Contemporary Confucianism; Japanese Confucianism; Korean Confucianism; Vietnamese Confucianism; Boston Confucianism. |
State Shinto, Religious Shinto, and Folk Shinto. |
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| Virtue(s) in which religion is based upon | Respect |
Cleanliness/ Purity, Respect. |
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Confucianism 
Catholicism
Comments: Confucianism vs Shinto