Hinduism vs Shinto

Hinduism versus Shinto comparison chart
	Hinduism	Shinto
Place of worship	Temple (Mandir)	Shrines.
Place of origin	Indian Subcontinent	Japan
Use of statues and pictures	Common	Permitted.
Belief of God	Many gods, but realize that they all come from Atman.	Numerous deities.
Life after death	A constant cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment is reached.	Yomi
Practices	Meditation, yoga, contemplation, yagna (communal worship), offerings in the temple.	Visit to shrines to pay homage to Shinto deities; Shamanism, etc.
Clergy	No official clergy. Gurus, Yogis, Rishis, Brahmins, Pundits, priests, priestesses, monks, and nuns.	Priests, miko, etc.
Literal Meaning	The followers of Vedas are called as Arya, noble person. Arya is not a dynasty, ethnicity or race. Anyone who follows the teachings of Vedas is considered Arya.	The Way of the gods.
Founder	Not credited to a particular founder.	No founder.
Goal of religion	To break the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation, and attain salvation.	To serve the Shinto deities, or Kami, as they are known.
View of the Buddha	Some Hindu sects claim Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu. Others believe he was a holy man.	Buddha is followed by many Shintoists.
Means of salvation	Reaching enlightenment by the Path of Knowledge, the Path of devotion, or the Path of Good Deeds.	By serving the Kami.
Scriptures	Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas, Gita. Smrti and Sruti are oral scriptures.	Kojiki, Nihon Shoki
Original Language(s)	Sanskrit	Japanese
Marriage	Man may marry one woman. However, kings in mythology often married more than one woman.	Between one man and one woman.
Followers	Hindus.	Shintoists.
Geographical distribution and predominance	Mainly in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Has significant population in Fiji, Bhutan, UAE, etc.	Shinto has influenced Japan for several millenia, with the height appearing before World War 2
Confessing sins	Repentance for unintentional sins are prescribed, but intentional sins have to be repaid through karmic consequences.	Shinto has harae (purifying rites), which can be performed with water, salt, or a stick with paper dangling from its end.
Status of women	Women can become priestesses or nuns. Women are given equal rights as men.	Women may become priestesses. But are still seen as less than men
Religious Law	Dharma shastras	N/A
Symbols	Om, Swastika, etc.	The Torii gate reliligous symbol, mark the entrance to sacred space. Representing the transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the gods.
Principle	To follow dharma, i.e. eternal laws	The essence of Shinto is the Japanese devotion to invisible spiritual beings and powers called kami, to shrines, and to various rituals.
Belief	Diverse beliefs depending on sects.	Shinto is both a religion and way of life of Japan. Numerous kami (gods/goddesses/spirits).
Second coming of Jesus	N/A.	N/A.
About	Devotion to the various gods & goddesses of Hinduism.	Refers to the indigenous religion of Japan. With Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism entering into Japan, the Japanese wanted to ensure that their older religious traditions were preserved, so they named it, and made it the official religion of Japan.
Prophets	No prophets, but Rishis could be considered equivalent in Vedic times. Avataras of Vedic God are different from human reincarnations, but could be considered equivalent to Christian idea of God in flesh.	N/A
Position of Abraham	N/A.	N/A.
Day of worship	Orthodox schools prescribe three prayer times a day: at dawn, noon and dusk.	N/A
Concept of God	God is in everything and everything is God.	Numerous deities.
Population	1 Billion.	From 4 Million to 110 Million, debated. Most people that practice Shinto also practice Buddhism.
Holy days/Official Holidays	Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.	The Japanese national holidays, as well as local shrine festivals (matsuri).
View of Oriental religions	Buddhism and Jainism were considered sister religions by traditional Hindu schools. Buddhists do not consider Buddha an avatar of Vishnu and believe that Hindu priests made that claim to stem the spread of Buddhism, which threatened Hinduism.	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.
Views on Other Religions	Believe all religions have some truth in them.	Shintoists usually follow Buddhism or another religion too.
Time of origin	circa 3000 B.C.E	Approx. 700 B.C.
Can atheists partake in this religion's practices?	Yes.	No.
Angels	The concept of angels does not apply in Hinduism. Some mythological stories include rishis, who sometimes serve as the messengers of God.	Shintoists worship numerous spirits, called Kami.
Religion which atheists may still be adherents of	Charvakas and Sankyas are atheistic groups in Hinduism.	Yes: Shinto does not require belief to be necessary for a practitioner.
Definition	The word Hindu has geographical significance and was used originally for those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus. Hindus themselves, call their religion "Sanatana Dharma, " meaning "Eternal Law."	Way of the gods.
Place and Time of origin	Indian Subcontinent, beginning with the Vedic civilization circa 3000 BC	Approx. 2,700 years ago in Japan
View of Dharmic religions	Believe that Buddhism, Jainism, & Sikhism should reunite with Hinduism.	Buddhism is practiced by most Shintoists.
Branches	Shaivism, Shakti, and Vaishnavism	State Shinto, Religious Shinto, and Folk Shinto.
Use of Statues	Allowed, but not compulsory	Permitted.
Virtue(s) in which religion is based upon	Follow dharma (righteouness), eternal law.	Cleanliness/ Purity, Respect.
Use of statues, images	Common.	Permitted.
Rites	Some Hindus believe in a "thread ceremony" for men.	Shamanism.
Geographical predominance	India, Nepal	Japan, Hawaii

Place of worship

Temple (Mandir)

Shrines.

Place of origin

Indian Subcontinent

Japan

Use of statues and pictures

Common

Permitted.

Belief of God

Many gods, but realize that they all come from Atman.

Numerous deities.

Life after death

A constant cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment is reached.

Yomi

Practices

Meditation, yoga, contemplation, yagna (communal worship), offerings in the temple.

Visit to shrines to pay homage to Shinto deities; Shamanism, etc.

Clergy

No official clergy. Gurus, Yogis, Rishis, Brahmins, Pundits, priests, priestesses, monks, and nuns.

Priests, miko, etc.

Literal Meaning

The followers of Vedas are called as Arya, noble person. Arya is not a dynasty, ethnicity or race. Anyone who follows the teachings of Vedas is considered Arya.

The Way of the gods.

Founder

Not credited to a particular founder.

No founder.

Goal of religion

To break the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation, and attain salvation.

To serve the Shinto deities, or Kami, as they are known.

View of the Buddha

Some Hindu sects claim Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu. Others believe he was a holy man.

Buddha is followed by many Shintoists.

Means of salvation

Reaching enlightenment by the Path of Knowledge, the Path of devotion, or the Path of Good Deeds.

By serving the Kami.

Scriptures

Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas, Gita. Smrti and Sruti are oral scriptures.

Kojiki, Nihon Shoki

Original Language(s)

Sanskrit

Japanese

Marriage

Man may marry one woman. However, kings in mythology often married more than one woman.

Between one man and one woman.

Followers

Hindus.

Shintoists.

Geographical distribution and predominance

Mainly in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Has significant population in Fiji, Bhutan, UAE, etc.

Shinto has influenced Japan for several millenia, with the height appearing before World War 2

Confessing sins

Repentance for unintentional sins are prescribed, but intentional sins have to be repaid through karmic consequences.

Shinto has harae (purifying rites), which can be performed with water, salt, or a stick with paper dangling from its end.

Status of women

Women can become priestesses or nuns. Women are given equal rights as men.

Women may become priestesses. But are still seen as less than men

Religious Law

Dharma shastras

N/A

Symbols

Om, Swastika, etc.

The Torii gate reliligous symbol, mark the entrance to sacred space. Representing the transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the gods.

Principle

To follow dharma, i.e. eternal laws

The essence of Shinto is the Japanese devotion to invisible spiritual beings and powers called kami, to shrines, and to various rituals.

Belief

Diverse beliefs depending on sects.

Shinto is both a religion and way of life of Japan. Numerous kami (gods/goddesses/spirits).

Second coming of Jesus

N/A.

About

Devotion to the various gods & goddesses of Hinduism.

Refers to the indigenous religion of Japan. With Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism entering into Japan, the Japanese wanted to ensure that their older religious traditions were preserved, so they named it, and made it the official religion of Japan.

Prophets

No prophets, but Rishis could be considered equivalent in Vedic times. Avataras of Vedic God are different from human reincarnations, but could be considered equivalent to Christian idea of God in flesh.

N/A

Position of Abraham

N/A.

Day of worship

Orthodox schools prescribe three prayer times a day: at dawn, noon and dusk.

N/A

Concept of God

God is in everything and everything is God.

Numerous deities.

Population

1 Billion.

From 4 Million to 110 Million, debated. Most people that practice Shinto also practice Buddhism.

Holy days/Official Holidays

Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.

The Japanese national holidays, as well as local shrine festivals (matsuri).

View of Oriental religions

Buddhism and Jainism were considered sister religions by traditional Hindu schools. Buddhists do not consider Buddha an avatar of Vishnu and believe that Hindu priests made that claim to stem the spread of Buddhism, which threatened Hinduism.

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.

Views on Other Religions

Believe all religions have some truth in them.

Shintoists usually follow Buddhism or another religion too.

Time of origin

circa 3000 B.C.E

Approx. 700 B.C.

Can atheists partake in this religion's practices?

Yes.

No.

Angels

The concept of angels does not apply in Hinduism. Some mythological stories include rishis, who sometimes serve as the messengers of God.

Shintoists worship numerous spirits, called Kami.

Religion which atheists may still be adherents of

Charvakas and Sankyas are atheistic groups in Hinduism.

Yes: Shinto does not require belief to be necessary for a practitioner.

Definition

The word Hindu has geographical significance and was used originally for those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus. Hindus themselves, call their religion "Sanatana Dharma, " meaning "Eternal Law."

Way of the gods.

Place and Time of origin

Indian Subcontinent, beginning with the Vedic civilization circa 3000 BC

Approx. 2,700 years ago in Japan

View of Dharmic religions

Believe that Buddhism, Jainism, & Sikhism should reunite with Hinduism.

Buddhism is practiced by most Shintoists.

Branches

Shaivism, Shakti, and Vaishnavism

State Shinto, Religious Shinto, and Folk Shinto.

Use of Statues

Allowed, but not compulsory

Permitted.

Virtue(s) in which religion is based upon

Follow dharma (righteouness), eternal law.

Cleanliness/ Purity, Respect.

Use of statues, images

Common.

Permitted.

Rites

Some Hindus believe in a "thread ceremony" for men.

Shamanism.

Geographical predominance

India, Nepal

Japan, Hawaii

Hinduism vs. Shinto

Comparison chart

Comments: Hinduism vs Shinto