Long Way to Overcome

No. 2

Shinto, the native Japanese religion, is concerned with the veneration of nature and with ancestor worship; it does not have saints according to the standards of ethical perfection or of exceptionally meritorious performance. According to Shinto belief, every person after his death becomes a Kami, supernatural being who continues to have a part in the life of the community, nation, and family. Good men become good and beneficial Kami, bad men become pernicious ones. Being elevated to the status of a divine being is not a privilege peculiar to those with saintly qualities (Saint, 2007).