Deity Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== Shinto ==== {{Main|Shinto}} Shinto is [[polytheism|polytheistic]], involving the veneration of many deities known as {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}},{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=23|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} or sometimes as {{lang|ja-Latn|jingi}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=70|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=31}} In Japanese, no distinction is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} refers both to individual {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} and the collective group of {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd|1a2=Williams|1y=2005|1p=35|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} Although lacking a direct English translation,{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=8}} the term {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} has sometimes been rendered as "god" or "spirit".{{sfnm|1a1=Earhart|1y=2004|1p=2|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} The historian of religion [[Joseph Kitagawa]] deemed these English translations "quite unsatisfactory and misleading",{{sfn|Kitagawa|1987|p=36}} and various scholars urge against translating {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} into English.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=194|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=84}} In Japanese, it is often said that there are [[Indefinite and fictitious numbers#Specific values used as indefinite|eight million]] {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}, a term which connotes an infinite number,{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=29|2a1=Littleton|2y=2002|2p=24}} and Shinto practitioners believe that they are present everywhere.{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=1}} They are not regarded as [[omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[omniscience|omniscient]], or necessarily [[immortality|immortal]].{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd|1a2=Williams|1y=2005|1p=35|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=52}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page