Quote:
Originally Posted by RealJames
In Japan such opinions of religion are not considered to be so judgemental.
I know you know that. 
I hear much "stronger" (from a western point of view) things said quite often when the topic arises and it's not said with an air of confrontation or negativity even.
That said, I take the "undeveloped" to mean that most people who consider themselves to believe in Shintoism often don't have a solid set of beliefs in common.
Note: As an example, there are heaps of people who consider themselves Shintoist but don't think anything of the Emperor. |
Calling a belief system that has been around for well over 1000 years, "undeveloped" is a judgement and a negative one.
Are you telling me that many Japanese also consider Shinto to be "underdeveloped"? I would be surprised if you could find 5 Japanese that thought Shinto needed some serious work to mature.
Saying a belief system has "room for development" clearly states that the belief system needs to improve and mature. It is implies that the belief system is incomplete.
Come back and look at Shinto in 200 years and it will look essentially the same as it does today.
Like I said, no one believes the Emperor is a god. I do not believe you must believe that to be a practicing Shintoist, just as there are practicing Christians that don't believe Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead and flew into the sky.