Across the world, religion is a dominant idea for many cultures; Exemplifying a certain way of life, serving as the basis for faith, and bringing charity to the world, religion is a broad concept. For different cultures and countries religion can vary based on demographics, socioeconomic class, and ethnicity. The main concepts of religion in Japan are based on nature and superstition. The main religion in Japan remains Shinto, while other religions come and go, intertwining into Japanese society. For every Japanese who practices Shinto, another religion that can be practiced doubly is Buddhism. Are these religions common to each other in theory? Do they have the same goals? And what other religions claim a popular following in Japan? While Buddhism was brought to Japan via China and Korea in the 6th century, Shinto appears to have always resided in Japan (Japan-Guide.com, 2007). The religion of Shinto is still very mysterious today because "in some areas there is still no certain knowledge... over the centuries many Japanese have written extensively about Shinto, but these are largely expressions of their individual views, except for the relatively brief three-quarters of a century of regimentation after the Meiji Restoration when there was an authoritative and artificial government-created interpretation of Shinto, there is no large, generally accepted body of interpretations" (Ono, Sokyo ix). Buddhism was founded by the teachings of Guatama Siddhartha, born around the 6th century BC in Nepal. The spread of Buddhism lasted many centuries and did not reach Japan until the 6th century AD (Buddhanet). Although there are many sects of Buddhism, ... middle of paper ......ism and "new religions" seem different in many respects, there are common themes and theories between them. Having said that, it is also observed that many different religions across the world share a number of commonalities. Shinto and Buddhism define many cultural values ​​and morals that Japanese people use in daily conduct. "New religions" are also seen to permeate the daily lives of Japanese people. These religions practiced together make Japan the diverse yet unified country it is today. Bibliography "Buddhism". 2007. japan-Guide.com. April 09, 2007 "Buddhanet." Buddhanet. 2007. 09 April 2007 .Hori, Ichiro. Popular religion in Japan. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1968. Ono, Sokyo. Shinto: the Kami Way. Ruthland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc, 1969. “The Four Noble Truths.” The Great Vision. December 13, 2006. March 9, 2007 www.thebigview.com