Report on religious traditions Religion is Tenrikyo Research Paper

Report on religious traditions Religion is Tenrikyo - Research Paper Example Some would even argue that it is still not a separate religion, but remains a branch or sect of Shinto. The name comes from Tenri ,which means "heavenly wisdom" in Japanese, or â€Å"heavenly intelligence ( Morrigan 2013), and Kyo meaning "teaching, and so Tenriko is the teaching of heavenly wisdom as put forward by a benign deity. In its earliest days was mainly a grass roots peasant’s movement, with a strong shamanic element. It set out to meet the needs of ordinary people and also drew its support in the main from the lower stratas of Japanese society. Followers of Tenriko have faith in God, who is known by several names. This God has expressed his divine will through Nakayama Miki's part as the Shrine of God, together with other less important leaders who followed her, such as Honseki Izo Iburi, known when young for his carpentry skills, and who took over Tenriko leadership on the death of the foundress. Morrigan ( 2013) discusses the fact that, despite its female founder , Tenriko can be seen as sexist with leadership often being handed down the male line, father to son , whether or not the new leader is the most suitable , and clearly sees this as something that has gone wrong. Having researched lists of clerics Morrigan has found ( 2013) no sign of a church led by a woman , or any movement asking for the advocating for a greater inclusion of women in leadership in Tenriko. Similarly to the situation found in too many other faiths , and in particular in Christian churches , women tend to have their own organizations and activities, although officially training for ministers is open to both males and females and the idea of equality is an important tenet of the faith. It seems likely that the more patriarchal practices which have crept into Tenriko have occurred as it became established as an officially recognized part of Shintoism and also had to survive the difficult times of the early 20th century, which of course included Japan’s involvem ent in two major wars, as well as the country’s economic collapses during the Great Depression and as a result of World War II. According to Dempsey ( 2013) although there are now followers in many countries, this new religion began in Japan in the mid-19th century, and is based upon revelations to a woman called Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as Oyasama. The exact date of the church’s founding is 10/26/1838, the date on which Miki’s husband Zenbei felt he was complying with the wishes of God by accepting his wife as a shrine, that is he was accepting that God was actually dwelling inside his wife. They had married when Miki was only 13, and she has been described as a perfect and virtuous housewife. The events described took place more than 30 years after their marriage ( Let us reason ministries, 2009). In her 40’s a Shino priest was called to the home to carry out some form of "mystical ritual" in order to cure both Miki and her husband. At this time she went into a trance and had her first revelation. She spoke as if the voice of God was actually speaking through her. Tenrikyo Church World Headquarters can be found in the city of Tenri, in central Japan. I tis built around Jiba, the place where, according to ancient tradition humankind was first created by God the Parent and, so, symbolically, and according to the faith of believers , is therefore the ancestral home of all people. According to the doctrine of Tenriko ,:- In the beginning, the world was a muddy ocean. Tsukihi, God the Parent, finding this chaos unbearably tasteless, thought of creating human beings in order to see the Joyous Life and thus share in that joy.( Doctrine of Tenriko,