shiyakujin no hokora
A Book of Little Traditions
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Table of Contentsshintô and minzoku NEO-shintôCompatibility

Compatibility of minzoku NEO-shintô Sources – 08 / 25 / 2020
On the issue of minzoku NEO-shintô, just how compatible are contempory Paganism, Heathenry, and shintô? What follows is a comparison of the values within the "Parametric Analysis* for identity as a contempory Pagan" with the values for identity as a contemporary Heathen and identity as a shintôist.
* Note: "The Parametric Analysis depends on the competence and judgment of the user; thus, it is important to remember a PA is normative rather than definitive: it looks for what a competent user of the concept at hand would normally say about an instance of the concept (what distinctions a user with good judgment would usually make about the distinctions being made)." ¹
Contact with Participating Spirits – "Intellectual or spiritual power in hetero-human phenomena (including objects and places)."
Identity Values for Contact with Participating Spirits
Pagan Yes – Mandatory (Gods, Goddesses, Spirits of Place, Elementals, the Dead)
Heathen Yes – Mandatory (Aesir, Vanir, Alfar, Jotnar, Dvergar, Land Wights, Trolls, the Dead)
shintô Yes – Mandatory (butsu, bosatsu, kami, yôkai, sorei, the Dead)
State of Participating Spirits – "State of Participating Spirits with regard to time and space." Possible values are Immanent, Dwelling, Transcendent.
Identity Values for State of Participating Spirits
Pagan Immanent – "Indwelling, inherent; actually present or abiding in; remaining within" with specific reference to Participating Spirits
Heathen Dwelling – "Appear within a particular space and remain for a limited time."
shintô Dwelling – "Appear within a particular space and remain for a limited time."
Status of Participating Spirits – "How Participating Spirits are to be treated." Possible values include Designated, Dynamic, and Pantheistic.
Identity Values for Status of Participating Spirits
Pagan Pantheistic – "Tolerant of all participating spirits"
Heathen Dynamic – "A group is designated, but new Participating Spirits can be accredited and enter the group"
shintô Pantheistic – "Tolerant of all participating spirits"
Register of Experience – "The domain from which metaphorical explanation of life happenings is drawn."
Identity Values for Register of Experience
Pagan Nature – Mandatory (Environmental, Acknowledgement of Dependence)
Self – Mandatory (Personal Experiences)
Others – Optional (Art, Tradition, Elders, Outsiders)
Heathen Stories and Myth – Mandatory (Folklore, Culture)
The Social Group – Mandatory (Kindred, Family)
Nature – Mandatory (Environmental, Acknowledgement of Dependence)
Academia – Optional (History, Archeology, Linguistics)
shintô dai shizen – Mandatory
The Social Group – Mandatory (Village, Family, School, Employer)
Praxis – "The practices through which group norms are expressed and transmitted to the next generation."
Identity Values for Praxis
Pagan Mandatory – Participation (i.e., Ritual & Holidays)
Optional – Worship, Prayer, Meditation, Magic, Divination
Non-practice – Proper practice is undiscovered
Primal Life – Life is not separate from practice
Heathen Mandatory – Participation (i.e., Ritual, Holidays, Offering & Gifting), Cultural, Study Groups
Optional – Worship, Magic, Divination, Prayer
shintô Mandatory – Participation (i.e., matsuri & Offering), Cultural
Optional – Worship, Prayer, Meditation, Magic, Divination
Psychic Phenomena – "The general acceptance of, and explanation for Psychic Phenomena. (ESP)"
Identity Values for Psychic Phenomena
Pagan Accepted – No comment
Participating Spirit helper
Gift from Participating Spirit
Natural capacity
Heathen Accepted – No comment
Participating Spirit helper
Gift from Participating Spirit
Natural capacity
shintô Accepted – Possession by Participating Spirit
Gift from Participating Spirit
Natural capacity
After examining the values for each of the parameters, a case can be made – from the viewpoint of the practitioners of these three groups – that while distinct these groups are much more similar than dissimilar. In fact, none of the values of any group in any particular parameter are mutually exclusive with those of the other two groups.

Adapted from Stone (2007) and Stone (2008)
¹ Stone, C. J. (2007). Contemporary Paganism: A Parametric Analysis. Unpublished manuscript.
  Stone, C. J. (2008). Religion: A Parametric Analysis. Unpublished manuscript.

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