from ("sect") and ("doctrine"). Official statistics show Shinto to be Japan's largest religion, with over 80 percent of its population engaging in Shinto activities. Conversely, in questionnaires only a small minority of Japanese describe themselves as "Shintoists." This indicates that a far larger number of people engage in Shinto activities than cite Shinto as their religious identity. There are no formal rituals to become a practitioner of "folk Shinto". Thus, "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting only those who do join organised Shinto sects. Shinto has about 81,000 shrines and about 85,000 priests in the country. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organised religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 30% to 40% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions. In 2008, 26% of the participants reported often visiting Shinto shrines, while only 16.2% expressed belief in the existence of in general. Shinto is primarily found in Japan, although has spread abroad through imperial conquest and emigration. outside Japan are termed ("overseas shrines"), a term coined by Ogasawara Shōzō. When the Japanese Empire collapsed in the 1940s, there were over 600 within its conquered territories, many of which were later disbanded. Japanese migrants have also established in countries like Brazil, while Shinto's lack of doctrinal focus has attracted interest from non-Japanese; in the United States, for example, European Americans have played a significant role in introducing Shinto. See also Dōsojin Hari-Kuyo Iwakura (Shinto) – rock formation where a kami is invited to descend Kodama (spirit) List of Japanese deities Raijin Ryukyuan religion (Ryukyu Shinto) Shide (Shinto) Shinto in popular culture Shinto architecture Shinto in Taiwan Shinto music Twenty-Two Shrines Nyonin Kinsei Women in Shinto Yōsei References Citations Sources Further reading Victoria Bestor, Theodore C. Bestor, Akiko Yamagata. Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society. Routledge, 2011. , External links Jinja Honcho – English – The Official Japanese Organization of 80,000 Shinto Shrines Kokugakuin University Encyclopedia of Shinto and its Japanese Shinto Jinja Database Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America – Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America: Jinja Shinto in North America, branch of Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Mie Japan Heian Jingu Shrine – Heian Shrine in Kyoto City was built in 1895 in commemoration of the 1100th anniversary of the move of Japanese Capital from Nara to Kyoto in 794 Meiji Jingu – Meiji Jingu Shrine in Yoyogi, Tokyo,