>>112563
You're right, we tend to see religions as about beliefs and faith when practice and ritual is more important for most people. Faith is really a Westerrn Christian idea. If you look at India's most popular Muslim shrines, they are extremely popular with Hindus and many Hindus work as attendees. There are Christian shrines in Turkey that get more visits from Muslims and the shrine of Rumi was popular with Greek Orthodox Christians. People are more interested in the spritual powers of these places than theology or metaphysics. Ordinary people are usually pragmatic and they will go where they can find something to help them in their lives. Often they have their own interpretation of why these things work or they don't care as long as the results are good. There's nothing wrong with that attitude. Its actually very sensible.

This relationship to the world where people communicate with spirits or animals, think objects or natural places have special powers, relationships of sacrifice and gift giving, casting out evil spirits etc. is innate to humans and common to most major religions. I wouldn't say Shinto is a surviving version of that or that organized religions killed it, they actually strengthened it. What's slowly snuffing it out is the secular materialist worldview and gradual disenchantment or replacement with consumerist values and pop culture. Japan is no different. Temples have been declining for decades and many are just tourist traps now.

Shinto aesthetics are super comfy though and the barrier for entry is pretty low. Its not exclusive like belonging to a church or synagogue but still nationalistic and Japancentric.

Pic: abandoned Shinto shrine in Nakano