There are a group of scholars who say Shintoism isn't a religion because it doesn't possess important criteria, e.g. a doctrine and a sacred book. I find that to be complete bullshit. "Religion" is a term we've created to label movements society has. That means you're deliberately creating an exclusive definition. You could say, "Hey, even if you're just communing with spirits, that's totally cool. It's a religion." But no. You demand it has something equivalent of the Bible. Or the Qu'ran. Or the Vedas.

Because if you don't, that means you're dismissive of not only the Japanese's beliefs, but also the Native Americans', the Africans', the ancient Romans' and Greeks', hell, pretty much anything before the Jews, Hindus, and Zoroastrians came upon the scene. And THAT is pretty fucking egotistical. Imagine going to a Shinto Shrine and telling a priestess right to her face that what she's doing and believes in isn't a religion. That it doesn't count. Considering the amount of effort these people have put into it, that's pretty insulting.