There were three main religions in East Asia around the 1500s, Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism. Confucianism was founded and developed by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher in the sixth century BCE. This religion is based off of building on one's virtue and striving for moral perfection. It believes that human beings can be taught and perfected through religion. Shinto began in the Yamato Dynasty in Japan around the 500s BCE. Shinto is not as developed as most other religions, and follows the general code of Confucianism. Followers practice this religion with seasonal celebrations and they have many sacred places, in places like mountains or springs. The third type of religion found in East Asia is Taoism. Tao means the "path" or "way" of life. Taoism focuses mostly on nature, and
emphasizes three aspects: compassion, moderation, and humility. Followers of this religion believe and worship mainly in peace, flexibility, and spontaneity.
East Asians' main outlook on life is animistic. They believe that there are spirits in objects from nature (rocks, trees, sometime even animal... etc) This belief is not it's own religion in East Asia, rather it is an idea they included into their religions. These three prominent religions in the 1500s are actually the minority religious groups around Asia today. Now the most common religion in most of Asia is Islam, with more than 1.2 billion followers in their country alone!
(the starred symbols on the image above represent Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism.)
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