Konnichiwa Maciamo-san!

I already answered, "All people can pray to god even one is not believer". This is my answer. If you can not understand my saying, please look the next sentence.

You regard a religion as a tool. You choose a religion, god and denomination by the state of affairs, just like a selecting TV channels. Of course it is not a mistake. Actually, a lot of young Japanese has the same idea as you. They celebrate the childbirth in Shinto, celebrate the wedding in Christianity, and hold a funeral in Buddhism. I can understand your idea very well. But you have a simple mistake. To put it more precisely, a lot of people falling into the same mistake.

This idea that religion as a tool is a very new idea. And this idea don't apply to old days. The reason of the idea that religion as a tool is a social rapid progress and value's diversity. There is a various one's values and religious sense of values is very low now. But it is a relative depreciation against the new various values. If go back to older days, religious sense of values become bigger than now. And in prehistoric times, it was almost the same that one's values and religious sense of values. But the point of this part is not a difference of religious sense between now days and old days. The point of this part is a influence of religion against the human race.

Originally, religion was born before the history of man. And religion influenced a lot of matter, customs, thought, language, law, learning, science and etc. In this case, religion means a primitive religion but not modern religion. And the religion was related to the history of man(especially racial history) and culture deeply. Believing religion means a getting(taking?) culture strictly, especially religious sense of values. If you learn other religion, it does not means believing religion, it means a getting knowledge of religion. Even if you pray to god on other religion, it means only a holding religious ceremony. Even if you pray to god with knowledge of divine grace, it is just a magic worship but not believing religion.

If I pray to Hindu god, it doesn't means a believer in Hinduism. Because I don't know cultural matters(religious background) in Hinduism. And my cultural values(thought, morals, custom, knowledge, political awareness, law and those religious background) is very typical Japanese values because I was born and bred in Japan. Of course I know Hindu myth and I like Hindu gods, but it does't means believer in Hinduism too. If I want to be believer in Hinduism, I must get Hindu culture and renounce all Japanese values. But one who born and bred in Hindu society(culture) is a believer in Hinduism even if he/she don't pray to Hindu god. Praying Hindu god or not, visiting temple or not, visiting sacred place or not, keeping religious precepts or not, those behavior means a degree of one's devotion for religion. Of course if one give up his/her faith, or convert to other religion perfectly, when he/she is not a believer in Hinduism. But one can not throw one's values away easeily.

Now days, advanced nations has the principle of separation of government and religion. The religion was separated from culture, and was sent away into one of academic discipline. And people who live in advanced nations think that believing religion and knowing religion is the same, or praying god is a religion. But religion is not only a knowledge, of course it is not a tool too.

Now, we talk about Japanese family name. The Japanese ideas about family(family name) is related to the traditional values of Japanese culture deeply. And you must know the Japanese traditional values(thought) about family if you want to understand Japanese family. The knowing Japanese religious values is a shorter way to understand Japanese family, because religious values was born very old days and religion influenced culture deeply. And I tried to explain about Japanese family by the relation of Japanese religious values(ideas). But religious values(ideas) is not the same in all age,values change with the times. We can not understand old days values(ideas) by now days sense. Of course it is the best if I can explain the changing of values in all age. But it is a impossible because it means the same as to explain Japanese history. Even if I select only a Japanese religious history, I can still not explain.
An instance, do you know that the Japanese had not Shinto and Buddhism in ancient times? What was the Japanese religion in ancient times? Why Shinto was made by the noble artificially? Why Buddhism was spreaded and protected by the Emperor of Japan(of course the Emperor of Japan is god of Shinto)? Why the Buddha and Shinto god was deified in the same shrines and temples? Why Shinto and Buddhism spreaded in the people? Those mutter are a religious mutter but those mutter influenced Japanese culture deeply. I can not explain the influence of all mutter.
But you need knowledge of Japanese religious values(ideas) if you want to know Japanese family. And I explained Japanese family by abstract generalization because you don't need special knowledge of Japanese religious values(ideas). There is the lowest knowledge of Japanese religious values(ideas), and I gave to popularize preference. Of course there is a lot of small mistake because my saying is a rough generalization. But I want to read the big principal object but not a side issue. I think that you don't need to understand religious details, you only have to know an outline. Because we talk about Japanese family now, and Japanese religious values(ideas) is only a tool of knowing Japanese family. In this case, "you" means all person who reading this thread. I always keep the existence of reader who don't join discussion in mind. I just hope, a lot of people know about Japan.

return to the first subject in this post...

I answered, "All people can pray to god even one is not believer". It dose not means saying my religion(religious faith) if I say what god worship or believe. And even if I answer what god worship or believe, you can not understand my religion(religious faith). Because you judge my answer by your religious values without my religious background. Of course if you know Japanese religious background, when you can understand my religion(religious faith) correctly. But you regard Shinto and Buddhism as quite different religion. Your knowledge is not mistake, Shinto and Buddhism is quite different religion now. But both religions can not separate each other in Japanese religion(religious faith). You only know a religion as knowledge, and you don't understand the true nature of religion, Maciamo-san.

One can not understand the true nature of religion from only a religious information(knowledge). And knowing and understanding is different matter.

But don't forget, our main subject is "Japanese family name" in this thread.
Sorry, if my English expression is not good.

NANGI