Um...pardon me, Maciamo? East Asia has historically been EXCEEDINGLY RELIGIOUS. Are you not aware of the numerous temples, shrines, local superstitions, et cetera, that thrived alongside the numerous and extensive religious movements of the Far East? We have Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism (of about 10 varieties!), Mohism, et cetera.
I am more than familiar with East Asian cultures, thank you. I have studied them extensively, especially the Japanese one, having lived in Japan for several years. I am also the author of
Wa-pedia, a site similar to Eupedia but focusing on Japan, where I have written abundantly about Buddhism and Shintoism.
Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism are not religions in the sense than Europeans or Middle Easterners understand it. They are at best philosophies. For a start they all lack the concept of god. Buddha and Confucius were regular men who never claimed to be god, and never claimed that there was a god (or several gods). Both Buddhism and Confucianism are atheistic.
Confucianism is just a set of ethical and sociopolitical rules and guidances. It is more a mindset, a culture than anything else. It includes such concepts as the filial piety, loyalty to the state/family/company, cultural etiquette, seniority system (sempai vs kohai in Japan), and the use of honorific and humble terms in everyday language. In fact, it pervaded East Asian culture so much that most Japanese aren't even aware that they follow (rather strictly) Confucian teachings, because nobody ever talks about Confucianism in Japan. It makes no doubt that they are Confucian in their attitude though, much more so than Buddhist.
Buddhism is more of a self-improvement method to be at peace with oneself and the world that surround us. As a Atheist, I consider Buddhism compatible with my metaphysical beliefs. Some sects of Japanese Buddhism have imported "deities" (more like demons) from Shintoism as part of the
folklore (for instance
Raijin and
Fujin, although I can assure you that there is no cult or actual divine belief associated with them).
Shintoism is difficult to classify. On one side there are primitive animistic beliefs (like the "spirits of the forest", or the belief that some stones, waterfalls or giant trees are "sacred", whatever that means). The Japanese word
kami, referring to these "spirits" is often mistranslated as "gods" or "deities". It is completely wrong though, as kami have nothing in common with gods or deities, apart from being mysterious and invisible. They have no power, no names, and no particular attributes.
The other side of Shintoism is more recent, and was revived by State Shintoism from the late 19th century. It is a set of Japanese traditions and customs, typically practised in Shinto shrines (
not temples). This includes wedding ceremonies, the
Shichigosan celebration for children, and various festivals. I have participated to many of them, and there are totally non-religious in character. Actually almost all Japanese are essentially atheists and non-religious, even if they call themselves Shintoist or Buddhist. It is not a contradiction at all as these aren't religions (unless you really wish to call them that way, but then any lifestyle choice could be called a religion, which becomes preposterous).
Like Shintoism, Taoism grew from animism, and includes a lot of Chinese (this time) folklore. Like for Confucianism, Taoism is so cultural that it pervaded Korean and Japanese cultures, almost without them noticing it (at least today). No Japanese would ever call themselves Taoist, yet they all know about the Yin-Yang, the Chinese traditional zodiac, Chinese medicine, Feng Shui, and all the other things that constitute Taoism.
If you thought even a moment that Taoism, Confucianism or Shintoism were religions, then you must not have the faintest idea of what they stand for, or have a very odd definition of religion. They are sets of cultural elements, not religions. Therefore East Asians aren't very religious, and never were. Their only traditional religion is animism, which has long ceased to be believed in by anyone but the most superstitious country people.
The Siberian people were universally primitive polytheists and animists. They believed in shamans, spirits, Gods, demons, et cetera.
That's basically what I said. They are not very religious. Polytheism and animism is just folklore, very shallow beliefs, relatively unorganised religions that lack a dogma, written rules, a religious authority, theology, and everything else found in Judaism, Christianity or Islam. Animism has been called the "natural state" of humanity, the simple beliefs in the spirits of nature, ghosts, and other unexplained phenomenons for primitive people. Animism is or was found among pretty much all hunter-gatherers, including nomadic and semi-nomadic Native Americans.
The American Indians share similarities with the Siberians, whereas the Meso-American religion had a Caananite-esque obsession with human sacrifice and grand religious structures!
Mesoamerica is only one small part of the Americas. It is not because they practised gruesome human sacrifices and built pyramids that they were profoundly religious people. They were barbarians for sure, but one does not necessarily equal the other.
