When visiting a shrine or temple in Japan, you may see people bowing, putting their hands together, or following other familiar worship motions.
If you do not follow that religion yourself, you may wonder whether it is appropriate to copy what everyone else is doing.
In general, yes. Even if you are not a believer, you can respectfully follow the local worship customs as a way of showing respect for the place.
Performing the motions does not automatically mean that you are declaring, “I believe in this religion.”
At Shinto shrines, for example, the well-known basic pattern is two bows, two claps, and one final bow.
The Association of Shinto Shrines explains these motions as a way of expressing respect toward the kami. At the same time, what each person thinks or prays about can be different.
So if you are not religious, you do not need to force yourself to make a specific wish or pretend to believe something you do not.
Simply bowing quietly and following the local motions with respect is enough.
In practice, if a foreign visitor watches the people around them and follows the customs calmly and respectfully, it usually does not look strange.
If anything, it can look like an effort to respect the place and the people who worship there.
There is, however, a difference between respectfully following a custom and copying it for amusement.
Exaggerating the motions, laughing while doing them, or treating worship gestures mainly as a pose for photos or videos can come across as disrespectful, regardless of whether the person is a believer.
It is also important to remember that shrines and temples do not use exactly the same worship customs.
Two bows, two claps, and one bow is widely associated with Shinto shrines. At Buddhist temples, people generally do not clap in the same way and may instead put their hands together and bow quietly.
So rather than assuming that every religious site in Japan follows the same rules, it is better to follow any posted guidance or calmly observe how people are worshipping there.
Worship etiquette is not a test of whether you believe.
Even if you are not religious, you can follow the local motions as long as you do so respectfully.
References
- Association of Shinto Shrines, “How to Worship at a Shrine”
- Association of Shinto Shrines, “Visiting a Shrine”
- Kongobuji, Head Temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism, guide to worship etiquette
