Japan has a large number of shrines and temples, but not all of them are religious corporations.
The important point is that being a shrine or temple is not the same thing as having legal status as a religious corporation.
A shrine, temple, church, or similar group may operate as a religious organization, but that does not automatically make it a religious corporation.
To become a religious corporation, the organization must go through the procedures required under Japan’s Religious Corporations Act and obtain legal corporate status.
In other words, a religious group can exist and carry out religious activities without being incorporated as a religious corporation.
Why, then, would a religious organization seek corporate status?
One major reason is that corporate status makes it easier for the organization itself to own and manage property such as land and buildings over the long term. Since shrines and temples may continue for generations, being able to hold property as an organization rather than under an individual’s name can be important.
Religious corporations also differ in how they are organized.
Some shrines and temples belong to a larger sect, denomination, or other religious body. Others do not belong to any larger umbrella organization and operate independently as their own religious corporation.
So two temples that look very similar from the outside may have quite different legal and organizational structures.
Most visitors, however, rarely think about these distinctions.
When Japanese people visit a shrine or temple, they usually do not stop to ask whether it is a religious corporation or what larger organization it belongs to. They may know the Buddhist sect of a temple, but the details of its legal status are usually not something ordinary visitors pay much attention to.
So, “shrine” and “temple” describe religious institutions, while “religious corporation” refers to a legal status under Japanese law.
A shrine or temple does not automatically have that status simply because it is a place of worship.
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, “Religious Corporations and Religious Affairs Administration”
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, “Religious Corporations Act”
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, materials on religious organizations and religious corporations
