Religion in Western Ganga kingdom of the eighth tirthankara, Chandraprabha. Padmavati was the "yaksi" of the twenty-third tirthankara, Parshva, and may have been derived from the Hindu namesake. Cult worship is considered consistent with the assimilation of forest and tribal dwellers into the Jain faith and a caste based society. While asceticism was upheld in the earlier period, an increased inflow of endowments from wealthy merchants and royalty made monks more settled in temples. Prayers, chantings, decoration and anointment of the deity in Digambara temples were carried out by upajjhayas or acharyas. In contrast, lay devotees in Svetambara derasars undertook these activities and the temple
Religion in Japan Religion in Japan Religion in Japan is dominated by Shinto (the ethnic religion of the Japanese people) and by Buddhism. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organized religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 3% to 4% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions, and from fewer than 1% to 2.3% are Christians. Most of the Japanese (50% to 80% considering degrees of syncretism with Buddhism, "shinbutsu-shūgō") pray and worship ancestors and gods (神 "kami", "shin" or, archaically, "jin") at Shinto shrines or at private altars, while