MM

I don't think it would be a hard stretch for people to say that Ueshiba believed in kami. But, at what point do people strain that understanding?

What I mean is that there is a very defined difference between "faith" and "belief". The former is without proof and the latter is based upon evidence. People sometimes interchange the two. In other words, restructure the sentence asked to people:

1. Did Ueshiba have faith that there were kami?

or

2. Did Ueshiba know and believe that kami were real?

The first is what most people would undoubtedly agree with. The second violates quite a bit of Christian religions. (If you want to discuss this issue, please open another thread.)

So, with all that in mind, how many actually believe that kami exist?

Did Ueshiba believe that kami exist?

And if you're a Shinto priest, do you have to believe in the existence of kami?