Is Juche a religion?

[Samof94]

Would anyone consider the North Korean state ideology a religion??? It involves supernatural feats given to the Kims. It also would rank in 6th place as a religion just behind Sikhism.

[Samof94]

Only insofar as Cheondoism has become affiliated with state ideology. There are quasi-religious aspects, certainly, but it isn't the foundation of the movement, just as Ariosophy isn't actually the foundation of Nazi thought.

The Nazis had ranting of Norse mythology but their main idea was an idealized Germany with as many Jews as a modern middle eastern country.

[Samof94]

"Religion" isn't the most natural category in general. The Abrahamic ones provide a particular blueprint (ritual, holidays, faith, holy texts, miracles, afterlife, etc.) and the rest is just pattern-matching. One of the main issues I see applying that blueprint to anything in East Asia is that there's not as much distinction between religions and philosophies about social order and government.

The saying in Japan where people born Shinto marry Christian and die Buddhist comes to mind.