Chinese Folk Religion

Overview

Most believers do not define themselves as members of a particular "religion". They simply keep customs: burning incense at the local temple, honouring ancestors at home and at graves, especially at the Qingming festival, consulting diviners and burning "spirit money" for the dead. The tradition freely combines Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian elements.

This makes believers hard to count, and estimates depend on what is measured: in a 2018 nationwide Chinese survey only about one in ten adults identified with any religion, yet three-quarters had visited family graves in the year before the survey, and about half said they believe in feng shui (according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center).

Origins and History

Ancestor worship and divination (on oracle bones) are documented as early as the Shang dynasty, more than 3,000 years ago. Over the generations the tradition added local gods, heroes who became gods, for example Guan Yu, and saints, for example the goddess Mazu, protector of seafarers.

Development and Branches

Criticism and suppression in the 20th century: folk religion was attacked as "superstition". The Republic of China tried to suppress it, and many temples were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.

Revival: in Taiwan and Hong Kong it continued without interruption. In China there has been a significant revival of temples and festivals since the 1980s.

How It Spread and Grew

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The religion passed from generation to generation within the family and the village, without recruiting believers. It spread with Chinese migration to Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. Its influence is also clear in Vietnam and Korea, which have similar traditions.

Influence on the World

• Festivals: Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival are celebrated around the world.
• Familiar ideas: feng shui, the Chinese zodiac of 12 animals and the idea of "luck" are very well known.
• Family life: ancestor veneration strengthens family cohesion and continuity between generations.

What Draws Believers (Strengths)

• A warm connection between the living and the dead, and a sense of family continuity.
• Complete flexibility: no dogma, and it can be combined with any belief.
• Colourful community festivals.
• Practical answers to everyday concerns: health, livelihood and luck.

Criticism and Challenges

• Superstition: critics see some customs as superstition and point to financial exploitation by fortune tellers.
• Preference for sons: the traditional preference for sons, linked to the duty of ancestor worship, contributed to demographic problems.
• Environmental harm: there is also criticism of environmental harm, for example from burning spirit money.

Human Life, War and Peace – What It Teaches

• Respect for life and for ancestors, and harmony in the family and community.
• Belief in retribution: bad deeds will be punished, in this world or after it.
• War gods such as Guan Yu are revered as symbols of loyalty and justice, not of cruelty.
• Compared with other religions: Sanctity of Life Across Religions

Religion, Power and Violence

Rebellions with a folk-religious element: folk religion is not organised, so it waged no religious wars. However, messianic movements and secret societies with folk-religious elements were behind rebellions in Chinese history:

• The White Lotus rebellions: uprisings by this society over several centuries.
• The Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901): the rebels believed in invulnerability magic, and the uprising was aimed at foreigners and Chinese Christians. According to estimates, about 32,000 Chinese Christians and about 200 Western missionaries were killed in it.

When believers were victims:

• Persecution of religious societies: the imperial authorities repeatedly persecuted folk religious groups, among them the White Lotus.
• The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864): many ancient temples were destroyed in the Taiping Rebellion, and also in the Boxer Rebellion.
• The Republic of China: the Nationalist government campaigned against "superstition". In 1928 it issued standards setting which gods and shrines would be kept and which abolished, and many temples were turned into schools and other institutions.
• The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976): scholars describe it as the most serious systematic attempt to eradicate traditional Chinese religion. Many temples were destroyed or converted, for example into granaries.

Frequently asked questions

What is the religion of China?

There is no single religion. The state officially recognises five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. According to the ideology of the ruling Communist Party China is an atheist nation, and Party members are banned from practising religion. Only about one in ten adults identified with any religion in the 2018 nationwide Chinese survey, and about 4% identified as Buddhists. Religious practices, however, are far more widespread: according to 2018 surveys analysed by the Pew Research Center, three-quarters of adults had visited family graves in the past year, 47% believe in feng shui and 33% believe in Buddha or bodhisattvas. Most of these practices belong to folk religion.

Is folk religion officially recognised in China?

No. It is not one of the five recognised religions, and Confucianism is not officially considered a religion either. According to the Pew Research Center, the state distinguishes between "customs" (xisu), such as temple festivals in which the goddess Mazu is worshipped, which it tolerates and even encourages as Chinese cultural tradition, and "superstition" (mixin), most of which is officially banned. Fortune telling and feng shui are tolerated.

How is folk religion related to the "three teachings"?

The "three teachings" (sanjiao) are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. In China the boundaries between them were never sharp, and none of them demanded exclusive loyalty. Folk religion draws on all three: Taoist gods and temples, Buddhist ideas of retribution and rebirth, and Confucian values of respect for parents and ancestors. So a person can visit a Buddhist temple, consult a Taoist priest and honour their ancestors at home without seeing any contradiction.