Chinese folk religion (simplified Chinese: 中国 民间 信仰; traditional Chinese: 中國 民間 信仰; pinyin: zhōng-guó mín-jiān xìn-yǎng) is a polytheistic religion. Since Chinese civilization emerged in the Iron Age, folk religions have been practiced in China and among the Chinese diaspora.
Chinese folk religion is "a religious integration of Buddhism, Daoism and many other traditional religious beliefs”, according to a 2021 article in the Chinese Journal of Sociology.[1]
Since the 1950s, Chinese folk religion has sometimes been called Shenism or Shénism (Chinese: 神教; pinyin: Shén-jiào).[2][3][4][better source needed] In this context, shen refers to a spirit or a deity. The term Shenism was first used by A. J. A Elliot in 1955.[source?] The term "Chinese folk religion" is not used inside China.
Overview
changeThere is no standardized mythology or clergy: rites are often performed by the father of a family.[source?]
It is difficult to make a clear distinction between Chinese folk religion and other beliefs, because Chinese folk religion is a blend of many beliefs.[5] These include:[5]
- Veneration of the dead
- Local spirits
- Clan spirits
- Traditional Eastern religions, like Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism
- Superstition
- Seeking fortune-telling
- Feng shui (geomancy)
- Using amulets
History
changeRelationship with other religions
changeAccording to the Pew Research Center:[6]
Confucianism, Taoism, folk religions and Buddhism are often deeply intertwined, and the differences among them can be indistinguishable to Chinese people. [...]
Folk beliefs and practices ... incorporate Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist concepts and also turn them into distinctly folk religious elements.
For instance, the popular folk deity, the goddess of mercy (Guanyin 观音), was originally the Buddhist figure Avalokiteśvara, a bodhisattva of compassion often depicted as genderless or male.
In Chinese folk religion, Guanyin is understood as a goddess who answers all prayers, including requests for wealth, health, good fortune and giving birth to a son.
Chinese folk religion pre-dated Taoism. Over the centuries, Taoism became institutionalised. It blended with local customs and became similar to local religions and beliefs. Taoism also developed from Chinese philosophy.
Suppression
changeOver the last 200 years, religion has been heavily suppressed in China, with rebellions such as the Taiping Movement or Cultural Revolution. Today, Chinese folk religion is experiencing a major revival in both Mainland China and Taiwan.[7][8]
The current government of China has officially supported some forms of Shenism, such as Mazuism in Southern China (officially about 160 million Chinese are Mazuists),[9] Huangdi worship,[10][11] Black Dragon worship in Shaanxi,[12][13][14] and Caishen worship.[15]
21st century followers
changeA 2007 Chinese Spiritual Life Survey found that 55.5% of people who responded to the survey were followers of folk religions.[1] In 2012, Yang and Hu estimated the same, writing:[16]
"55.5% of the adult population (15+) of China, or 578 million people in absolute numbers, believe and practise folk religions, including a 20% who practice ancestor religion or [group] worship of deities, and the rest who practise ... "individual" folk religions like devotion to specific gods such as Caishen.
An article in the Chinese Journal of Sociology argues that former studies have failed to identify Chinese folk religion adherents because of the way survey questions were asked. The article says:[1]
[Using] a new [survey] measurement of religiosity, we verify the [most common] viewpoint of anthropologists, that folk religion is really the mainstream of the Chinese religious market. Around 70% of the Chinese population are folk religion believers, only 5% are members of institutional religions, and 25% are non-believers. The diffuseness of folk religion is also remarkable. Nearly 50% claim to believe in two or more religions. By using latent class analysis, we find that these folk religion believers can be classified into three categories: believers of geomancy, believers of diffused Buddhism and Daoism, and believers embracing all beliefs. [...] We find that the higher the degree of mixed beliefs, the stronger the religiosity.
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Zhang, Chunni; Lu, Yunfeng; Sheng, He (2021-10-01). "Exploring Chinese folk religion: Popularity, diffuseness, and diversities". Chinese Journal of Sociology. 7 (4): 575–592. doi:10.1177/2057150X211042687. ISSN 2057-150X.
- ↑ Kuah-Pearce, Khun Eng (2009). State, Society, and Religious Engineering: Towards a Reformist Buddhism in Singapore. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 21. ISBN 978-981-230-865-8.
- ↑ "How we came to 'pai shen'". Blogs.straitstimes.com. 2009-09-07. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ Eng, Lai Ah (2008). Religious Diversity in Singapore. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 198. ISBN 978-981-230-754-5.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Zhang, Chunni; Lu, Yunfeng; Sheng, He (2021-10-01). "Exploring Chinese folk religion: Popularity, diffuseness, and diversities". Chinese Journal of Sociology. 7 (4): 575–592. doi:10.1177/2057150X211042687. ISSN 2057-150X.
- ↑ Nadeem, Reem (2023-08-30). "2. Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese folk religions". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ↑ "Roundtable before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ "The Upsurge of Religion in China" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ "China's Leaders Harness Folk Religion For Their Aims". Npr.org. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ "Over 10,000 Chinese Worship Huangdi in Henan". China.org.cn. 2006-04-01. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ "Compatriots across the strait honor their ancestry". Archived from the original on 2010-07-20. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ↑ "Return to folk religions brings about renewal in rural China". Wwrn.org. 2001-09-14. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ Chau, Adam Yuet (2005). "The Policy of Legitimation and the Revival of Popular Religion in Shaanbei, North-Central China". Modern China. 31 (2): 236–278. JSTOR 20062608.
- ↑ Chau, Adam Yuet (2008). Miraculous Response: Doing Popular Religion in Contemporary China. Stanford University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-8047-6765-1.
- ↑ "苍南金乡玄坛庙成华夏第八财神庙". Blog.voc.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ↑ Yang, Fenggang; Hu, Anning (September 2012). "Mapping Chinese Folk Religion in Mainland China and Taiwan". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 51 (3): 505–521. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01660.x. ISSN 0021-8294.
