What religion do the Chinese profess?

The Chinese have always been a very practical people and that is why they use religion instead of believing in it. Even the translation of the hieroglyph that denotes the word "religion" sounds like "that which binds society together." Since the state is perceived here as an extended family, the idea of unity is much more important than any religious doctrine that can split society into pieces.

4 PHOTOS

1. Distribution of religions in China: folk religion 73.56%, Buddhism 15.87%, other religions including Taoism 7.6%, Christianity 2.53%, Islam 0.45%
To a resident of Europe, this may seem savagery, but the Celestial Empire is a civilization that has existed for several thousand years and is always reborn after external invasions.

2. Currently, only five religions are recognized here: Chinese folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

Most people belong to the Chinese folk religion or are atheists. However, here even non-believers can perform the necessary rituals, but consider it a cultural tradition and not really bother about the will of heaven. That is, this is approximately the same situation as in Russia.

The traditional religion of the country is a mixture of Taoism, known for its belief in yin and yang, Confucianism, which is more like philosophy, and shamanic practices that any nation had at an early stage in history.

Confucianism and Taoism have been very influential for many centuries. Their adherents easily mixed their teachings and practices with each other and with foreign religions that came to China. One such foreign religion was Buddhism, which came from India around the 2nd century BC.

Christianity and Islam came in the 7th century along with merchants from the Middle East. Other religions such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism also appeared at the same time but eventually disappeared. Christianity, too, was driven out by the efforts of the authorities in the 9th and 14th centuries before it could take root in China since the last Qing Dynasty.

As for the confessional breakdown of the people of China, the situation will be something like this. The Uyghur Kazakhs and other small minorities in the west of the country are followers of Islam, as are the Muslim Chinese called Hui from the central provinces. Buddhism is widespread among the Mongols and Tibetans. Small nationalities of Southwestern China, for example, the Lisu people, converted to Christianity.

As for the titular nationality of the Han, such a phenomenon is quite common among them. One and the same person can profess several religions at the same time. Most often, Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, and Taoism are combined. I'll tell you more about them.

3. Folk religion emphasizes the origin of man. Family members here always have the same last name, and therefore the same patron ancestors. It is assumed that when the soul leaves the mortal body, it remains on earth and can, if necessary, provide protection to its relatives. In order for the soul to have a place to live, a group of relatives builds a hall of worship for it. It is clear that since there are many families, there can be an unlimited number of halls. But even if a person settles far from his homeland, during major holidays he will come to his village to pay tribute to his ancestors.

Buddhism came to China from India about 2000 years ago and is now very different from the Indian version of this faith. There are many Buddhist temples in China that people go to when faced with something bad or before they are about to do something important. For example, starting a business, taking an exam, or going on a long trip. You don't have to go to the temple. The light version of this religion allows you to put an altar and statues of Buddhist deities at home in order to make sacrifices to them yourself.

4. Shaolin monks - a stronghold of Chinese Buddhism

Taoism is a traditional religion of Chinese origin that appeared several centuries before the advent of Buddhism. Taoists also build their temples, where the main gods are worshiped: the god of the earth, the god of wealth, etc. Interestingly, unlike the same Buddhism, where there are monks, Taoist priests can live an ordinary life (i.e., work, marry, serve in the army) and come to the temple only when he was asked to conduct a worship ceremony.