{"id":69840,"date":"2023-08-30T09:38:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T14:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2023\/08\/30\/confucianism-taoism-and-chinese-folk-religions\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:14:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T15:14:29","slug":"confucianism-taoism-and-chinese-folk-religions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2023\/08\/30\/confucianism-taoism-and-chinese-folk-religions\/","title":{"rendered":"2. Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese folk religions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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People burn incense to the god of wealth at Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan, China, in 2017. (Visual China Group via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Confucianism<\/h4>\n\n\n

Named after the sage Confucius (b. 551 B.C.E.), Confucianism is one of the most important philosophical traditions in China. Although it\u2019s widely considered a spiritual philosophy, some scholars classify it as a religion. Its beliefs center on a pervasive, invisible divine power \u2013 tian<\/em> (\u5929), usually translated as \u201cheaven\u201d \u2013 that controls humans\u2019 fate and destiny. Confucian teachings focus on filial piety (xiao<\/em> \u5b5d), loyalty (zhong<\/em> \u5fe0) and benevolence (ren<\/em> \u4ec1).<\/p>\n\n\n

Taoism (religious)<\/h4>\n\n\n

Founded by Zhang Daoling, religious Taoism (Daojiao<\/em> \u9053\u6559) dates to the second century C.E. The principal teachings of religious Taoism \u2013 similar to philosophical Taoism \u2013 focus on nonaction and harmony with the Tao, or universal order. Traditional practices include meditation; self-discipline in diet, exercise and sex<\/a>; and rituals to promote harmony with the heavenly order or higher forces of the cosmos.<\/p>\n\n\n

Chinese folk religions<\/h4>\n\n\n

Also called folk belief or minjian xinyang<\/em> (\u6c11\u95f4\u4fe1\u4ef0), Chinese folk religions were recorded as early as the Shang dynasty<\/a> (c.1600-1046 B.C.E), well before Confucianism and Taoism. Folk religions originated in shamanism<\/a>, and today include a broad range of beliefs and practices directed at supernatural forces — such as fortune telling and making wishes to ancestors and gods. Folk deities include the goddess of the sea (Mazu <\/em>\u5988\u7956) and the god of wealth (caishen <\/em>\u8d22\u795e).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Relatively few Chinese adults formally identify with religious and philosophical traditions that originated in China \u2013 in large part because, unlike Abrahamic religions, these traditions do not emphasize membership. Moreover, Chinese people generally do not refer to these traditions as religion (zongjiao<\/em> \u5b97\u6559).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Confucianism, Taoism and folk religions nevertheless have a role in the lives of many Chinese people. While a tiny share of Chinese adults describe themselves as believing in (xinyang<\/em> \u4fe1\u4ef0) Taoism (Daojiao<\/em> \u9053\u6559), Confucianism (Rujiao<\/em> \u5112\u6559 or Rujia sixiang <\/em>\u5112\u5bb6\u601d\u60f3) or folk religions (minjian xinyang <\/em>\u6c11\u95f4\u4fe1\u4ef0), far more say they hold beliefs or engage in practices tied to these traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And even though the Chinese government does not consider Confucianism to be a religion, some of its characteristics are within scholars\u2019 conception of religion. For instance, the Confucian ritual of ancestor worship (jizu<\/em> \u796d\u7956) \u2013 an expression of filial piety<\/a> (xiao<\/em> \u5b5d) toward deceased family members \u2013 often entails a belief in ancestral spirits<\/a> and their supernatural power to intervene in earthly affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism, which is considered a \u201ctraditional Chinese\u201d religion even though it originated in India, has strong links to these other belief systems. (Read Chapter 3 on Buddhism<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confucianism, Taoism, folk religions and Buddhism are often deeply intertwined, and the differences among them can be indistinguishable to Chinese people. For example, Confucian teachings on ancestor veneration permeate China\u2019s spiritual traditions, such as in the Buddhist Ullambana Festival (Yulanpen<\/em> Jie<\/em> \u76c2\u5170\u76c6\u8282) and Taoist Zhongyuan Festival (Zhongyuan Jie <\/em>\u4e2d\u5143\u8282). Both events take place annually in Lunar July, a time when ghosts, including deceased ancestors, are believed to visit the world of the living. And both festivals incorporate filial piety (xiao), as manifested during a ritual in which ancestral spirits are commemorated and \u201crescued\u201d from their suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folk beliefs and practices, meanwhile, 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 <\/em>\u89c2\u97f3), was originally the Buddhist figure Avalokite\u015bvara, a bodhisattva of compassion often depicted as genderless or male. In Chinese folk religion, Guanyin is understood as a goddess who answers all prayers<\/a>, including requests for wealth, health, good fortune and giving birth to a son<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, Confucianism, Taoism and folk religions \u2013 along with Buddhism \u2013 have helped shape Chinese people\u2019s understanding of the universe. Even today, these traditions are tied to Chinese social norms and the country\u2019s national holidays. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which in the past were frequently referred to as the \u201cThree Teachings,\u201d typically garner more support from educated elites and authorities than do folk religions, which historically have been marginalized as \u201cillegitimate\u201d and \u201cunorthodox.\u201d[15. numoffset=”15″ Chau, Adam Yuet. 2009. \u201cExpanding the Space of Popular Religion: Local Temple Activism and the Politics of Legitimation in Contemporary Rural China.\u201d In Ashiwa, Yoshiko, and David L. Wank, eds. \u201cMaking Religion, Making the State: The Politics of Religion in Modern China.”]<\/p>\n\n\n

History of Confucianism, Taoism and folk religions in China<\/div>