Definition of Traditional Chinese Religion

Although Buddhism, Confucianism, or Taoism are practiced in China, there is a religion more widespread and is known as the traditional Chinese religion.

Main Gods and beliefs

It is a polytheistic religion with a great variety of divinities. In this sense, there are gods who favor fishing, others who symbolize wealth and normally each profession is associated with a concrete god (for example, masons and carpenters worship Lu Ban and prostitutes have Liang Hongyu as their divinity protective). Some national heroes have acquired a dimensionsingular and they are considered as if they were true Gods (for example, Guan Yu was a general of the third century AD. C who is honored as the God of War).

The different Gods have been assimilated by other religions, notably Buddhism and Taoism. For this reason, religiosity in China must be understood as syncretism, that is, a process of fusion of various religious and spiritual traditions.

Followers of this religion revere their ancestors and practice communication with the spirit world

On the other hand, the faithful express their devotion to nature and the stars.

Those who practice traditional religion believe that at the moment of death the human soul survives and goes to the spirit world. In that place the souls also have needs and for this reason in some graves objects of great value are placed that can be enjoyed in the afterlife.

In traditional Chinese religion there is a whole series of curious beliefs deeply rooted in the people. Thus, they consider that the unjustified crying of a baby is due to some ghost bothering him, the mirrors must be oriented towards the bed, the number 8 is a sign of good luck and 4 is a sign of bad luck and to marry the age difference between the members of the partner.

Religiosity in today's China

While the government Current Chinese maintains a neutral position with respect to all religious beliefs, in practice tolerance is only allowed with traditional Chinese religion. Consequently, non-traditional religions are practiced semi-clandestinely. Despite this situation, in recent years there has been a greater interest from the population towards religious subjects.

There are several reasons that can explain this phenomenon:

1) the search for a meaning of human existence,

2) the relationship between religion and the cure of certain diseases and

3) the need to find a Balance staff versus the competitiveness of the capitalism Chinese.

The resurgence of spirituality and different religions has caused some concern to the Chinese government, because in the tradition Communist everything religious has been valued as a pernicious symptom and based on popular superstition.

Photos: Fotolia - Lorelyn Medina / VectorShots

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