Chinese Traditional Religion Overview

March 17, 2015 · updated February 15, 2022

Fast Facts on Chinese Religion
Adherents 394 million
Beliefs Dualistic yin and yang; mythological beings and folk deities.
Practices Ancestor worship, prayer, longevity practices, divination, prophecy and astrology, feng shui.
Holidays Chinese New Year, Moon Festival
Texts none

Chinese religion is not an organized, unified system of beliefs and practices. It has no leadership, headquarters, founder, or denominations. Instead, "Chinese religion" is a term describing the complex interaction of different religious and philosophical traditions that have been influential in China.

Chinese religion is composed of four main traditions: Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The religious outlook of most Chinese people consists of some combination of beliefs and practices from these four traditions. It is rare for only one to be practiced to the exclusion of the others. This section focuses on Chinese folk or indigenous religion, but reference is also made to the other traditions.

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