Religions and Beliefs

Generally speaking, Chinese people do not have strong religious inclinations but despite this there are over 100 million followers of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, although it is true to say that Confucianism is a school of philosophy rather than a religion.
Islam probably first reached China in the mid-7th century and in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) it reached its zenith. Today, there are more than 30,000 mosques in China. Catholicism reached China after the seventh century, and Protestantism was introduced in the early 19th century. There are now more than 4,600 Catholic churches, over 12,000 Protestant churches, and over 25,000 other types of Christian places of worship in China.

Buddhism in China

Buddhism was introduced to China from India around the 1st century AD. It became increasingly popular and after the 4th century was the most influential religion in China. Tibetan Buddhism, a branch of Chinese Buddhism, is popular primarily in Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Today, there are more than 13,000 Buddhist temples in China.
Many Chinese that say they are Buddhists have never read the sutras. Most of them will say they believe in gods, destiny, fate, luck, and an afterlife and on most occasions, rather than rely on prayer, they make decisions independent of any deity and turn to either family or friends for help. A visible human being is considered far more reliable than invisible gods or spirits.

One of the key forces behind Buddhism’s success was Daoism. To help the Chinese comprehend Buddhist concepts, monks borrowed ideas from Daoism via the Chinese language. Both Buddhism and Daoism benefited from this exchange. Daoists expanded their ideas about the cosmos and learned new ways to structure their monastic orders. Buddhists gained a lexicon that made it easier to teach their tradition.

Most scholars think of “Buddhism” as several different forms of Buddhism. In the so-called classical period of Buddhism in China (Tang dynasty 618–907 CE), there were a number of schools of Buddhism that taught and promoted their own philosophies and meditation practices. The Huayen and Tiantai schools, for instance, varied in philosophy, location, and political influence. The teachings of various schools influenced and were adapted by Korea and Japan.

Over time Buddhism became a popular force in the lives of the Chinese, from the common people to the emperor himself. In fact, by the sixth century, Buddhism rivaled Daoism in popularity and political influence. It was during this time, and over the course of the next three centuries, that major schools of Chinese Buddhism formed. Two schools that retain their influence today are Pure Land Buddhism and Chan (Zen) Buddhism.

Taoism

Taoism is a philosophy, a religion and the basis of traditional Chinese medicine. It represents wisdom accumulated over 5,000 years of Chinese history. For centuries, together with Confucianism and Buddhism, it has guided the Chinese in their behavior and government.
There are some very basic differences between Western and Chinese philosophies. The West treats the individual as an independent and separate entity. The Chinese treat individuals as inter-related elements in the universe. The West tends to be self-centered and thus blame will first be placed on the actions of others. On the contrary, the Chinese are taught that if the “self” is not integrated into the environment as a whole, there is no self at all. Tao and Taoism are different from "God" and "Bible."
"Tao" means "behavior, understanding, and constant changing from and to." Everything, including the universe, is changing all the time. Relative stability can be achieved when harmony is reached between "Yin" and "Yang," which are said to be opposite but related natural forces in the universe. According to Tao, there are five elements in everything. Taoism teaches one to go along with nature, to seek harmony in life, and to meditate to achieve mental calm and "emptiness." Any act of one extreme will cause an opposite reaction until balance is reached.

Confucianism

Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and Ethnical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism was built on an ancient religious foundation to establish social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life. To Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion.

The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (Confucius, 551-479 B.C.) did not intend to found a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou (Chou) dynasty, under which many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt. The burning issue of the day was, “If not ancestral and natural spirits, what then is the basis of a stable, unified, and enduring social order?” The dominant view of the day was that strict law and statecraft were the bases of sound policy. Confucius, however, believed that the basis lay in Zhou religion, in its rituals. He interpreted these not as sacrifices asking for the blessings of the gods, but as ceremonies performed by human agents and embodying the civilized and cultured patterns of behavior developed through generations of human wisdom. They embodied, for him, the Ethnical core of Chinese society. Moreover, Confucius applied the term "ritual" to actions beyond the formal sacrifices and religious ceremonies to include social rituals: courtesies and accepted standards of behavior. He saw these time-honored and traditional rituals as the basis of human civilization, and he felt that only a civilized society could have a stable, unified, and enduring social order.