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Religion in Taiwan

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A wide diversity of religions can be found on Taiwan, due to its multicultural history, and religious freedom written in the constitution of the Republic of China.

History

The original Native Taiwanese tribes traditionally practice nature worship. With the arrival of the Dutch in 1624, Protestant Christianity was forced on all Taiwanese via missionaries. The first converts were Indigenous Taiwanese. Two years later, with the arrival of the Spanish, Catholicism was introduced into Taiwan. The Japanese brought Shinto to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period which began in 1895. Chinese migrants brought Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism with them to the island over a few centuries of immigration and settlement. In the last half century, Taiwan has also been a safe haven for groups banned in neighboring People's Republic of China, such as Falun Gong and Yi Guan Dao.

Religions

see also: Religion in China

Statistics

Government figures

The table shows official statistics on religion issued by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of the Interior ("MOI"), in 2005. The ROC government recognizes 26 religions in Taiwan.[1] The statistics are reported by the various religious organizations to the MOI:[1][2]

Religion Members % of total population Temples & churches
Buddhism (佛教) (including Tantric Buddhism) 8,086,000 35.1% 4,006
Taoism (道教) 7,600,000 33.0% 18,274
Yi Guan Dao (一貫道) 810,000 3.5% 3,260
Protestantism (基督新教) 605,000 2.6% 3,609
Catholicism (天主教) 298,000 1.3% 1,151
Lord of Universe Church (天帝教) 298,000 1.3% 50
Maitreya Great Tao (彌勒大道) 250,000 1.1% 2,200
Tian De Jiao (天德教) 200,000 0.9% 14
Li-ism (理教) 186,000 0.8% 138
Syuan Yuan Jiao (軒轅教) 152,700 0.7% 22
Islam (伊斯蘭教) 58,000 0.3% 6
Tenrikyo (天理教) 35,000 0.2% 153
Universe Maitreya Emperor Jiao (宇宙彌勒皇教) 35,000 0.2% 12
Hai Zih Dao (亥子道) 30,000 0.1% 55
Confucianism (儒學) 26,700 0.1% 139
Church of Scientology (山達基教會) 20,000 0.1% 7
Baha'i (巴哈伊教) 16,000 0.1% 13
The Chinese Heritage and Mission Religion (玄門真宗) 5,000 < 0.1% 5
Zhonghua Sheng Jiao (中華聖教) 3,200 < 0.1% 7
Mahikarikyo (真光教團) 1,000 < 0.1% 9
Pre-cosmic Salvationism (先天救教) 1,000 < 0.1% 6
Huang Zhong (黃中) 1,000 < 0.1% 1
Da Yi Jiao (大易教) 1,000 < 0.1% 1
Total religious population 18,718,600 81.3% 33,138
Total population 23,036,087 100% -

Statistics for the following religions and new religious movements are missing from the table above:

TIA figures

  • Buddhist: 95.5%
  • Christian: 3.5%
  • Other: 1% [1]

Blended Religion: Buddhism, Taoism, and Folk Religion

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the USA, there are about 93.5% of people identifying themselves as Buddhists, Taoists, or practitioners of Chinese folk religion. It is common for people to practice a blend of the three. Many people practice Buddhism exclusively, but those who practice Taoism more often blend Taoist religious practices with elements from Buddhism and folk traditions. It is not uncommon to find a Buddhist temple adjacent to a Taoist temple, or even under the same roof. One example of this is Longshan Temple in Taipei City. Religious diversity has never been a significant source of conflict in Taiwan.

Besides large temples, small outdoor shrines to local deities are very common, and can be spotted on road sides, parks, and neighborhoods in Taiwanese cities and towns. These small pockets of religious atmosphere let people stop by and pray informally anytime. Many homes and businesses may also set up small shrines of candles, figurines, and offerings. Some restaurants, for example, may set up a small shrine to the Kitchen god for success in a restaurant business. Students may visit a shrine to the Learning god for good luck before a test.

Taoist temples are highly decorative. Colorfully tiled sculptures of dragons and other mythological creatues highlight the roof, and temples are often filled with statues of many gods and semi-theistic historical figures, reflecting the polytheistic and ancestor worship tradition of Taoism and folk religion.

Festivities and picnics often take place at Taoist temples.

Buddhism

Buddhism was introduced to Taiwan in the late 1500s with the Chinese immigration. Several forms of Buddhism have thrived on Taiwan ever since. During the Japanese occupation, Japanese Buddhism was introduced as part of the overall policy of cultural assimilation by the colonial government. Although many Buddhist communities affiliated themselves with Japanese sects for protection, they largely retained Chinese Buddhist practices. For instance, clerical marriage and meat-eating did not make the headway they did in occupied Korea. Today, approximately 94% of Taiwan's population is Buddhist[3].

Following retrocession, Taiwan was inundated with Mainland monks, including some of the best and brightest of the previous decades, such as Master Yinshun (Yìnshùn 印順). Tainted by the whiff of collaboration, outshone by these refugees, and underrepresented in the Chinese Buddhist Association (CBA) which served as a liaison with the government, the local lineages declined.

The CBA remained the dominant Buddhist organization until the end of martial law, when its government mandated monopoly was ended. Since the eighties, Buddhism has enjoyed a surge of popularity as the percentage of people identifying themselves as Buddhist rose from the low teens to almost fifty percent. Today there are several large Buddhist organization based in Taiwan that have expanded to become international organization. They include Dharma Drum Mountain (Făgŭshān 法鼓山) founded by Master Shèngyán (聖嚴), Buddha's Light International (Fógŭangshān 佛光山) founded by Master Xīngyún (星雲), and the Tzu Chi Foundation (Cíjì jījīnhùi 慈濟基金會) founded by Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師).

Tzu Chi, one of the largest international non-profit Buddhist organizations, focuses on community service, outreach programs, charity work, and international humanitarian efforts. They have opened hospitals, community centers, schools, and Tzu Chi University in Hualien County.

In the last few years non-Chinese forms of Buddhism, such as Tibetan Buddhism and the Vipassana movement of S. N. Goenka, have also enjoyed growing followings.

Confucianism

Confucianism, although not a religion in the Western sense but a moral philosophy and ethical code, has been a major influence on the ideology, ethics, education, and everyday values of the Taiwanese. Confucianism has been a foundation for Chinese society and government since the sixth century B.C., and was spread to Taiwan with the migration of Chinese settlers over the past four centuries. Confucian temples are not places of worship, but rather memorial halls honoring Confucius, regarded as the greatest teacher in ancient China. Confucius's birthday is celebrated as Teacher's Day every September 28.

Christianity

Christian churches exist on the Republic of China (Taiwan) due to the tolerant nature of the government. According to figures given by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Christians which include Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and non-denominational Christians make up a total of only 4.5% of the population of Taiwan. According to recent studies, Christianity is udergoing a decline in Taiwan. [4][5]

Islam

Main article: Islam in Taiwan

Islam originated in Saudi Arabia and spread eastward to China as early as the 7th century AD. Muslim merchants married local Chinese women, creating a new Chinese ethnic group called the Hui people. Islam first reached Taiwan in the 17th century when Muslim families from the southern Chinese coastal province of Fujian accompanied Koxinga on his invasion to oust the Dutch from Taiwan. Islam did not spread and their descendants became assimilated into the local Taiwanese society adopting the local customs and religions.

During the Chinese Civil War, some 20,000 Muslims, mostly soldiers and civil servants, fled mainland China with the Kuomintang to Taiwan. Since the 1980s, thousands of Muslims from Myanmar and Thailand, who are descendants of Nationalist soldiers who fled Yunnan as a result of the communist takeover, have migrated to Taiwan in search of a better life. In more recent years, there has been a rise in Indonesian workers to Taiwan. There are an estimated 80,000 Indonesian Muslims living in Taiwan, in addition to the existing 53,000 Taiwanese Muslims. All demographics combined, there are over 140,000 Muslims in Taiwan.

Falun gong

Even though Falun gong is banned in mainland China, people in Taiwan are free to practice it. There are also large followers for this particular religion.

Atheism, Agnosticism, and Freethinking

Excluding the nontheistic Buddhism, there are small populations of atheists and agnostics living in Taiwan. [citation needed] As high as about 24% of Taiwanese population are Freethinkers [citation needed], this is the result of high Liberal education of newer Taiwanese generation from abroad as well as from within Taiwan (compared to Japan of about 64% Freethinkers [citation needed] and South Korea of about 35% or higher Freethinkers [citation needed]).

References

  1. ^ a b "Taiwan Yearbook 2006". Government of Information Office. 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  2. ^ "2006 Report on International Religious Freedom". U.S. Department of State. 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  3. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/tw.html
  4. ^ http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/religion/story/200275.html
  5. ^ http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/09/taiwans_christian_population_s.php

See also

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