Taiwanese Culture & Beliefs
Taiwan has been at the crossroads of numerous international conflicts, and has been occupied by the Dutch, the Spanish and the Japanese. As a province of China, it became majority Chinese made up largely of the Ming Nan ethnic group, followed by Hakka (Ke Jia) and mainlanders fleeing with Chiang Kai Shek at the end of the Chinese civil war in the 1940s.
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Taoism
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Taoism, the basis for much of Chinese medicine, is practiced in some form by most people on Taiwan. Taoism is a polytheistic religion founded by Lao Tsu around 2,500 years ago.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is commonly practiced on Taiwan. Although a number of Buddhist-only temples exist, especially those that train monks, there are more temples that mix Buddhist deities and Taoist deities.
Confucianism
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Confucianism is widely practiced, often by adherents of Buddhism and Taoism. There are a number of Confucian temples where annual rituals and rites honoring Confucius are performed.
Christianity
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Christianity is a relative latecomer to Taiwan. Christian practices first arrived on the island with the Dutch in 1624. Although a minority religion, Christianity is widely practiced.
Taiwan Aboriginal Beliefs
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Although many aboriginal people adopted Christianity, neither Christianity nor the importation of Chinese religions overwhelmed traditional Aboriginal practices. Aboriginal religions are naturalistic animism, which often associates a spirit with a particular place.
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