ABSTRACT
Many rural laypeople have found ways to explain their religious traditions as ‘heritage-based cultural folk-practices’ to avoid being associated with possibly illegal folk-religious activities. Laypeople can also ask for help from deities associated with different religions as well–because Chinese culture and its religions have traditionally been inclusive regarding lay interactions. In rural areas, Leung finds that Protestant Christianity is replacing folk/popular religion because it deals with similar issues, and many peasants “understand and practice their religion in ways and forms that are very similar to the beliefs and practices of Chinese folk religion”. Examining the ritual activities and ideas of laypersons in China, it should be clear by now that their goals do not generally coincide with those of religious authority and clergy. In many Daoist temples across China, clergy and laypeople alike practice qigong and taiji quan exercises in the morning and evening as temples open and close.
