Research On Religious Practices Of Taoist Temples

Religious practices in taoist temples are the most important part of the religious organization, and embody the most concentrated reflection of the religious faith. The study on the related affairs is relatively rare not only within the religion itself but also in academia. This paper makes a deep and systematic study, classification and interpretation for the first time in order to make the religious practices in taoist temples understood comprehensively and systematically. This paper is divided into 5 chapters.Chapter 1: Introduction Part. This section explains the background, purpose and value of the paper, advantages and disadvantages as well as domestic and international developments and research ideas and methods of related research topics.Chapter 2: Religious Practices in Taoist Temples and Its Classification. In this chapter, the concept of religious practices in taoist temples is defined and distinguished from the religious affairs and the cultural activities. Based on the investigation of traditional religious practices and current religious practices in taoist temples, this paper proposes a new method of classification: the first category---daily religious practices, the second category---holiday religious practices, the third category---particular religious practices.Chapter 3: Daily Religious Practices in Taoist Temples. In this chapter, seven kinds of daily practices in taoist temples are stated and interpreted from the points of procedures and meanings, including Meditation of Morning, Reading Scriptures of Morning, Breakfast, Learning Scriptures, Religious Ceremonies, Lunch and Meditation of Evening.Chapter 4: Holiday Religious Practices in Taoist Temples. In this chapter, three kinds of holiday practices in taoist temples are stated and interpreted from the points of procedures and meanings, including the holy birthdays of gods, festival activities and Spring Festival activities.Chapter 5: Particular Religious Practices. In this chapter, four kinds of particular practices in taoist temples are stated and interpreted from the points of procedures and meanings, including religious ceremonies for worshipers, celebrations, inheritances and religious practices.