Info on Chinese Folk Religion (why treated differently than Shinto & Hinduism?)

[Blue3]

Does anyone have good sources of information that clearly and comprehensively explain Chinese Folk Religion and its different branches? The information on Wikipedia is unclear, spread-out over several articles, some long and confusing and some short with minimal information, and no clear organization to all this information.

Also, why is it treated differently than Shinto in Japan, or Hinduism in India? Chinese Folk Religion doesn't even seem to have a proper name, despite it being one of the largest religions in the world. It's distinct from Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, though they have all influenced each other. It has deities, cosmology, creation myths, theology and philosophy. It seems to be more "religious" of a religion than Shinto. Yes, it's diverse, but so is Hinduism. Why is Chinese Folk Religion so overlooked?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The main reason it's treated differently than Shinto is that it never was a state religion or a national religion. It's a variety of local Chinese traditions, none of which has a national scale.

Secondarily, as you pointed out, in philosophic outlook, the Chinese folk religions share much with the big three of Ruism, Daoism, and Buddhism. It's the philosophy of East Asian schools of thought that primarily attract Western interest and that is more accessible via the big three.

From the viewpoint of outsiders looking in, Hinduism has the advantage of a core set of religious texts to look at. That makes it more approachable to outsiders than the Chinese folk religions.

[Del Tachi]

Wasn't a lot of Chinese folk religion destroyed during the Maoist period

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Wasn't a lot of Chinese folk religion destroyed during the Maoist period

A lot was, but you can't keep a good folk religion down, and from what I've read Xi doesn't seem to be leaning into coopting it as heavily as Catholicism or persecuting it as harshly as Islam.

[DC Al Fine]

Wasn't a lot of Chinese folk religion destroyed during the Maoist period

A lot was, but you can't keep a good folk religion down, and from what I've read Xi doesn't seem to be leaning into coopting it as heavily as Catholicism or persecuting it as harshly as Islam.

How could he? Folk religion is like water. You can't just "grab" it like you can Catholicism or Tibetan Buddhism.

[rpryor03]

in re the differences between it and Hinduism, much of the difference in treatment comes out of the colonial era.

Similarly to "Chinese Folk Religion," Hindus have a wide variety of beliefs, practices, and rituals. However, Hindu, which originates from the Old Persian word for the inhabitants of the area around the Indus river, which would eventually be called Hindustan, a name which later spread for the entire subcontinent. Around the 14th century, Hindu began to be used as a descriptor for an Indian who was not Muslim.

However, when the British arrived and sought control of India in the 18th century, they sought to understand the religious culture of the country better. However, what they did learn came from the upper-class people they dealt with, and they tended to think of Hinduism in the same way they thought of their own religious beliefs - needing a holy book, some sort of doctrinal statement, and an identifiable clergy class. As such, you get the Vedas as a "holy book" (even though they're mostly hymns and prayers, unlike the storytelling of the Bible), the Brahmins as clergy (even though they were really only ritual specialists), and the influential Adavaita Vedanta school of philosophy as a sort of doctrine - all of which fundamentally changed how Hinduism was practiced and seen.

Because China was never colonized and looked at in this way, there's a much looser understanding of the folk/indigenous religions of the country.

(Source: The Hindu Traditions by Mark Muesse [I'm a religion minor and have taken classes on this issue before.])

[anvi]

There are a few sources you could consult.  There is a widely-cited recent source called Chinese Gods: An Introduction to Chinese Folk Religion by Jonathan Chamberlain published Blacksmith Brooks, 2009.  There is also a more thematic treatment by Yao Xingzhong called Chinese Religion: A Contextual Approach Continuum 2010.  There are lot of good introductory volumes by Livia Kohn on popular Daoist practices and beliefs as well as popular practices associated with healing, meditation and longevity.