Introduction to Taoism
Taoism - pronounced Daoism - is another religion/philosophy combination dating back to traditions from thousands of years ago. “Tao” is translated to “the path” or “the way”.
Origins: “The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius… Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted.” [Source]
Beliefs: Taoism is a combination of various teachings and philosophies, and is not a unified religion. Different branches of Taoism have different beliefs, but there are core beliefs that nearly all who follow Taoism share. (See: Principles)
God: The traditional Chinese religion is polytheistic. There are many dieties who compose an hierarchy that mirrors the bureaucracy of Imperial China. These deities may be promoted or demoted for their actions and some deities are exalted humans. Deities worshiped vary according to geographical regions and historical periods in China, though the general pattern of worship is more constant.
Principles: “Taoism theology emphasizes various themes found in the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, such as naturalness, vitality, peace, “non-action” (wu wei), emptiness (refinement), detachment, the strength of softness (or flexibility), receptiveness, spontaneity, the relativism of human ways of life, ways of speaking and guiding behavior.” [Source]
Other sources of information:
Taoism @ Wikipedia
Taoism @ Religious Tolerance
Taoism @ Religious Worlds
Taoism.net
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