The Gods of China: What do Chinese people actually believe?

If you ask an average Chinese person, are you religious? Their first reaction would probably be negative. Like, if you ask my mom, she might say, me? Religion? No, not really. But if you follow up with, well, do you go to temples? Do you burn incense and pray to the Buddha? Do you care about feng shui? Do you honor your ancestors every year? She'll almost certainly say, what are you talking about? Of course I do. Doesn't everyone? If you look at this through a typical western lens, it's pretty confusing. Aren't all those things considered being religious? Hi, I'm Leo. Today we're going to talk about religion in China and what Chinese people actually believe in. Statistics show around 200 million officially registered religious people in China, and they make up 15% of Chinese population. These are the people who are religious in the traditional western sense. A 2024 survey showed only 13% identify as pure hardline atheists. That huge group sitting right between atheism and religion. That's the real slice of everyday China. So what does their belief actually look like? Think of it like an all-you-can-eat buffet. There's a bit of everything. You want Spanish tapas? Take a bite. Want some Chinese food? Grab a dumpling. That's how a lot of Chinese people approach spiritual life, like a giant religion buffet. Take my friends for example. They range from 20 to 40 years old, which gives a pretty good look into young people's habits today. If there were a popularity contest for Chinese deities, the god of wealth, Cai Shen, would easily be top three. Maybe even number one. He usually looks super happy holding a gold ingot, so you instantly know what he's about. Technically, he's a Taoist deity, but you'll find him in plenty of Buddhist temples too. Some families, especially business owners, even bring a statue of him home and set up an altar just for him. Legend says the fifth day of the Chinese New Year is his birthday. So every New Year, my friends and I get up super early that morning and head to the temple to burn incense, praying for lots of money this year. During this year's trip, the temple was packed shoulder to shoulder. Everyone was holding lit incense, quietly whispering their prayers. I literally had to hold my breath because the smoke was so thick. I swear city air pollution spikes every year on that exact day. Matchmaking and dating work the exact same way. In traditional folk belief, Yue Lao, the old man under the moon, is in charge of love and marriage. He's depicted as an old man with a long white beard who ties a red string around two people fated to be together. Think of him as a dating Santa or an elderly cubit. There's a famous Yue Lao shrine in Hangzhou. If you're looking for love, you go there, draw a fortune slip, and grab a red string. Who knows, maybe Yue Lao will tie that string between you and your crush. There's also gods in charge of academic success. Chinese people have a major examination in our life. It's called Gaokao, which is China's intense college entrance exam. During Gaokao season, students head to Buddhist temples to pray for good luck, especially to the god of wisdom. In Chinese, it's called Wenshu Pusa. In folk culture, people connect him to acing exams and doing well in school. Others visit Confucius temples. Confucius isn't a god of exams, but his temples represent learning and education. So praying there for good grades just makes total sense. And yes, parents do this for their kids too. You can totally outsource your prayers. Parents spend half an hour kneeling on prayer cushions while the kid is grinding practice test at home. A true team effort with great remote sync. Then they're dealing with sickness. Young people might not care about religion day to day, but if a family gets sick, things change fast. Take me for example. Over 10 years ago, my mom had a major surgery. I ran to a local temple beforehand, burned a stick of incense in front of Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and prayed for everything to go smoothly. The hospital handles the medicine. The goddess handles the blessings. If you search Chinese social media like RedNote for which temple is best for health recovery, you'll find tons of recommendations. Mount Putuo is super famous for health and safety blessings. See, even gods are ranked on local review lists. Another cool example is the goddess Mazu. Legend says she was a real woman named Lin Mo. She spent her life saving people from shipwrecks. Over time, people started worshiping her as the guardian of the sea. So when do people pray to Mazu? Usually before setting sail or taking a long trip. If you visit Fujian province, you'll see Mazu temples overflowing with incense smoke. As fishermen and merchants traveled overseas to trade, they brought their faith in Mazu with them all across the globe. From Fujian to Singapore, from San Francisco to Toronto, you'll find Mazu temples. A local sea goddess from a tiny island in Fujian ended up traveling the whole world. UNESCO stats show there are now around 5,000 Mazu temples worldwide. Beyond these, Chinese people have a god for almost everything. Want a baby? Pray to Guan Yin, the child giver, and she'll send a healthy little baby your way. Want your business to boom? Call on Guan Yu. This general from the Three Kingdoms era was later embraced as a patron god of business. Need good weather for farming? Head to the Dragon King, the mythical ruler of rain and waters. Want your family safe and sound? Skip the temples and talk directly to your ancestors. Burn some ghost money during the ghost festival and ask them to watch over your family. By now, you've probably spotted the core theme of Chinese spiritual life. Pragmatism. Believing in gods in China is a lot like relying on a plumber or a coder. They fix your leaks, they patch your bugs. But once the pipe is fixed, are you going to call the plumber every day just to chat? Probably not. Well, at least not until the sink gets clogged again. So if you ask a Chinese person, which god do you believe in? It's kind of a tricky question. Most of the time, we'll say, we don't have a religion. But if you ask us, do you need any help from the gods? Oh boy, do we have a list for you. Thanks for watching. Hope you find this video interesting. I'm Leo. See you next time. Bye for now.