Chinese popular religion has no name. It is not a religion of a book, nor is it the named religion of China - Daoism. It does include elements of Buddhism, imperial cults and Daoism, but it is identifiable with none of them. It is popular in the sense of being local and true of the China of the Han, where every place had or has its local cults and the festivals peculiar to them.
Twenty-eight scholars, many of them well known in the sociology of religion, examine a variety of faith traditions and sociological topics that illustrate the connection between religion and society in many different countries at the dawn of the 21st century. The faith traditions include Judaism, Roman Catholicism, evangelical and mainstream Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, Yoruba religion, Chinese religion, and several new religious movements, including a UFO cult in Quebec.
The contributors re-assess assumptions about state power, and a divide between state and society, in traditional China. The general conclusion is that the state was only one actor in a culture that both elites and commoners could shape.
"A fascinating story of the origins and development of the Wutong cult and the demonic in Chinese religion. From the Shang Dynasty down to late imperial times, Von Glahn lays before us an engaging wealth of knowledge and never-before presented data."--Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Indiana University, author of "Early Daoist Scriptures
"No other writer has explored the place of the sinister in Chinese religion in such a thoughtful and nuanced way. An excellent, gracefully written study covering major themes of the Song through Ming periods."--Patricia Ebrey, author of "The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period