Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tao & Folk
Due to its intimate ties with mundane life, Taoist temples tend to be colourful. There are
about 150 here and another one to two hundred that worship a combination of Taoist and
folk deities. Taoism and folk religion have always been willing bedfellows as both prescribe
a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, respect for the environment, and the
belief that everything has a spirit. In some instances they are so well integrated that it's hard
to tell them apart. Taiping Qingzhao, celebrated in Cheung Chau as the Bun Festival, fea-
tures a Taoist priest performing the main ceremony, Buddhist monks leading the worship of
local gods, with a little bit of Confucianism and even a few tourism gimmicks thrown in for
good measure.
Religious Reads
Changing Church and State Relations in Hong Kong 1950-2000
by Beatrice Leung and Chan Shun-hing (2003)
Imperial to International: A History of St John's Cathedral, Hong Kong
by Stuart Wolfendale (2013)
Islam in Hong Kong: Muslims and Everyday Life in China's World City
by Paul O'Connor (2012)
The Daoist Tradition: An Introduction
by Louis Komjathy (2013)
Christianity
Hong Kong's Christian community has over 800,000 followers, with Protestants outnumber-
ing Roman Catholics and having more young believers. About a third of the Catholics are
Filipina domestic helpers. Most churches offer services in Cantonese and English, and some
also in Tagalog.
Christianity has been in Hong Kong since the mid-19th century. In the early days, the
Hong Kong Catholic Church provided support to the missionaries travelling to and from Ch-
ina, and served the Catholics in the British Army as well as Portuguese merchants and their
families from Macau. In the ensuing decades, both Catholics and Protestants began working
for the local community, founding schools, hospitals and welfare organsations. These ser-
vices were, as they are now, open to followers and non-followers alike.
