Folk Belief and Its Legitimization in China

In China, "world religions" (or institutionalized religions)—Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism—as well as the Chinese indigenous Daoism are recognized by the government as "religions." As long as these religions are practiced within the acceptable range of rules set by the government, the government will view them as legitimate religions and will protect them. However, there are many folk beliefs in a great variety of locales in China that are not officially recognized or treated as religions. The question of their legitimacy has been a long-standing problem that has perplexed Chinese society. This paper focuses on the issue of the legitimacy of folk beliefs and argues that three paths have been followed to legitimize folk beliefs in contemporary China: folklorization, religionization, and cultural heritage. It then examines the ways that the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) movement has transformed folk beliefs into "cultural heritage."