In what ways have the gods, ancestors, buddhas & bodhisattvas, nature Essay - 1

In what ways have the gods, ancestors, buddhas & bodhisattvas, nature deities, and ghosts reappeared, and how have these reappearances affected local cultures since the 1980s - Essay Example Folk religions were among the religions that regained popularity and were revived in the post-Mao era. This resurgence was well experienced by 1982. At this time, peasants in Chuansha County in sub-urban Shanghai were flocking to visit fortune tellers. The fortune tellers however were charging a fee for their services but this still did not deter the locals from flocking at their premise. In addition, sorceresses at this particular period were being paid lump sum amounts for curing diseases. The locals had regained so much faith in their traditional religions that they were willing to spend any amount of money to get a hold of the benefits that could be reaped from them. A few years later after the folk religion had been re-introduced in to society, the effects begun to be seen. In 1986, a total of 393 ancestor halls were erected in the market town of Guangdong province. The locals gathered here to worship in masses in these worship halls (Wellens, 2010). These halls were one of the ways in which the ancestors of the Chinese people reappeared in the post-Mao era. The locals also gathered here for worship purposes. More to just being symbolic and worship centers, these halls helped in the popularization of the religions which had become indigenous as a result of the communist era. By the year 1988, the religious practices had been so much embraced that they were being practiced in funerals. This was the case in a village in Sichuan. The locals used to conduct ancestral worship during the holidays. They used to offer sacrifices to appeases and welcome their ancestral spirits. When it came to funerals, the