Taiwan's Religious Background

The settlers build temples to the local deities as well as those on the Chinese mainland in an effort to appease the spirits. Many centuries later these customs have become deeply engrained in the Taiwanese culture to the extent that participation in ancestral and temple worship has become an obligatory part of community and family life. Consequently, although many have shown interest in Christ, few are able to follow through and attend church services or Christian activities without creating painful discord. The VGM describes this situation using the parable of the soils. The Taiwan countryside is hard, unplowed ground. For example, Niao Song has a population of almost forty thousand, twenty-two temples and a single church. Suan Tou’s population is approximately twenty-eight thousand with thirty-three temples and a single, newly formed two-year-old church. (More detailed information can be found about religion in Taiwan here at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Taiwan)