Hong Kong is arguably the only city in China where religious freedom is both provided for by the law and respected in practise. Almost everyone here is brought up on certain spiritual beliefs, even though these may not always add up to the profession of a religion. And most of the time, they don’t – Hong Kongers are not a particularly religious bunch.
The city’s early inhabitants were fishers and farmers who worshipped a mixed bag of deities – some folk, some Taoist, notably the Kitchen God, the Earth God, and the Goddess of the Sea (Tin Hau). Many sought divine protection by symbolically offering their children to deities for adoption. All villages have ancestral shrines. Traditional practices are alive in Hong Kong today, often colourfully intertwined with those of imported religions including Buddhism and Christianity.
For 2000 years the teachings of Confucius (551–479 BC) and the subsequent school of thought called Confucianism informed the familial system and all human relationships in imperial China. Yet in the revolutionary fervour of the 20th century, the philosophy that was the bedrock of Chinese civilisation was blamed for a host of evils from feudal oppression and misogyny to all-round backwardness.
Traditionally, Confucian doctrines helped Chinese rulers to maintain domestic order. Emperors led by ‘mandate of heaven’; government positions were filled by top-scoring candidates on exams in the Confucian classics. For historical reasons, Confucianism in this institutionalised form never existed in Hong Kong. Yet Confucian values are at the core of familial and social relationships in the former British colony. Two pillars of Confucian thought are respect for knowledge and filial piety. Hong Kong parents attach huge importance to academic performance; youngsters are trained to work hard as well as to treat parents and teachers with courtesy. Many adults live with their folks (though this is related to the city’s exorbitant rent); almost everyone is expected to provide for their parents, though whether they do is another matter.
Buddhism is Hong Kong’s dominant religion. It was first introduced here in about the 5th century, when the monk Pui To set up a hermitage in the western New Territories. The area, a stop on the ancient route linking Persia, Arabia and India to Guǎngzhōu, is regarded as the birthplace of Buddhism in the territory.
Although a tiny fraction of the population is purely and devoutly Buddhist, about a million practise some form of the religion, and use its funeral and exorcism rites. Generally speaking, the ritual of taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Darma, Sangha) is regarded as the Buddhist initiation rite. Some followers abstain from meat on certain days of the month, others for longer periods. Very few are strict vegetarians.
Buddhist organisations here do not play an active political role, unlike some of their counterparts in Southeast Asia. They focus instead on providing palliative care and spiritual services. Every year on Remembrance Day (11 November), they hold a ceremony for the souls of the victims of the two World Wars and the Japanese invasion. Buddhist funerals are dignified affairs that can be quite elaborate, with some ceremonies lasting 49 days – the time it purportedly takes an average soul to find the conditions for its rebirth. Prayers are chanted every seven days to help the soul find rebirth in a higher realm (‘happy human’ versus ‘cockroach’, for instance). On the seventh day, souls are believed to revisit their homes. Everyone in the family stays in their room to avoid crossing paths with the loved one.
Taoism is an indigenous Chinese religion more than 2000 years old. Though never declared a national faith, its presence is ubiquitous in most aspects of Chinese life. Unlike evangelical religions stressing crusading and personal conversion, Taoism simply offers its services, whether it’s treatment for illness or protection from evil spirits, to everyone within its locale.
The Hong Kong horseracing season, and all construction and filming projects, are preceded by Taoist rituals to appease the nature deities and ensure good feng shui. Necromancy, which strives for harmony between humanity and nature, is a practise influenced by Taoism. During the first two weeks of the Lunar New Year, millions of all creeds and faiths pay their respects at Taoist temples. Taoist priests preside over the majority of funeral rites in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s Christian community has more than 800,000 followers, with Protestants outnumbering 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 China, 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 services were, as they are now, open to followers and non-followers alike.