User:Vassyana/Taoism/adherents
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The number of Taoists is difficult to estimate, partly for definitional reasons (who counts as a Taoist?), and partly for practical ones (it is illegal for private parties to conduct surveys in China). The number of people practicing some aspect of the Chinese folk religion might number in the hundreds of millions. (Adherents.com estimates "Traditional Chinese religion" at nearly four hundred million). The number of people patronising Daoshi (Taoist priests or masters) would be smaller by several orders of magnitude, while the number of literary Daojia would be smaller yet. At the same time, most Chinese people and many others have been influenced in some way by Taoist tradition.
Geographically, Taoism flourishes best in regions populated by Chinese people: inland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and various Chinese diaspora communities. Taoist literature and art has influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and these countries' folk religions have many common elements. Organized Taoism seems not to have attracted a non-Chinese following until modern times.
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The number of Taoists is difficult to estimate. This is partly due to conflict over properly defining and categorizing Taoism. There are also practical impediments, such as the illegal status of surveys conducted by private parties in China. The number of people practicing some aspect of the Chinese folk religion numbers in the hundreds of millions. Adherents.com estimates "Traditional Chinese religion" at nearly four hundred million.
Geographically, Taoism flourishes in inland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and various Chinese diaspora communities. Taoist literature and art has influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and these countries' folk religions have many common elements. Organized Taoism has attracted a non-Chinese following in modern times.
