ABSTRACT
Chinese migrants carried with them their beliefs and practices, of which the worship of ancestors and Chinese deities and the placation of ghosts, often described as the Chinese popular religion (hereafter Chinese religion), is important. In addition, Buddhism, particularly the Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, has remained an important religious affiliation. Influenced by various religious encounters and forces in their respective societies, many Chinese overseas have adopted other faiths, too, especially Christianity, but also Islam, Baha’ii and others. In the Philippines, for instance, due to the Spanish colonial policy of religious assimilation, today the Chinese there are predominantly Catholics, but those who observe Chinese religion often honor Jesus, Mother Mary and other Christian saints alongside Chinese deities. Christianity is of course important in North America, Europe and Australasia, but Chinese remigration has also brought along churches that are identified with various groups of Chinese; for instance some Chinese migrants from Malaysia have their own churches in Australia, and some churches have been instrumental to new migrants to North America, such as those in New York helping the Fuzhou migrants to adjust to their life in the USA (Guest 2003). In island Southeast Asia, there is an increasing number of Chinese Muslims although they remain a minority among the Chinese population (Ma 2012; Tan 1991).
