Ancient Chinese religion has been developed and influenced by a variety of beliefs and philosophies, each with separate origins. The three main teachings, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, have combined, with ancient animist beliefs, to create a more unified, and common religion. The founders of these three teachings were deified and worshiped by the Chinese, the same as they worshiped gods and spirits. The early Chinese believed in many gods and goddesses of nature, as well as various spirits and demons.

The following essay contains information about: the affects of religion upon China in paragraph two, the roles it played in paragraph three, Taoism in paragraph four, Buddhism in paragraph five, Confucianism in paragraph six, and the concluding paragraph number seven.

Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism were integrated with various indigenous religions that had ruled and guided the population. Some of the philosophies and rituals were based on superstition and...