Interesting

The Grandmother Temple in Hebei Province has become famous nationwide for supporting individual “contracts” – anyone can pay for a place in the temple to worship whatever he or she believes in. Other than common gods, the temple is now filled with an array of “imaginary gods” created by the public. For example, the “God of Officials” worshipped by those hoping to become an official, the “God of Studies” for a good score in exams, the “God of Cars” for safe driving and so on. Netizens joked that the temple has “reformed” religion and that the contractors have made beliefs too profitable. However, Li Ke, a researcher of folk customs at East China Normal University, says that everyone’s beliefs should be respected. He told the news portal The Paper that the gods embody ordinary people’s wishes in life, which is an “esthetic system” distinct from that of society’s elite.