A religious goods store, also known as a religious bookstore, religious gifts store or religious supplies shop, is a store specializing in supplying materials used in the practice of a particular religious tradition, such as

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

among other religions. These shops are abundant across the Greater Chinese region as well as Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

, religious goods stores are often visited to purchase Christian art, books and devotional material for the home, as well as gifts such as a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

daily devotional A daily devotional is a Christian religious publication that provide a specific spiritual reading for each calendar day. Many daily devotionals take the form of one year devotional books, with many being tailored specifically for children, teenag ...

cross necklace __NOTOC__ A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix. Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and confirmation. Co ...

for occasions such as

Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

, Confirmation and Holy Matrimony.

Items for sale

Christianity

, "religious goods stores", also known as "Christian bookstores", have Family Bibles,

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...

, daily devotional books, breviaries, catechisms,

s, Christian music albums, holy cards,

home altar A home altar or family altar is a shrine kept in the home of a Western Christian family used for Christian prayer and family worship. Home altars often contain a cross or crucifix, a copy of the Bible (especially a Family Bible), a breviary and ...

prie-dieu A prie-dieu (French: literally, "pray oGod") is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but which may also be found in churches. A similar form of chair in domestic furniture is called "prie-dieu" by analogy. So ...

s, and prayer beads (such as the Dominican Rosary of Catholicism, the

Wreath of Christ The Wreath of Christ ( sv, links=no, Frälsarkransen; Danish and Norwegian: ''Kristuskransen''), also known as the Lutheran rosary, are a set of prayer beads developed in 1995 by Swedish Evangelical Lutheran bishop emeritus Martin Lönnebo. The ...

of Lutheranism, the Anglican Rosary of Anglicanism, and the

Chotki A prayer rope gr, κομποσκοίνι ''komboskini''; russian: чётки ''chotki'' (most common term) or ''vervitsa'' (literal translation); ar, مسبحة, misbaḥa; Romanian: ''metanii / metanier''; Serbian and Macedonian: бројани ...

of Eastern Orthodoxy), among other

sacramental A sacramental in Christianity is a material object or action (in Latin ''sacramentalia'') ritually blessed by a priest to signal its association with the sacraments and so to incite reverence during acts of worship. They are recognised by the Cat ...

Chinese folk religion and Taoism

*Statues representing

Chinese deities Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven ('' Tian'' ), whi ...

, also include

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

images like

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

or Di Zang Wang * Tong Sheng (通勝), Chinese divination guide and almanac * all form of Chinese incenses, kemenyan and candles * incense papers, underworld bank notes and various forms of paper offerings *tablets dedicated to Tian Gong (天公),

Tu Di Gong Tudigong ( "Lord of the Soil and the Ground") or Tudishen ( "God of the Soil and the Ground"), also known simply as Tudi ( "Soil-Ground") is a tutelary deity of a locality and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion and Tao ...

(土地公),

Zao Jun The Kitchen deity – also known as the Stove God, named Zao Jun, Zao Shen, Zao kimjah, Cokimjah or Zhang Lang – is the most important of a plethora of Chinese domestic gods that protect the hearth and family. The Kitchen God is recognized in C ...

(灶君) and ancestral tablets *unconsecrated religious devotional objects like Pa-Kua, Qian Kun Tai Ji Tu and Shang Hai Zheng *incense urns or incense holders * Chinese teapots, tea cups and Chinese tea leaves *incense paper burners * incense sticks

Gallery

File:GodsMaterialShop002.jpg, Malaysian Chinese and Indian Prayer Material Shop in Penang's Market Street (Little India district). File:GodsMaterialShop003.jpg, Statues of Maitreya on sale in a Prayer Material Shop in Penang. File:Family Christian Stores storefront.jpg, The exterior of a Family Christian religious goods store in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

References

Chinese folk religion Religious objects Religion in Taiwan Religion in Hong Kong Religion in Singapore Religion in Malaysia Retailing in China Retailing in Taiwan Retailing in Hong Kong Retailing in Singapore {{retailing-stub

Items for sale

Christianity

Chinese folk religion and Taoism

Gallery

See also

References