The overall aim of this article is to advance understanding of developmental aspects of Taiwanese folk religion. This is done by collecting, arranging, evaluating, and analyzing government compiled data on Taiwanese religion. This study finds three developmental stages in Taiwanese folk religion: 1.) Dynastic era of Ming and Ch'ing; 2.) Colonial era of Japanese occupation; and, 3.) Post Retrocession era from 1945 to the present. Folk religion was brought to Taiwan in the dynastic era by immigrants from Fukien and Kwangtung. Contact with home regions was maintained ritually through FEN HSIANG (分香), and KE HSIANG (割香).It is safe to say that Taiwanese folk religion reduplicated Fukien and Kwangtung folk religion in Taiwan during the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties. There was a major transformation in religion following the cession of Taiwan by the Ch'ing government to Japan. The Japanese cut off contacts between Taiwanese Han people and their home regions in the China mainland. Efforts to separate Taiwan from China mainland were intensified during the Sino-Japanese war. The folk religion developed and was sustained in isolation from external Chinese influences. Instead, pure Buddhist elements were introduced by the Japanese, and a unique religious system gradually took form. There have been dramatic socio-cultural changes in Taiwan over the last 40 years, These changes have influenced folk religion in many ways, and so folk religion has itself changed. For example, the relative importance of plague gods, such as WANG YEH (王爺), has decreased, but the popularity of some other gods have increased in comparison. There has also been a tendency to enlarge the scale of temple architecture. In sum, the developing potential of Taiwanese religion has not undermined through the changes of these various stages, although economical and educational level of Taiwan has risen tremendously.
