ohwilleke

It is common in much of Asia for someone to adhere to more than one of what we might call religions. In Japan, for example, most people follow both Shinto and Buddhist rites, at different times of law, as well as abhereing to Confucian ethics.

Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion also are often practiced by the same person.

Other combinations abound.

One way of describing this is to say that the people are followers of more than one religion. Another, is to say that there are really only non-Abrahamic religionists in Asia are followers of only one or two religions, and simply emphasize different parts of this inconsistent whole. For example, many Hindus, will emphasize that their deities are merely expressions of a single God, in a way to seek harmony both with monotheists, and with less deity filled Eastern religious neighbors. Simliarly, some Taoists and Buddhists will speak of the universe as a sort of God to the same end.

Bah'ai also picks up on this notion.