The run-up to this month’s Taiwan presidential election has witnessed a few game-changing events including the replacement of the ruling Kuomintang’s (KMT) candidate Hung Hsiu-chu by Eric Chu in October, and the historic meeting between Presidents Ma Ying-jeou and Xi Jinping a month later.

Despite the ever-changing dynamics of the campaigns, one thing has stayed constant — the significance of religion in the political sphere.

In Taiwan, religion has long permeated the daily life of the people, including shaping their political preferences.

Taiwanese religious beliefs have their roots in polytheism, Chinese classical culture and Taiwan’s folk cultures. Various traditional religious practices, ceremonies and activities are visible in contemporary Taiwanese lifestyles. Most of the island’s inhabitants are followers of China’s three religious traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, collectively regarded as the “three teachings,” or sanjiao(三教).

Based on the 2014 International Religious Freedom Report by the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Buddhists and Taoists make up around 35 and 33 per cent of the total population in Taiwan, respectively.

However, there is an absence of clear-cut boundaries between practitioners of Buddhism, Taoism and even Confucianism. What is known is that more than two-thirds of Taiwanese identify themselves as Buddhists and Taoists — about 4 per cent are Christians while the rest have no religion — which explains the significant role of the “three teachings” in the election.

Four months before the election, the Buddhist Master Hsing Yun, who is often regarded as a staunch KMT supporter, compared Ms Tsai Ing-wen, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), with Mazu (妈祖), the Chinese Goddess of the Sea during the commemoration ceremony of the former Kaohsiung county commissioner, Yu Chen Yueh-ying.

Master Hsing Yun stated that not only was Yu Chen Yueh-ying a personification of the goddess Mazu, Ms Tsai is also is the goddess Mazu personified and is destined to win in 2016. This bolstered Ms Tsai’s confidence and popularity as local media quoted the words of the prominent Mahayana Buddhism monk, an influential figure in the Buddhist community.

Interestingly, the spirit of Mazu — care and compassion — is often borrowed by Taiwanese candidates to express their loyalty to the people of Taiwan. Three months ago, Ms Tsai visited the Tianhou temple in Taipei to pay tribute to Mazu, expressing her will to emulate the spirit of Mazu to care for the people of Taiwan with compassion.

Before Mr Chu replaced Ms Hung as the KMT’s presidential candidate, Ms Hung also posted on Facebook photos of her visiting a temple, claiming that she was trying to seek help by “looking at a bodhisattva (statue) with a face of benevolence” and gain “certain enlightenment”. Her posts were widely reported in Taiwanese media.

In fact, the link between religion and politics is not a new phenomenon in Taiwan. Former Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian attempted to shore up support in his stronghold of southern Taiwan during the 2000 Presidential Election by claiming that the region’s “Royal Lords” (well-known local folkish and cultic Taoist deities, also known as Wang Yeh in Taiwan) supported his cause. Many election campaigns have also taken place at various temples to canvass for grassroots support.

It is common for politicians to visit temples or folk shrines to present symbolic offerings and even tap the temples’ networks to rally the support of devotees. The KMT, in particular, uses temple-centered networks to drum up popular support for the party. The temples function not only as centres for worship, but also as a gathering point for community members to participate in religious and social activities, or simply relax.

Specifically, leaders of local religious groups have historically exerted great influence over past elections, even swaying local polls in some instances. A clear example is Mr Yan Qing Biao, who, as the chairman of Jenn Lann Temple, combines Mazu worship and religious activities with electoral campaigning in local elections. The temple’s branch in Taichung has become a prominent symbol of the blue camp’s (KMT) political influence.

Catholicism is also part of the political landscape. Ms Tsai’s running mate, Mr Philip Chen Chien-Jen, whom Ms Tsai reportedly described as a “devout Catholic who is prudent, extroverted, trustworthy and an expert communicator”, gave a public speech filled with religious reflections on Nov 16 when asked about how he became Ms Tsai’s running partner.

He claimed that his family members prayed for him and they felt God’s calling that he must “become the light of the world and the salt of the earth, burning himself like a small candle to give light to Taiwan”. He also quoted Pope Francis, saying the pontiff encourages Catholic to join politics so that they can bring change to those who are needy.

With Ms Tsai actively advocating for Taiwan to recognise same-sex marriage, it will be interesting to see how her Catholic running mate reacts to this sensitive issue and how that plays out with voters who have different beliefs.

In a nutshell, the 2016 Presidential Election is not only a battle for the green and blue camps, but also a proxy race for different religions through the candidates they support, which further complicates the already complex election season.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Lim Wen Xin, Lim Tai Wei, and Kong Tuan Yuen are researchers at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute. Dr Lim Tai Wei is also a Senior Lecturer at SIM University.