As someone who refers to myself as a Taoist, I'm often asked the obvious question: What is a Taoist? Let me tell ya, it's not an easy question to answer at all.
For one thing, very few Americans -- particularly out here in the hinterlands -- have heard of the word, Tao. So, to provide ANY kind of answer at all, it necessitates providing a bit of historical background.
But there's a far more basic problem. Unlike religions and ideologies, there are no core beliefs, creeds or agreed upon fundamental principles. If a person tells you that he or she is a Christian, this most often means that a) the person accepts the notion of God as the creator; b) the person accepts Jesus Christ as their lord and savior; and c) the person accepts the bible as the literal or inspired word of God.
In this same vein, if a person tells you that he or she is a Republican or a Socialist, there are agreed upon general principles. This is not to suggest that Christians, Republicans or Socialists don't have disagreements among themselves -- far from it -- but there are some baseline beliefs that are shared across the differences.
Philosophical Taoism, on the other hand, merely is a framework, not the structure itself. There are no membership requirements nor a formal community. There are no creeds. There are no set principles. About all that any person who considers themselves a Taoist might agree on is the use of certain metaphors and imagery. How those metaphors and imagery are interpreted is up to each individual.
Because of its individualized nature, I am not even sure if it qualifies as a belief system unto itself.
So, when I'm asked the question these days, I generally tell people what I am about and then note that each Taoist is different. For me, that's the best I can do to answer the question.
For one thing, very few Americans -- particularly out here in the hinterlands -- have heard of the word, Tao. So, to provide ANY kind of answer at all, it necessitates providing a bit of historical background.
But there's a far more basic problem. Unlike religions and ideologies, there are no core beliefs, creeds or agreed upon fundamental principles. If a person tells you that he or she is a Christian, this most often means that a) the person accepts the notion of God as the creator; b) the person accepts Jesus Christ as their lord and savior; and c) the person accepts the bible as the literal or inspired word of God.
In this same vein, if a person tells you that he or she is a Republican or a Socialist, there are agreed upon general principles. This is not to suggest that Christians, Republicans or Socialists don't have disagreements among themselves -- far from it -- but there are some baseline beliefs that are shared across the differences.
Philosophical Taoism, on the other hand, merely is a framework, not the structure itself. There are no membership requirements nor a formal community. There are no creeds. There are no set principles. About all that any person who considers themselves a Taoist might agree on is the use of certain metaphors and imagery. How those metaphors and imagery are interpreted is up to each individual.
Because of its individualized nature, I am not even sure if it qualifies as a belief system unto itself.
So, when I'm asked the question these days, I generally tell people what I am about and then note that each Taoist is different. For me, that's the best I can do to answer the question.
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