Page 63 - A Study of Traditional Chinese Religions in Malaysia: The Decline and the Path Towards Revitalization

hand, has converted to Buddhism from Catholicism for 37 years. While Helen has professed
and taken refuge in Buddhism for 10 years, John was in his seventh year as a Buddhist in

2022.

In the case of both Koh and Steven, the conversion was a rather straightforward one:

from Catholicism to Taoism / Buddhism. Helen and John, however, experienced at least one
conversion along their journeys before finally converting again to Buddhism.

4.2 Religion Of the Family

Two of the subjects, namely Helen and John, grew up in a family that respectively follows
the Buddhist and Buddhist-Taoist traditions. Despite their conversions between TCR and
non-TCR, the faith of their parents remains unchanged.

Koh and Steven, on the contrary, were born into families that professed Catholicism.
In the case of Koh, his parents, grandparents, and siblings were all Catholics. However,
things changed after he went to work in Singapore at the tender age of 15 and was exposed

to the Taoist practice. After returning to Malaysia, Koh naturally professed Taoism and took
part in temple activities. His parents and siblings eventually followed suit.

“My parents converted to Taoism for over 20 years before they passed away. When
they passed away, they actually followed the Taoist rituals,” said Koh, who has been
the Chairman of the (Tua Pek Kong) TPK Temple in Setiawan since 1993. “Before

they embraced Taoism, they voluntarily followed me to the TPK Temple, and I taught
them how to pray.” (Koh)

As for Steven, his mother was a Christian “quite some time ago” before Steven was
baptized as a child. “My mom was brought up in the Christian faith when she was about nine
or ten years old during the Japanese war. During the war, the church really helped her family

a lot,” explained Steven, adding that her mother was extremely grateful to the people at the
church. This event subsequently led to her picking up the faith and passing it on to Steven
and his siblings. Steven further added that his father was a “freethinker,” but followed his

mother to be a Christian when they got married.

Unlike Koh’s parents, Steven’s parents remained Christians upon their passing.

“Before my father passed away, he said he wanted a Christian funeral, so we arranged a
Christian one for him. My mom very specifically told us what she wanted before she passed
away, including the dress she wanted to wear, the coffin she bought for herself, and the burial

lot she picked herself. She also insisted on what hymns to sing during the mass, and the
pastor to conduct the mass for her.”

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