A religious goods store, also known as a religious bookstore, religious gifts store or religious supplies shop, is a store specializing in supplying materials used in the practice of a particular religious tradition, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese folk religion and Christianity among other religions. These shops are abundant across the Greater Chinese region as well as Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In Christendom, religious goods stores are often visited to purchase Christian art, books and devotional material for the home, as well as gifts such as a Bible, daily devotional or cross necklace for occasions such as Baptism,

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and Holy Matrimony.

Items for sale

Christianity

In Christendom, "religious goods stores", also known as "Christian bookstores", have Family Bibles, Christian art, daily devotional books,

breviaries A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as ...

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

s, cross necklaces, Christian music albums, holy cards, home altars, prie-dieus, and prayer beads (such as the

Dominican Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

of Catholicism, the Wreath of Christ of Lutheranism, the Anglican Rosary of Anglicanism, and the Chotki of Eastern Orthodoxy), among other sacramentals.

Chinese folk religion and Taoism

*Statues representing Chinese deities, also include Bodhisattva images like Guanyin or Di Zang Wang * Tong Sheng (通勝), Chinese divination guide and almanac * all form of Chinese incenses,

kemenyan Benzoin or benjamin (corrupted pronunciation) is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus '' Styrax''. It is used in perfumes and some kinds of incense and as a flavoring and medicine (see tincture of be ...

and candles * incense papers, underworld bank notes and various forms of paper offerings *tablets dedicated to Tian Gong (天公), Tu Di Gong (土地公), Zao Jun (灶君) and

ancestral tablets A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet, is a placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in tr ...

*unconsecrated religious devotional objects like

Pa-Kua The bagua or pakua (八卦) are a set of eight symbols that originated in China, used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each li ...

, Qian Kun Tai Ji Tu and Shang Hai Zheng *incense urns or incense holders * Chinese teapots, tea cups and Chinese tea leaves *incense paper burners * incense sticks

Gallery

File:GodsMaterialShop002.jpg,

Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian po ...

and Indian Prayer Material Shop in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

's Market Street (Little India district). File:GodsMaterialShop003.jpg, Statues of

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

on sale in a Prayer Material Shop in

. File:Family Christian Stores storefront.jpg, The exterior of a

Family Christian Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

religious goods store in the United States

References

Chinese folk religion Religious objects Religion in Taiwan Religion in Hong Kong Religion in Singapore Religion in Malaysia Retailing in China Retailing in Taiwan Retailing in Hong Kong Retailing in Singapore {{retailing-stub

Items for sale

Christianity

Chinese folk religion and Taoism

Gallery

See also

References