Wei-ming temple
Taoist LGBT temple in Taiwan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wei-ming temple (Chinese: 威明堂; pinyin: Wēi míngtáng),[1] also known as Rabbit Temple, is a Taoist temple in New Taipei City, Taiwan dedicated to Tu'er Shen (lit. "The Rabbit God"), a Chinese deity associated with gay love and sex.[2]
| Wei-ming temple | |
|---|---|
威明堂 | |
Shrine dedicated to Tu'er Shen in the Wei-ming temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Taoist |
| Deity | Tu'er Shen, other Taoist deities |
| Location | |
| Location | New Taipei City, Taiwan |
 Interactive map of Wei-ming temple | |
History
Founded by Taoist priest Lu Wei-ming in 2006, the shrine is explicitly welcoming to gay congregants, and draws about 9,000 attendees per year.[2] According to Wei-ming, the temple is the only shrine in the world dedicated to homosexuals, and has stated that his intent in creating the shrine was to create a welcoming place for a demographic subject to ostracism. While praying to the gods for a lover is a traditional Taoist custom, the Wei-ming temple's focus on sexuality is distinct, and a symbol of queer identity in Taiwanese society.[2][3] The temple has been the target of sporadic protests by Taiwan's small Christian community,[2] with a priest attempting to perform an exorcism of the shrine on one occasion.[4] In recent years, the temple has received an increase in visitors, mainly well-wishers of the god Tu'er Shen.[5]
