Folk religion
The religion as people live it day to day, including charms, saints, pilgrimages and household rites, alongside official teaching.
Also: popular religion, lived religion, vernacular religion
Scholars use folk religion, popular religion or lived religion for belief and practice outside, or beside, formal doctrine. Examples are an Orthodox Christian putting a blue bead on a baby, a Sunni Muslim visiting a saint's shrine for a cure, a Hindu tying a thread at a village goddess's temple, or a Buddhist in Thailand carrying a monk-blessed amulet. Such practices often blend official teaching with older local customs and are sometimes criticised by religious authorities. Researchers argue the contrast is blurred, since the same person usually joins both. In many countries, folk religion carries more of the daily weight than doctrine does.