The selectiveness of inclusiveness: exploring the influence of traditional religious visage on contemporary cultural tastes

Abstract A substantial body of literature examines the cultural strength of religion, yet there is a scarcity of work exploring how religion exerts an impact on the broader population of a secular society. Focusing on contemporary China, this study examines the relationship between religious visage, measured by the cumulative presence of Buddhist and Taoist temples, and cultural inclusiveness, captured by cultural taste entropy constructed from 749,545,472 search indices related to 38,312 song titles. Panel analyses reveal contrasting effects: Buddhist visages are associated with more selective cultural patterns, whereas Taoist visages are linked to greater diversity in cultural tastes. This demonstrates that despite world religions’ doctrinal emphasis on inclusiveness, an inherent selectiveness can still impact cultural practices in secular lives through the broader cultural environment. By shifting attention from individual religiosity to the spatial presence of religion, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between religions and contemporary cultural practices in secular contexts.