Religious practices based upon the doctrine of veneration of the dead, normally along familial lines.

In ancient China, the idea that after death, a person became deified. This enabled them to watch over their living descendants and to intercede for them with more powerful divine beings. The living worshiped them, usually at a household shrine, to show their respect for them.

The veneration or worship of deceased people by their living kin. It exists, sometimes integrated as part of a world religion, in about 60% of the world's cultures.

A ritualized propitiation and invocation of dead kin, based on the belief that spirits influence the fate of the living. A widespread ancient practice.

Religious practices involving the veneration of dead ancestors Last updated:March 8, 2006

Ancestor worship (or ancestoral worship) is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. All cultures attach ritual significance to the passing of loved ones, but this is not equivalent to ancestor worship. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance.