The Paradoxes of Taoism in the West

Abstract The attraction for Taoism, now coined World religion , which has gradually developed since the 1970s in the secularized West, reflects a twofold paradox. First, its very nature fits poorly into the standard Western category of religion. Then, Westerners who claim to be followers of or close to Taoism oscillate between search for authenticity and negation of its historical religious dimensions, and between the secularisation of Taoism and the return to religion . Is there then a Taoist paradox due to Taoism itself and counterpart, in a society indifferent to religion, to the Secular paradox highlighted by Joseph Blankholm within American society? This is what we will examine based on our work on the reception of Taoism in the West.