Religion of the Taoist

Excerpt from Who's ? Right: Mankind, Religions & The End Times by Kelly Warman-Stallings:

Taoism is a form of ancient religious worship derived from the teachings of Lao-Tze, a Chinese philosopher of the 4th century B.C. Some scholars believe Taoism has existed since the prehistoric era, but no credible documentation exists prior to Lao-Tze, who was credited with giving the religion a written form.

Lao-Tze

The holy book attributed to Lao-Tze, Tao Te Ching (the Teaching of Tao), propounded a religious doctrine called Tao (the Way), which ultimately led to the forming of Taoism. The religious creed's central point is the universe operates in its own way. It also states that mankind should align themselves in the same way in order to achieve happiness.

In contrast to Confucius - who expounded upon authority and piety - Lao-Tze stressed ethical perfection of the individual. Some scholars believe that Lao-Tze was a teacher of Confucius, because many of the ancient scholar's ideas were gradually incorporated into which contains the virtues of wisdom, benevolence, courage, righteousness, propriety and good faith. Today, Taoism is primarily practiced in Taiwan, China and various other Asian countries. 

"If I have even just a little sense, I will walk on the main road and my only fear will be of straying from it. Keeping to the main road is easy, But people love to be sidetracked. " ~ Lao-Tze

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Taoism is based on the precepts of the yin and yang and the Wu Xing (or Five Phases) which were instituted from the School of Naturalists which developed during the 4th to 3rd centuries B.C. (this ancient era was also known as the Warring States period)

There are four components [in Taoism] that are incorporated:

1. Study of the Tao Te Ching (teachings of Lao-Tze) and Zhuangzi (teachings of Zhuang)
2. Techniques for achieving ecstasy
3. The practices for achieving longevity or immortality
4. The rituals of exorcism

Zhang Daoling

According to some theologians, the first form of Taoism was developed from the Five Pecks of Rice movement in the mid 2nd century B.C.; Zhang Daoling was credited with founding this particular movement after Lao-Tze appeared to him in 142 B.C. Later, a school for 'Celestial Masters' known as the Tianshi was organized (being developed from the Five Pecks of Rice movement) during the latter part of the 2nd century B.C. In the year 215, Cao Cao (Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty) officially recognized the Tianshi school and set forth an imperial decree recognizing Lao-Tze as a great divinity.

The holy texts most commonly associated with Taoism is:

1.  Tao Te Ching ... a short text ascribed to Lao-Tze, containing 81 brief chapters and divided into two parts -Tao Ching (chapters 1-37) and Te Ching (chapters 38-81). The passages of this antediluvian text are ambiguous and poetic in style. The topics in this holy book range from political advice for rulers to practical wisdom for people.
2.  Zhungzi ... a composite of writings from various sources with Zhuang composing the first seven chapters. The ancient text is made up of anecdotes, parables and dialogues to express the need for mankind to align themselves with the laws of the natural world and "the way" of the elements. 
3.  Daozang ... was originally a compilation of many scrolls (1,400+ texts) collected by Taoist monks in the year 400 A.D. and consisted of three divisions known as the Three Grottoes. The main focus was aimed towards meditation, ritual and exorcism. Between 748 and 1444 more ancient texts [concerning Taoism] were added, while other original texts were removed. By 1444, the final version of the Daozang was produced using around 5,300 scrolls with the Three Grottoes still firmly in place.

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According to Wikipedia.com ... 

"Some authors have dealt with comparative studies between Taoism and Christianity. This has been of interest for students of history of religion such as J.J.M. de Groot, among others. 

The comparison of the teachings of Laozi and Jesus of Nazareth has been done by several authors such as Martin Aronson, and Toropov & Hansen (2002), who believe that they have pararells that should not to be ignored. 

In the opinion of J. Isamu Yamamoto the main difference is that Christianity preaches a personal God while Theist Taoism does not. Yet, a number of authors, including Lin Yutang, have argued that some moral and ethical tenets of these religions are similar."

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It is estimated there are 2,700,000 followers of Taoism worldwide. The ancient religion, which is deeply rooted in Chinese customs, continues to be a philosophical religious system [evolved by Lao-Tze and Zhuang] advocating a life of complete simplicity and naturalness, as well as not interfering with the course of natural events, in order to obtain a complete and happy existence in harmony with the Tao.