A young man wearing a rainbow pendant stands before the altar of the Wei-ming Temple on the outskirts of Taipei, holding aloft a football-sized box full of prayers written on pieces of paper.

"In Chinese history, 'rabbit' was a derogatory term for homosexuals," said Lu Wei-ming, who founded the temple in 2006, at a time gays were excluded from most religious ceremonies.[File photo]

A priest sets the box ablaze, reciting Taoist chants as it burns to ashes. Flames leap up in quick bursts, an apparent sign that the Rabbit God has received his adherent's petitions.

The Wei-ming Temple is a house of Taoist worship with a twist — almost all of its congregants are gay. The shrine, down a narrow alleyway in a bustling district of New Taipei City, is dedicated to a deity who has watched over homosexuals for four centuries.

"In Chinese history, 'rabbit' was a derogatory term for homosexuals," said Lu Wei-ming, who founded the temple in 2006, at a time gays were excluded from most religious ceremonies.

Lu, who has taken a vow of celibacy and declined to answer questions about his sexuality, said he wanted to create a welcoming environment for a flock that had long been ostracized.

"This was a group with no one to look after them, and I wanted to fill that void," said the 28-year-old priest, adding that Wei-ming is the world's only shrine for homosexuals.

Initiation over, Lu poured a small cup of rice wine on the smoldering ashes of the devotee's prayers. "Rabbit God loves this kind of liquor," he said.

Pleasing the deity could lead to a match made in heaven. The nearly 9,000 people who seek Lu's counsel each year have one common goal — to find a suitable partner.

A expert on Taiwanese culture said it's a Taoist precept to beseech the gods for a lover, but not usually of the same sex.

Lu said mainstream Taoist society remains stuck in a conservative mindset, although the most vocal opposition to the Wei-ming Temple has come from members of Taiwan's small Christian community.

Lu described instances of Christian activists protesting in front of the temple, including a pastor attempting an exorcism before the altar of the Rabbit God.

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