Religion... really??

I have been visiting some Holy places in China and have found things very confusing.

These very old Holy sites hold the most interesting history of religion in the area and include Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and maybe more. Likely my confusion is mostly related to the fact that the information available is only printed in Chinese, (or Arabic) english is hard to find or minimal.
Much of this report will come from observation and informants, who's knowledge is also limited.

So, there are famous ancient "Twin Towers" in the city of Quanzhou that are temples to the Buddhist community. The grounds around also contain other temples, (many many temples on each site, maybe as many as ten and I am not sure why) It seems that in each temple there are large statues of the Gods or Buddha, and the prayers are offered for different things. I was told that the Deity worshiped had certain qualities and if you wanted to gain these certain qualities, that was where to go to focus your prayers. It could be that that was a Taoist belief, I'm not sure.

While at the Towers my Chinese companion had a conversation with one of the monks. These men were in orange robes with shaved heads. Their housing was within the complex, lots of orange robes out to dry on the porches and in the windows. He was expressing his opinion of community and marriage saying it was like a prison, restricting the growth of one's soul.

At another of the Holy sites (I think Taoist) we watched the 'process' of prayer. You begin by purchasing incense sticks, a small handful and go from alter to alter offering prayers. Each time you hold an uneven number of lit incense (three was a common one, but I saw more than that) and when you finish, you stick the incense in the holders by the entrance and light more and move on to the next station.
I must mention that all these things you need (incense, paper, firecrackers et al are available to purchase on site)

Once finished incense prayers, you borrow two wafers (they are small bamboo half-moon shaped blocks that fit in the palm of your hand) hold them in your hands and pray again for a while. When ready, you throw the wafers on the floor and if they land right (one right side up, the other right side down) it is a yes answer to your prayer and you move to the next step. If not, you must pray again until they land the desired way.

The next step is to approach a container (like an umbrella stand) filled with flat bamboo sticks (maybe thirty or so) about a meter long and grab them with both hands and lift them out a bit, then drop them back in until one from the bunch doesn't fall back but sticks up above the rest. You take that stick and go back to the wafer prayers to make sure that is the proper answer to your prayer. When you get the 'right' result, you take your stick that has certain markings on it, to the monk for interpretation. He asks what the prayers were for, consults his 'list' and interprets the answer as yes or no. If the answer is no, you must start the process over again. If the answer is yes, move on to the final step.

They sell fake paper money (but large and fancy with lots of gold and red colour) This money is burned in a special furnace as an offering of thanks for the answer to your prayers. The higher the monetary denomination, the greater the thanks.

It could be I just don't get it, or I didn't get any of it right. It sure is interesting.