While their ancestral religious system was based on the dictation of gods, the Tao people rarely adhere to such a stringent belief system today. Instead, their belief system is intermixed with components of Christianity and remnants of their beliefs past. Today, many Tao people have converted to a Christianity (especially branches of Catholicism and Protestantism). However, much of their traditional Christian ideologies are muddied with adherence to ancient superstitions. The Tao people greatly fear anito, the collection of evil spirits, even more than they worship an omnipotent God. They believe that when an individual passes away, his or her soul travels to Malavang a Pongso, the White Island, while the rest of the minor souls from within become anito. As a result of this belief, they have an uncontrollable fear of the dead. When a Tao individual is near death, relatives and friends stand beside his or her deathbed in full battle regalia in order to fight off evil spirits. Once the funeral has commenced, attendees catch crab and fish to be cooked and eaten on that day in remembrance of the deceased.