《西遊記》的宗教論述與諧謔書寫複雜又糾葛，未必只是「愛罵人的玩世主義」、「不用深求」；或「出於遊戲，亦非語道」，如此輕淺。宗教與遊戲、神聖與褻瀆，既衝撞又神奇的融合，相互為用又轉生新意。此「神聖的褻瀆」佛道並舉，對道教的諧謔書寫，包括人間「妖道」形象的諷刺與天上道教群仙的揶揄；對佛教則表現玄奘取經英雄形象的脫冕。將道教諧謔一番，但煉丹術語卻隨處可見；刻意扭曲唐僧的取經英雄宗教形象，「我佛慈悲」卻始終是小說主題。反映出明中葉的政治、社會與宗教氛圍。小說作者以遊戲之筆多次提出「修行之理則同」、「三教歸一」的看法；有意無意模糊佛、道二教界線。《西遊記》宗教觀複雜又混亂，此混亂雖常見於民俗信仰與俗文學；但由於《西遊記》文本的宗教題材，以及作者精湛的遊戲之筆，讓此一世俗化宗教觀以更具吸引力的方式呈現，一再挑戰讀者的理解力。《西遊記》以諧謔書寫進行宗教顛覆、解構；遊戲化宗教精神所傳達的重點，或許不是出自某一特定宗教視角的「輔教之書」，或「三教歸一」歸於哪一個「一」；而是一個「去中心化」的宗教思想。這當中雖存在不合乎佛、道教義的「誤讀」，這些「誤讀」傳遞出來的《西遊記》宗教觀，卻是「實出於遊戲，亦可語道」。

The relationship of the narrative of the religious conception and the banter writing in ＂The Journey to the West＂ is complex and intriguing. Religion and game with sacred and profane, they are the integration of magical collision in the novel, complementary and innovative. The ＂sacred profaneness＂ is banter writing towards Taoism, including the sarcasm of the ＂diabolistic＂ image of the Taoist priest and the teasing of the god and goddess in heaven. For Buddhism, it is represented by the decrowning of the heroic image of Xuanzang. Several alchemist terms appear along with the teasing of Taoism. The heroic religious image of Xuanzang is distorted, while ＂Bhuddism is compassionate＂ has always been the theme of the novel. Different stories such as ＂the contest in Buddhism＂ and ＂suppression of Buddhism＂ have reflected the political, social and religious atmosphere in mid-Ming Dynasty. The author of the novel has proposed several time the concepts of ＂the same practice＂ and ＂three religions in one＂ which blurs the division of Buddhism and Taoism with or without intention. The religious concepts in ＂The Journey to the West＂ are complex and chaotic, which are common in folk beliefs and popular literature. However, the secularized religious view is very attractive as it is presented as a novel with religion as its theme and under the superb writing of the author in ＂The Journey to the West＂. This again challenges the interpretation ability of the readers. ＂The Journey to the West＂ is written in a teasing tone, under a game spirit and reversing and restructuring the view of religion. The gaming of religious spirit does not originate from a certain ＂coaching book＂ from a religious perspective and the ＂three religions in one＂ does not refer to any single one. All goes to the ＂decentralization＂ of the religious thinking. There are certainly some ＂misinterpretation＂ of the Buddhist and Taoist concepts which be done on purpose or not, yet the message conveyed by ＂The Journey to the West＂ is definitely ＂coming from games, said by words.＂