Maybe some of the non-Christian religions believe that the gods and such really need that sheep. It wouldn't make sense with an omnipotent deity, of course, as It should be able to produce anything It needs without humans.
The people in Taiwan build elaborate paper mansions and cars to burn so that their deceased ancestors will have a nice place to live and something to drive in the spirit world.
It never occurred to me until now that I never saw anybody burning paper representations of gas cans. Perhaps the fuel that gets burned in a running car winds up in the spirit world, and the people with gas guzzling SUVs are beloved by the spirits.
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