Though what we teach to ordinary people is not a religion, the goal of cultivation is the same, that is, to reach the opening of cultivation energy and attain enlightenment, and reach consummation in cultivation. Sakyamuni said that in the Period of Decline even the monks in the temple would find it difficult to save themselves, not to mention lay Buddhists, whom nobody is actually taking care of. Though you have formally become a disciple to a master, the so-called master is also a cultivator. If he does not get down to genuine cultivation, he will also achieve nothing. Nobody can ascend if he does not cultivate his heart.
Conversion is a ceremony for an ordinary person.
There is no such thing. Even if you kowtow every day with your forehead grazed and burn incense bundle after bundle, it is still of no use. You have to cultivate your heart in a real and earnest way. Up till to the Period of Decline, a great change has already taken place in the universe. Even the places where people practise their religious beliefs have gone bad.