>From our own limited experience in the field, is it uncommon to find youkai around temples at all? Let alone working at one.
>Practitioners of the spiritual arts tend to be overwhelmingly human. You're sure this is at least in part because many of these arts grew out of rituals designed to ward off and seal youkai, back in ancient times when humans were widely preyed upon by them. Obviously the social reality of the present day is very different, but the brands of mysticism they still employ are nonetheless difficult or impossible for many youkai to wield - something about 'spiritual purity' which you've never really understood. And youkai retain their vulnerability to them as well; although you've been fortune to never be on the receiving end of one, you know that certain talismans could inflict more true harm upon you than the razor edge of a sword, despite being harmless when applied against a human.
>That being said, it is not altogether uncommon for youkai to work in the service of religious orders in other capacities; most of the daily affairs of a shrine or temple do not require channelling the mystic, after all, and youkai can still find value in the meditative practices and charitable service that religion can provide. And you
have even heard of a rare few wielding spiritualist magic themselves, though never met any yourself. Of course, you haven't exactly visited a whole lot of shrines in your lifetime, either.
