Most of the Lhasans, especially the elders, follow Tibetan Buddhism. Their belief system is an integration of Tibetan Buddhism and folk religion.

When an elderly Lhasan gets up in the morning, the first tasks he/she performs are to add butter to the lamps in front of the family shrine, replace the holy water left from the day before with fresh water, pray, and climb onto the flat roof where he/she burns aromatic grass and plants for auspicious smoke to worship the Mountain God, the Water God and the Family House God.

After these duties have been completed, he/she will join neighbors for ritual walks in and around the Jokhang Monastery three times. First, they walk the inner ring around the statue of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism, in the Jokhang Monastery; second, they walk the middle ring along Barkor Street, skirting the monastery; and third, they walk the outer ring around the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Monastery, the Yaowangshan Mountain and other parts of Lhasa. While taking these group ritual walks in the clockwise direction, they count rosaries in their hands, spin prayer tubes, and chant the Six Syllable Prayer. Generally speaking, they will walk the outer ring, called "lingkor," early in the morning, and will walk the middle ring called "Barkor" in the evening. During the traditional Grand Summons Ceremony, which takes place in the first Tibetan month and during the Sagya Dawa Festival in the fourth Tibetan month, taking ritual walks is said to have a much better effect; as a result, many more people take ritual walks at those times.

Many of the people also prostrate themselves before holy items. During religious festivals, Lhasans love to add butter to lamps in front of Buddha statues in several different places: in the Jokhang and Ramoche Monasteries; the Zhaibung, Sera, and Gandain Monasteries, located in the suburbs of Lhasa; the Razheng Monastery in Lhunzhub County; the Cupur Monastery in Doilungdeqen County; the Zhigung Monastery in Maizhokungka County; and even the Samye Monastery in Shannan.

In the Tibetan Years of the Horse, the Sheep, and the Monkey, more people will take ritual walks around holy mountains and holy lakes. For instance, they walk around the Kangdese Peak and the Mapam Yumco Lake in the Tibetan Year of the Horse; the Nyainqentanglha Peak and the Nam Co Lake in the Tibetan Year of the Sheep; and the Zhari Mountain in Shannan and the Dechong Mountain in Maizhokungka in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey. Lhasans take part in these activities for both religious and tourism purposes. Lhasans also invite monks to chant sutras in prayers for peace and luck at the beginning and end of the year, or when an unexpected and unfortunate event has taken place.