A Discussion Of Confucianism And Religion

Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is better described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism comes mainly from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that Humanity, Rite, Neutrality, Virtue, Education, and Cultivation were the basis of human behavior. In addition, Confucius felt that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society.

Confucian culture, also known as Confucianism, was founded by Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period, which was developed gradually after the Han Dynasty with benevolence as the core. Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was the official ideology and the basis of mainstream ideology in the vast majority of historical periods of China, and it also influenced many southeast Asian countries in history. After a variety of shocks, Confucianism was still the core values of China's social public, and represented the Chinese culture and national tradition in the world (Littlejohn, 2010). In the contemporary society, the Confucian culture in China increasingly spread, at the

What happens to us after death? What is our purpose in life?), Confucianism doesn’t actually explore the afterlife and that is why it is controversial as to whether it is a religion or not. But in terms of these big questions and what our purpose in life is, Confucianism teachings explored very wise, simple concepts such as “treat others the way you want to be treated”, or “If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself”. It is many teachings like these that gave Confucius followers a sense of meaning and purpose.

The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and

Confucianism can be regarded as a religion, a belief, a way of ruling and a basis for laying the ground rules for the East Asian countries. Confucianism had gone through so many transformations and has been affected by many religions and dynasties. Many dynasties have adapted the ways of Confucianism, which state that there is a connection between humans and heaven. However, as time progressed, religions such as Buddhism and Daoism also adapted the ways of Confucianism, but they changed some of its ways, leading to new form of this learning. The Buddhists and the Daoists changed and adapted their philosophies based on Confucian views towards the universe and the society, as well as stripping their own belief from superstitions and myths. These lead to a new learning of Confucianism, called the Neo-Confucianism, referred to as Dao Xue (the Learning of the Way) or Li Xue (the Learning of the Principle/Reason) (Yau 8).

Confucianism is one of the main influential ideologies on the Chinese culture. The founder of this religion is Confucius; he was a Chinese teacher. He taught traditional disciplines at that time, and believed that he could change the order of the Chinese society. He has different principals in life. First, Li: “It is the medium within which to talk about the entire body of the mores, or more precisely, have the authentic tradition and reasonable conversations of society” . In other words, li is the social rituals between people and they are divided into different categorized relationships like father and son, filial piety, between brothers, husband and wife; Ruler and subjects, and between friends. The Second principal was Jen, which is humaneness; it describes the inner personality of a person and that people should practice respect to one another. Li and Jen are values that complete each other to create the superior man, according to the Confucius. Also, Confucius believed in the spirits but keeping them at a distance. There are Five Classics and the Four Books are regarded as a reference for Confucianism.

Before Confucianism during the Shang dynasty the method of reasoning was much different than it is today. The practice of “oracle bone divination” was used to guide the shang and even though this specific ritual is not practiced much today the Shang did provide the idea of a mutual relationship between the living and the dead. I believe that most religions leave some sort of lasting contribution to society and Confucianism’s will be both the culture of literate elite as well as the interdependence required for social harmony. The central confucian texts are “The five classics” that were rumored to be written by Confucius himself. Confucianism was sometimes seen as a philosophy and not a religion, but confucius

Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this

Ritual and propriety, as one the key concept of the tradition, Confucius reinterpreted it as the underlying

(Lunyu 2.4). Confucius was also careful to instruct his followers that they should never neglect the offerings due Heaven. (Lunyu 3.13) Some scholars have seen a contradiction between Confucius' reverence for Heaven and what they believe to be his skepticism with regard to the existence of ‘the spirits.' But the Analects passages that reveal Confucius's attitudes toward spiritual forces (Lunyu 3.12, 6.20, and 11.11) do not suggest that he was skeptical. Rather they show that Confucius revered and respected the spirits, thought that they should be worshipped with utmost sincerity, and taught that serving the spirits was a far more difficult and complicated matter than serving mere mortals. Confucius' social philosophy largely revolves around the concept of ren, "compassion" or "loving others." Cultivating or practicing such concern for others involved deprecating oneself. Those who have cultivated ren are, on the contrary, "simple in manner and slow of speech." (Lunyu 13.27). For Confucius, such concern for others is demonstrated through the practice of forms of the Golden Rule: "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others;" "Since you yourself desire standing then help others achieve it, since you yourself desire success then help others attain it." (Lunyu 12.2, 6.30). He regards devotion to parents and older siblings as the most basic form of promoting the interests of others before one's own and teaches that such altruism can be accomplished only

When Western people think of Confucianism, they often think of it in a past sense- as something only relevant to ancient China that cannot be applied to modern day society. However, what these people fail to realize is that Confucianism’s roots have been so integrated into China’s society that the values have become a part of every day life. Without having to explicitly state that they are following specifics aspects of Confucianism, most Chinese people submit to them, often times unknowingly. However, Confucian values not only exist in the Chinese society, but also permeate into other areas of Chinese culture such as architecture and aspects of Feng-Shui.

Confucianism is a time enduring philosophy that has stood up to invading clans, war, resentment, enforcement and infringement of new philosophies, and eventually, revival. For almost 80 years, up until the late 1970’s, Confucianism and its ideas and values have been all but wiped away from China. Though effort was made to remove Confucianism for good from China by the Communist leader Mao Zedong in 1949, the ideas and values were so deeply embedded into peoples mind and the culture that even suppression could not keep it out of the culture and practices. The main factor that has brought Confucianism back into the limelight in China and other East Asian countries is the recent

Most ancient philosophical ideas developed in the ancient Chinese empires are believed to have their roots from Confucius. Confucianism was a simple way of life propagated by Confucius around the fifth and sixth century BC. Often perceived as a religion and other times as philosophy, it is conceivably best unspoken as a comprehensive humanism that neither slights nor denies heaven. The Chinese populaces have devotedly observed Confucianism for nearly two millennia. It has become an implicit part of their culture. However, there seem to be a cod division among its proponents holding contrasting perspectives and understanding with respect to it. The central focus of this presentation is to address the questions whether Confucianism is a religion or a philosophy or it encompasses both.

The irrelevance of a static human nature that can be associated with Confucianism is one of the most interesting aspects of the belief system. Instead of the focus being on more of a definitional quality of mankind, the focus is more on the improvement of man on an individual level as well as the improvement of society in general. Confucius seems to definitely possess the ability to see human behavior on a scale that includes the broader ramifications that it can have on a society. For example, Confucius sees the accumulation of wealth as a counterproductive ambition that only detracts from one's character. A rich man may lie around drinking all day and not work on improving himself, his relationships, or the society in general. Therefore, any version of such self-indulgence is

For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He