Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 17 (50):79-95 (2018)
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Abstract |
Whether Confucianism is a religion or not has been a controversial issue for many years. Recently, along with the “national revitalization” movement in China, Confucianism has been valued and advocated again in China at both official and civil levels. This trend sometimes has been perceived by some observers as a kind of religious revival movement. This paper analysis some key components in the thought of Confucius, such as his idea and attitude towards “Gods”, “Tian” and other divine or supernatural beings, in order to prove that, although Confucius does not exclude religious faith, and has accepted some traditional religious rituals, the basic Confucian doctrines are not constructed on any religious foundation. The essence of Confucianism is humanism and rationalism characterized with the practical reason of “zhongdaology”. It provides a rational base for constructing the secular ideology in ancient China. In today’s Chinese society, Confucianism can still play a role in constructing the modern secular ideology, which may accommodate cultural diversity yet maintain a harmonious social political environment.
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Keywords | national revitalization, Confucianism, religion, religiousness, secular ideology, zhongdaology, Chinese society, cultural diversity |
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References found in this work BETA
Thinking Through Confucius.David L. Hall & Roger T. Ames - 1987 - Philosophy East and West 41 (2):241-254.
Confucianism, Perfectionism, and Liberal Society.Franz Mang - 2018 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 17 (1):29-49.
Early Confucian Principles: The Potential Theoretic Foundation of Democracy in Modern China.Keqian Xu - 2006 - Asian Philosophy 16 (2):135 – 148.
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