Confucianism is a religion whose origin can be traced from china. There are arguments that Confucianism is not a religion. The supporters of this argue that the religion does not teach anything about life after death. The religion also does not have a certain deity whom they worship. However, Confucianism is a religion that is followed by many people (Weber, 62).
Confucianism is believed to have been started by Confucius even though Confucius himself argued that the beliefs he followed existed long before. Confucius was born long before Jesus was born and lived according to certain philosophies that were later adopted by the followers of his religion. Confucius tried to understand the rituals and beliefs that the people carried out in the society he lived. He observed that there were death ceremonies, the ancestors were honored, and there was the belief in existence of heaven. These historical observations by Confucius made him belief that culture is a powerful tool with a lot of influence to the society. All what he observed was what is currently called culture.
These observations by Confucius made him belief that there is a need to observe and protect these cultural values and beliefs since they were responsible for the propagation of civilization process. After the death of Confucius, the beliefs almost came to amend. However, people initiated some religious practices that made the religion to grow. People started offering sacrifices to Confucius and ethics that he supported were strongly recognized. These ethics influenced the behaviors of people in china. His beliefs and teachings also influenced politics of china largely.
It is after Confucius died that his images were made in tablets. They were highly respected and people were taught the ethics that he recommended. This made Confucianism to be an important religion in china. As the number of its followers increased, it spread to other parts of the world such as Korea. Currently, there are many followers of the religion all over the world (Weber, 132).
Confucius role in the foundation of the religion was to come up with more traditions that were to be practiced by the followers of the religion. Confucius was himself not a god as compared to other founders of religions. Some people viewed him as a normal human being while others recognized him as a special being. The traditions that were therefore before were modified and preserved by Confucius. He played the role of teaching other people these traditions and the importance of keeping them.
Humanism is a very important belief in Confucius religion. The followers of the religion believe that human beings are people who can be taught so that they can change and become perfect. The religion believes that the improvement of human beings towards perfection is facilitated by personal efforts and the contribution by the society. According to the religion, the ethics of a community are so important that an individual is supposed to give up his life for the sake of the ethics. The people who follow this religion do not belief in the existence of any god. They have no supernatural being, which they pray or believe in (Richey, 152).
The ideas that were propagated by Confucius religion have prevailed in many other ideologies. The ideas have been observed in Christianity, capitalism, Islam and Marxism. Therefore the ideas that Confucius taught are universally accepted by other believers. Other religions used to observe these rituals and ethics.
The religious believers of conscious religion have six books that are important for the support of their faith. These books serve different purposes. The first book is the book of rites. The book contains laws that are meant to control the behaviour of the believers in the society. The second book that is important to the religion is the book of documents. This book contains various historical issues that are important to the believers. It highlights important past events that are important for the believers (Weber, 49).
Collection of poetry is another important book. This book gives various prophesies that are relevant to the beliefs. The book of music contains all the rituals that the believers are required to follow. It acts as a guide to the rituals. Classic of change and the annals are other important books for the religion. Therefore the religion has several books that are read by the believers. This is as opposed to other religions where there is only one book.
Confucius did not explain whether human beings are either born good or evil. What he explained is that human beings are very similar at birth. When people are born, they are similar in many ways. By nature, everyone is good. However, what people learn in the course of their lives and practice is what makes them become good or evil. According to the teachings of the religion, whether a person is good or evil is a personal choice (Richey, 118).
Confucius religion has some political implications on the politics of the country it is practiced. According to beliefs of humanism, people are required to do to others what they would appreciate to be done to them. Therefore leaders are required to serve the citizens appropriately since failure to do so makes such a leader unfit for the position. Any political leader who does not treat his people well should be disobeyed by the citizens. The doctrines of the religion also argue that when a leader is not treating people well, then they have no power from heaven to lead the people. However, if the leader is obedient and serves the people well, then he should be respected and obeyed since according to the religion, such a leader is selected from heaven (Confucius, 103).
Doctrinal and philosophical dimension of the religion.
Confucius religion has six important beliefs that guide the religion. The first belief is called Li. This is the guide to etiquette. Etiquette covers music and education that are important in shaping the behavior of people. Li describes the values and laws that govern the people who follow the religion so that they behave well. Politeness in every way of life is an important aspect in Li. According to this belief, what people do in everyday life is considered to be rituals. It consists of what people do in their everyday lives whether knowingly or unconsciously (Taylor, 56).
Li describes the importance of an individual conduct. According to this belief, the way one conducts him/herself affects the other people. This is why there should be order in the conduct of individuals in their daily lives. People are therefore required to conduct themselves in a way that affects the others positively.
The second important belief is Hsiao. This refers to the love that should be found between the members of a certain family. This belief requires people to respect their parents. This is considering the fact that they have taken care of them since birth. Without parents, one would not have experienced life. For individuals to be alive, their parents must have sacrificed a lot. Therefore there is need to accord them due respect (Confucius, 112).
This belief also encourages people to behave in such a way that they bring respect to the family. Any bad behavior that may affect the reputation of the family may imply lack of love for the family. People should therefore strive to create respect to their family. Love for the family implies that when the parents die having not fulfilled their live objectives, then the children should play the role of achieving the aims of their parents. This shows respect that should be accorded to the parents (Taylor, 87).
According to this belief, love for the family starts from loving the parents, then love can be extended to other members of the society then to friends. The respect that people have for their family and friends determine the way the people in their society view them.
Yi is the other important belief in Confucius religion. This describes the need of being righteous. Righteousness is the ability of individuals to do right things. People should ensure that they aim at doing good things. Righteous people have the ability to recognize which of their actions is right and which is wrong. After they have identified what is right, they should be willing to do it regardless of what is to lead. Righteousness involves doing right things regardless of the fact it may result to negative effects (Confucius, 154).
Righteousness is an important guide to the behaviour of people in the society. When people practice righteousness, they do not consider the results of their actions but instead, they do things as long as the actions are right (Yao, 69).
Xin is another belief that requires the followers of the religion to be people who tell truth so that others can trust their actions. Being trustworthy means that people are aware that you are an individual who does not cheat. People who profess Confucius religion are required to tell truth to others so that they can be people who can be trusted in the society.
Jen belief refers to the way people treats the others in the society. According to this belief, people should have respect to the human nature. This belief is important for creating a good relationship between the people in the society. The belief view human beings as equal creatures regardless of race. A good relationship between people in the society is very important for Confucius believers. There should be respect for an individual’s life and that of others. This belief makes difference between human beings and other living things. It requires the believers to view human beings as perfect creatures as compared to the other creation (Yao, 67).
Chung is the last belief in the Confucius religion. This refers to respect that people should accord to the states. According to this belief, any individual who breaks the law in a state need to be punished. Before Confucianism, people used to take certain actions without a good reason. With the new philosophy, people are required to take actions based on reasons. Otherwise, the government may take the necessary actions to correct bad actions by individuals. Respect of the government is therefore an important belief in this religion (Richey, 123).
Confucius religion can be concluded to be very different from other religions. It has many six sacred books and many beliefs. Confucius religion has many followers and its teachings have contributed a lot in shaping behavior of people. It has beliefs that are similar to those of other religions. Therefore, it is a religion like any other.
Works cited
Taylor, Rodney L. The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Print.
Taylor, Rodney L. The Way of Heaven: An Introduction to the Confucian Religious Life. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1986. Print.
Richey, Jeffrey L. Teaching Confucianism. New York, N.Y., [etc.: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Confucius, Rodney L. Taylor, and James Legge. Confucius, the Analects: The Path of the Sage : Selections Annotated & Explained. Woodstock, Vt: SkyLight Paths Pub, 2011. Print.
Yao, Xinzhong. Confucianism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Jen and Agape. Sussex: Acad. Press, 1997. Print.
Weber, Max. The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. New York: Free Press, 1968. Print.
