Basic
Worldview:
104
Why Christianity?
Propositional
Religions 4 - Shintoism, Confucianism
Propositional
Religions 1 - Deism, Pantheism, and Naturalism
Propositional Religions 2 - Intro,
Hinduism, Buddhism
Propositional Religions 3 - Jainism,
Taoism
Propositional Religions 4 - Shintoism,
Confucianism
Propositional Religions 5 - Sikhism
Propositional Religions 6 - Babism
and Baha'ism, Zoroastrianism
Propositional Religions 7 - Neopaganism,
Mysticism (Syncretism)
Propositional Religions 8 - Mysticism
Propositional Religions 9 - Mysticism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism
Introduction | Section 1
| Section 2 | Section
3
Shinto
Shinto, or Shintoism as is may be called, is an ancient and
modern Japanese religion. As some of the following quotes
will attest to there are many forms of modern Shinto, with
some diversity of beliefs. However, for the purposes of this
portion of our study we are primarily interested in ancient
Shinto, its origin and any potential evidence it may offer
for the accuracy of its beliefs.
"Shinto - Shinto cannot be traced to its beginnings,
because until the 5th cent. (when Chinese writing was
introduced into Japan) the myths and rituals were transmitted
orally. The written record of the ancient beliefs and customs
first appeared in the Kojiki [records of ancient matters],
prepared under imperial order and completed in A.D. 712.
From those first Japanese accounts of the religion of times
then already far past, it can be seen that a worship of
the forces and forms of nature had grown into a certain stage
of polytheism in which spiritual conceptions had only a small
place. Nor was there any clear realization of a personal character
in the beings held to be divine, and there were practically
no images of the deities." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - indigenous religious beliefs and practices
of Japan. The word Shinto, which literally means 'the way
of kami' (kami means 'mystical,' 'superior,' or 'divine,'
generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various
gods or deities), came into use in order to distinguish indigenous
Japanese beliefs from Buddhism, which had been introduced
into Japan in the 6th century AD. Shinto has no founder,
no official sacred scriptures in the strict sense, and no
fixed dogmas, but it has preserved its guiding beliefs throughout
the ages." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Broadly speaking, Shinto has no founder.
When the Japanese people and Japanese culture became aware
of themselves, Shinto was already there. Nor has it any official
scripture that can be compared tothe Bible in Christianity
or to the Qur'an in Islam. The Kojiki ('Records of
Ancient Matters') and the Nihon-gi, or Nihon shoki
('Chronicles of Japan'), are regarded in a sense as sacred
books of Shinto. They were written in AD 712 and 720, respectively,
and are compilations of the oral traditions of ancient
Shinto. But they are also books about the history, topography,
and literature of ancient Japan. It is possible to construct
Shinto doctrines from them by interpreting the myths and religious
practices they describe." - Britannica.com
Right off the bat we can see that Shinto is not going to pass
our first criterion of identifiable historical origins. As
the above quotes all state, the origin of Shinto beliefs is
not known, available, or understood. In this way, Shinto is
similar to Hinduism, because without historically identifiable
origins neither religion provides information for why and
by whom its views were initiated formed or why they were initially
accepted. Like Hinduism, Shinto does not provide any evidence,
which can be objectively verified in order to support its
view of God and the universe. Therefore, we have no reason
to accept Shinto's truth claims.
However, though this conclusion is already established, we
can add more evidence to support its acceptance. For instance,
though Shinto's origins are unknown to us, much of ancient
and modern Shinto's beliefs are the result of religions we
have already studied.
"Shinto - Buddhism was officially introduced into
Japan in AD 552 and developed gradually. In the 8th
century there emerged tendencies to interpret Shinto from
a Buddhist viewpoint. Shinto kami were viewed as protectors
of Buddhism; hence shrines for tutelary kami were built within
the precincts of Buddhist temples. Kami were made equivalent
to deva (the Buddhist Sanskrit term for 'gods') who rank
highest in the Realm of Ignorance, according to Buddhist notions.
Thus kami, like other creatures, were said to be suffering
because they were unable to escape the endless cycle of transmigration;
help was therefore offered to kami in the form of Buddhist
discipline. Buddhist temples were even built within Shinto
shrine precincts, and Buddhist sutras (scriptures) were read
in front of kami. By the late 8th century kami were thought
to be avatars, or incarnations, of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattva names were given to kami, and Buddhist statues
were placed even in the inner sanctuaries of Shinto shrines.
In some cases, Buddhist priests were in charge of the management
of Shinto shrines." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - ancient native religion of Japan still
practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism
and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized
less by religious doctrine or belief than by the observance
of popular festivals and traditional ceremonies and customs,
many involving pilgrimages to shrines. Shinto, a term created
to distinguish the indigenous religion from Buddhism, is the
equivalent of the Japanese kami-no-michi, 'the way of the
gods' or 'the way of those above.' The word kami, meaning
'above' or 'superior,' is the name used to designate a great
host of supernatural beings or deities." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - A Shinto shrine, unaffected by other religious
influences, is a simple unpainted wooden building, having
some object within it that is believed to be the dwelling
place of the kami. After Buddhism entered Japan in the
6th cent. A.D., it had some influence on Shinto. In many shrines
Buddhist priests serve, and worship under their direction
is more elaborate than pure Shinto." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - Confucianism is believed to have reached
Japan in the 5th century AD, and by the 7th century
it had spread among the people, together with Chinese Taoism
and yin-yang (harmony of two basic forces of nature) philosophy.
All of these stimulated the development of Shinto ethical
teachings. With the gradual centralization of political
power, Shinto began to develop as a national cult as well.
Myths of various clans were combined and reorganized into
a pan-Japanese mythology with the Imperial Household as
its centre. The kami of the Imperial Household and the tutelary
kami of powerful clans became the kami of the whole nation
and people, and offerings were made by the state every year.
Such practices were systematized supposedly around the
start of the Taika-era reforms in 645. By the beginning
of the 10th century, about 3,000 shrines throughout Japan
were receiving state offerings. As the power of the central
government declined, however, the system ceased to be effective,
and after the 13th century only a limited number of important
shrines continued to receive the Imperial offerings. Later,
after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the old system
was revived." - Britannica.com
So, we can see that much of what is currently called Shinto
beliefs is derived from its interaction with other ancient
religions, some of which we have already rejected. (We will
cover Confucianism momentarily.) Attempts to remove the contributions
of these other religions and discover authentic Shinto beliefs
have been a historically recent development.
"Shinto - Ise, or Watarai, Shinto was the first
theoretical school of anti-Buddhistic Shinto in that it attempted
to exclude Buddhist accretions and also tried to formulate
a pure Japanese version. Watarai Shinto appeared in Ise during
the 13th century as a reaction against the Shinto-Buddhist
amalgamation. Konton (chaos), or Kizen (non-being),
was the basic kami of the universe for Watarai Shinto and
was regarded as the basis of all beings, including the buddhas
and bodhisattvas. Purification, which had been practiced
since the time of ancient Shinto, was given much deeper spiritual
meanings. Shojiki (defined as uprightness or righteousness)
and prayers were emphasized as the means by which to be united
with kami." - Britannica.com
And although Shinto does borrow many beliefs from other ancient
Asian religions, its beliefs are not formalized or dogmatically
held.
"Shinto - A religion native to Japan, characterized
by veneration of nature spirits and ancestors and by a
lack of formal dogma." - The American Heritage¨ Dictionary
of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
"Shinto - In present-day Shinto there is no dogmatic
system and no formulated code of morals. Shinto practices
can be found abroad wherever large Japanese communities exist,
as in the United States and South America. Some of the newer
sects stress world peace and brotherhood as part of their
philosophy." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - Shinto consists of the traditional Japanese
religious practices as well as the beliefs and life attitudes
that are in accord with these practices. Shinto is more
readily observed in the social life of the Japanese people
and in their personal motivations than in a pattern of formal
belief or philosophy. It remains closely connected with
the Japanese value system and the Japanese people's ways of
thinking and acting." - Britannica.com
To this lack of formal dogma, Shinto also is without ancient
sacred text.
"Shinto - Shinto cannot be traced to its beginnings,
because until the 5th cent. (when Chinese writing was
introduced into Japan) the myths and rituals were transmitted
orally. The written record of the ancient beliefs and customs
first appeared in the Kojiki [records of ancient matters],
prepared under imperial order and completed in A.D. 712.
From those first Japanese accounts of the religion of times
then already far past, it can be seen that a worship of
the forces and forms of nature had grown into a certain stage
of polytheism in which spiritual conceptions had only a small
place. Nor was there any clear realization of a personal character
in the beings held to be divine, and there were practically
no images of the deities." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - Broadly speaking, Shinto has no founder.
When the Japanese people and Japanese culture became aware
of themselves, Shinto was already there. Nor has it any official
scripture that can be compared tothe Bible in Christianity
or to the Qur'an in Islam. The Kojiki ('Records of
Ancient Matters') and the Nihon-gi, or Nihon shoki
('Chronicles of Japan'), are regarded in a sense as sacred
books of Shinto. They were written in AD 712 and 720, respectively,
and are compilations of the oral traditions of ancient Shinto.
But they are also books about the history, topography, and
literature of ancient Japan. It is possible to construct
Shinto doctrines from them by interpreting the myths and religious
practices they describe." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - The Japanese classics also contain myths
and legends concerning the so-called 800 myriads of kami (yao-yorozu
no kami; literally, yao equals 800 and yorozu 10,000). Some
of them are the tutelary deities of clans and later became
the tutelary kami of their respective local communities. Many
others, however, are not enshrined in sanctuaries and have
no direct connections with the actual Shinto faith." -
Britannica.com
So with no known historical origins or founder, no formal
doctrine, and sacred text written 1,200 years after its inception,
Shinto is not only completely devoid of any evidence by which
one might attempt to verify its beliefs, but it also has no
formally professed beliefs in the first place.
"Shinto - Shinto has no founder, no official sacred
scriptures in the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas, but it
has preserved its guiding beliefs throughout the ages."
- Britannica.com
Because of these facts, we are left without any means whatsoever
to verify the accuracy of any Shinto view of God or the universe.
As such, we have no reason to accept Shinto beliefs as accurate,
but instead, must reject them based on a lack of evidence.
Confucianism
Since several of the religions that we have studied have mentioned
Confucianism we will now cover its relevance to this study.
The following quotes will quickly establish that early Confucianism
was not so much a religious system, but a social and ethical
code meant to ensure and maintain the stability of Chinese
society, which at the time was crumbling.
"Confucianism - the way of life propagated by Confucius
in the 6th-5th century BC and followed by the Chinese
people for more than two millennia." - Britannica.com
"Confucius - c.551-479? B.C., Chinese sage.
Positive evidence concerning the life of Confucius is scanty;
modern scholars base their accounts largely on the Analects,
a collection of sayings and short dialogues apparently collected
by his disciples, and discard most of the later legends. Confucius
was born in the feudal state of Lu, in modern Shandong prov.
Distressed by the constant warfare between the Chinese
states and by the venality and tyranny of the rulers, he urged
a system of morality and statecraft that would preserve peace
and provide people with stable and just government. He
gathered about him a number of disciples, some occupying high
positions, although Confucius himself was at most granted
an insignificant sinecure, possibly because of his extremely
outspoken manner toward his superiors. From about his 55th
to his 65th year he journeyed to several neighboring states,
but he was never able to induce any ruler to grant him high
office so that he might introduce his reforms. Later tradition
depicts Confucius as a man who made special study of ancient
books, in an effort to restore an older social order.
It is said that he was a minister of state and the author,
editor, or compiler of the Wu Ching [five classics] (see Chinese
literature). His supposed doctrines are embodied in Confucianism."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - In its early form (before the 3d
cent. B.C.) Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical
precepts for the proper management of society. It envisaged
man as essentially a social creature who is bound to his fellows
by jen, a term often rendered as 'humanity,' or 'human-kind-ness.'
Jen is expressed through the five relationsÑsovereign and
subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband
and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation
is usually stressed." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
2001.
"Confucianism - In its early form...The relations
are made to function smoothly by an exact adherence to li,
which denotes a combination of etiquette and ritual.
In some of these relations a person may be superior to some
and inferior to others. If a person in a subordinate status
wishes to be properly treated that person mustÑapplying a
principle similar to the Golden RuleÑtreat his or her own
inferiors with propriety. Correct conduct, however, proceeds
not through compulsion, but through a sense of virtue inculcated
by observing suitable models of deportment. The ruler, as
the moral exemplar of the whole state, must be irreproachable,
but a strong obligation to be virtuous rests upon all." -
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - By Confucius' time, however, the
feudal ritual system had been so fundamentally undermined
that the political crises also precipitated a profound sense
of moral decline: the centre of symbolic control could no
longer hold the kingdom from total disintegration." -
Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Although often grouped with the
major historical religions, Confucianism differs from them
by not being an organized religion. Nonetheless, it spread
to other East Asian countries under the influence of Chinese
literate culture and exerted a profound influence on spiritual
and political life." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Confucius' hero was Chou Kung, or the
Duke of Chou (d. 1094 BC), who was said to have helped
consolidate and refine the "feudal" ritual system. This system
was based on blood ties, marriage alliances, and old covenants
as well as on newly negotiated contracts and was an elaborate
system of mutual dependence. The appeal to cultural
values and social norms for the maintenance of interstate
as well as domestic order was predicated on a shared political
vision, namely, that authority lies in universal kingship,
heavily invested with ethical and religious power by the mandate
of Heaven, and that social solidarity is achieved not
by legal constraint but by ritual observance. Its implementation
enabled the Chou dynasty to survive in relative peace and
prosperity for more than five centuries." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Law and punishment are the minimum
requirements for order; the higher goal of social harmony,
however, can only be attained by virtue expressed through
ritual performance. To perform rituals, then, is to take part
in a communal act to promote mutual understanding." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Confucianism, a Western term that
has no counterpart in Chinese, is a world view, a social
ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a
way of life. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes
as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing
humanism that neither denies nor slights Heaven. East
Asians may profess themselves to be Shintoists, Taoists,
Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians, but, by announcing
their religious affiliations, seldom do they cease to be Confucians."
- Britannica.com
From the above quotes we see that Confucius' teaching originated
as a means to prevent the continued decline in the social
order of ancient Chinese society. Though it is true that Confucianism
incorporated religious elements, for the most part Confucius
was circulating a social ethic, which incorporated the religion
of the culture and not a religious system in and of itself.
And though the west has identified this system or philosophy
with Confucius, it did not historically originate with him.
Instead, he merely reasserted it as a dominant social force
in China. In fact, according to some sources historical information
on Confucius himself is limited.
"Confucius - c.551-479? B.C., Chinese sage. Positive
evidence concerning the life of Confucius is scanty; modern
scholars base their accounts largely on the Analects, a collection
of sayings and short dialogues apparently collected by his
disciples, and discard most of the later legends...Later
tradition depicts Confucius as a man who made special study
of ancient books, in an effort to restore an older social
order. It is said that he was a minister of state and
the author, editor, or compiler of the Wu Ching [five classics]
(see Chinese literature). His supposed doctrines are embodied
in Confucianism." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
2001.
"Confucianism - The story of Confucianism does not
begin with Confucius. Nor was Confucius the founder of Confucianism
in the sense that Buddha was the founder of Buddhism and Christ
the founder of Christianity. Rather Confucius considered himself
a transmitter who consciously tried to reanimate the old in
order to attain the new. He proposed retrieving the meaning
of the past by breathing vitality into seemingly outmoded
rituals. Confucius' love of antiquity was motivated by
his strong desire to understand why certain rituals, such
as the ancestral cult, reverence for Heaven, and mourning
ceremonies, had survived for centuries. His journey into the
past was a search for roots, which he perceived as grounded
in humanity's deepest needs for belonging and communicating.
He had faith in the cumulative power of culture. The fact
that traditional ways had lost vitality did not, for
him, diminish their potential for regeneration in the future.
In fact, Confucius' sense of history was so strong that he
saw himself as a conservationist responsible for the continuity
of the cultural values and the social norms that had worked
so well for the civilization of the Chou dynasty." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - The scholarly tradition envisioned
by Confucius can be traced to the sage-kings of antiquity.
Although the earliest dynasty confirmed by archaeology is
the Shang dynasty (18th-12th century BC), the historical period
that Confucius claimed as relevant was much earlier. Confucius
may have initiated a cultural process known in the West as
Confucianism, but he and those who followed him considered
themselves part of a tradition, later identified by Chinese
historians as the ju-chia, 'scholarly tradition,' that
had its origins two millennia previously, when the legendary
Yao and Shun created a civilized world through moral persuasion."
- Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Confucius' hero was Chou Kung, or
the Duke of Chou (d. 1094 BC), who was said to have helped
consolidate and refine the "feudal" ritual system." - Britannica.com
From these quotes we see that Confucian doctrine is founded
upon beliefs and traditions, which though reinstated or reemphasized
by Confucius, actually pre-date him by several centuries or
more. So we see that Confucius' teachings resulted from his
reverence for history and tradition, which came before. In
fact, Confucius himself acknowledges that he does not have
or offer any special knowledge or understanding.
"Confucianism - Confucius, however, made it explicit
that he was far from attaining sagehood and that all he really
excelled in was "love of learning" (5:27). To him, learning
not only broadened his knowledge and deepened his self-awareness
but also defined who he was. He frankly admitted that he
was not born endowed with knowledge, nor did he belong
to the class of men who could transform society without knowledge.
Rather, he reported that he used his ears widely and followed
what was good in what he had heard and used his eyes widely
and retained in his mind what he had seen. His learning
constituted "a lower level of knowledge" (7:27), a level that
was presumably accessible to the majority of human beings.
In this sense Confucius was neither a prophet with privileged
access to the divine nor a philosopher who had already seen
the truth but a teacher of humanity who was also an advanced
fellow traveler on the way to self-realization." -
Britannica.com
Yet though the traditions, which Confucius sought to reestablish
started hundreds of years before Confucius lived or taught,
our understanding of them comes from the records of Confucius'
teachings (known as the Analects) written by the second generation
of his students, which in and of itself does not pose a problem.
In fact, to have Confucius teaching recorded by first hand
witnesses (his disciples) would be more than adequate according
to historical standards, to establish the historicity of Confucius
and his teaching. At least ordinarily that would be the case.
However, the problem is that we also know from history that
after his death, Confucius students splintered off into subgroups.
Splitting of this kind would not necessarily pose a problem
so long as it occurred centuries later, while the original
witnesses to the teaching were in accord with one another.
However, in the case of Confucius, there appears to be immediate
disagreement among his students as to what exactly Confucius
taught. These splits make it even more difficult to know what
the correct understanding Confucian teaching was.
"Confucianism - moral and religious system of China.
Its origins go back to the Analects (see Chinese literature),
the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient commentaries,
including that of Mencius." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001.
"Confucius - Originally Kong Fuzi. Chinese philosopher
whose Analects contain a collection of his sayings and dialogues
compiled by disciples after his death." - The American
Heritage¨ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.
2000.
"Confucianism - The Lun-yŸ (Analects), the most
revered sacred scripture in the Confucian tradition, was probably
compiled by the second generation of Confucius' disciples.
Based primarily on the Master's sayings, preserved in both
oral and written transmissions, it captures the Confucian
spirit in form and content in the same way that the Platonic
dialogues embody Socratic pedagogy." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - The Analects has often been viewed
by the critical modern reader as a collection of unrelated
conversations randomly put together. This impression may
have resulted from the mistaken conception of Confucius as
a mere commonsense moralizer who gave practical advice to
students in everyday situations." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - The purpose, then, in compiling
these distilled statements centering on Confucius seems not
to have been to present an argument or to record an event
but to offer an invitation to readers to take part in an ongoing
conversation. Through the Analects Confucians for centuries
learned to reenact the awe-inspiring ritual of participating
in a conversation with Confucius." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - According to Han-fei-tzu (d. 233
BC), shortly after Confucius' death his followers split into
eight distinct schools, all claiming to be the legitimate
heir to the Confucian legacy. Presumably each school was associated
with or inspired by one or more of Confucius' disciples.
Yet the Confucians did not exert much influence in the 5th
century BC. Although the mystic Yen YŸan (or Yen Hui),
the faithful Tseng-tzu, the talented Tzu Kung, the erudite
Tzu-hsia, and others may have generated a great deal of enthusiasm
among the second generation of Confucius' students, it was
not at all clear at the time that the Confucian tradition
was to emerge as the most powerful one in Chinese history."
- Britannica.com
Before we move on to our next candidate, we should at least
spend sometime understanding Confucianism's religious elements,
which it not only borrowed from existing, older Chinese traditions
(such as from Chou cosmology, see first quote below), but
has picked up from some of the other Asian religious movements
developing at that time or simply been added by Confucians
many centuries later.
"Confucianism - The idea of Heaven, unique in Chou
cosmology, was compatible with the concept of the Lord-on-High
in the Shang dynasty. The Lord-on-High may have referred to
the progenitor of the Shang royal lineage so that the Shang
kings could claim their position as divine descendants,
as the emperors of Japan later did, but Heaven to the Chou
kings was a much more generalized anthropomorphic God.
They believed that the mandate of Heaven (the functional equivalent
of the will of the Lord-on-High) was not constant and that
there was no guarantee that the descendants of the Chou royal
house would be entrusted with kingship, for "Heaven sees as
the people see and Heaven hears as the people hear"; thus
the virtues of the kings were essential for the maintenance
of their power and authority. This emphasis on benevolent
rulership, expressed in numerous bronze inscriptions, was
both a reaction to the collapse of the Shang dynasty and an
affirmation of a deep-rooted world view." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - Confucianism has often had to contend
with other religious systems, notably Taoism and Buddhism,
and has at times, especially from the 3d to the 7th cent.,
suffered marked declines. It enjoyed a renaissance in the
late T'ang dynasty (618-906), but it was not until the
Sung dynasty (960-1279) and the appearance of neo-Confucianism
that Confucianism became the dominant philosophy among educated
Chinese. Drawing on Taoist and Buddhist ideas, neo-Confucian
thinkers formulated a system of metaphysics, which had not
been a part of older Confucianism. They were particularly
influenced by Ch'an or Zen Buddhism: nevertheless they
rejected the Taoist search for immortality and Buddhist monasticism
and ethical universalism, upholding instead the hierarchical
political and social vision of the early Confucian teachings."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - The practice of offering sacrifices
and other veneration to Confucius in special shrines began
in the 1st cent. A.D. and continued into the 20th cent."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - Confucianism, a Western term that
has no counterpart in Chinese, is a world view, a social ethic,
a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of
life. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes
as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing
humanism that neither denies nor slights Heaven. East
Asians may profess themselves to be Shintoists, Taoists,
Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians, but, by announcing their
religious affiliations, seldom do they cease to be Confucians."
- Britannica.com
As we conclude our examination of Confucianism we can see
that an evaluation of Confucian religious claims will be nearly
impossible for several reasons relating to the information
available to us about its historical development. First, Confucianism
is not strictly speaking a religion. It began simply as a
social ethic, which incorporated and utilized the religious
elements of society in order to restore and preserve the social
order of ancient Chinese culture, which during Confucius'
life was in a state of decline.
Second, the ideals upon which Confucianism is founded actually
did not originate with Confucius himself, but have their roots
hundreds of years before his life. Third, Confucius does not
claim to have or offer any special knowledge or understanding.
Fourth, the writing that we have about Confucian teaching
comes centuries after its origins in ancient pre-Confucian
China and was only recorded by the second generation of Confucius'
disciples, who at the time were disagreeing among themselves
as to which held the correct understanding of Confucian teaching.
Fifth, the religious elements that Confucianism does contain
are either not available to us since they began centuries
before Confucius and have origins which are either historically
unidentifiable, were developed long after its inception, or
were incorporated from other religious movements, which we
have already examined and rejected.
And lastly, along with a lack of historically identifiable
origin and a lack of original religious content, Confucianism
does not offer objective evidence to support its claims, but
rather, like the other religious, which it borrows from, relies
upon subjective experience and the presupposed allegiance
to existing societal traditions.
"Confucianism - Confucius' life as a student and teacher
exemplified his idea that education was a ceaseless process
of self-realization." - Britannica.com
"Confucianism - During the Ming dynasty, the idealist
school of Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529) stressed meditation and
intuitive knowledge." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001.
Having completed our study of Confucianism and found no reason
to accept its religious views as accurate, we will now proceed
with our examination of Propositional religions by taking
a look at Sikhism.
