Although Confucianism has existed as a major system of belief in China and elsewhere for over 2,500 years, many people—especially in the West—argue that it’s not really a religion at all, claiming that it’s more of a philosophy or a system of ethics. So, are they right? Is Confucianism a religion or not?
Unlike most religions, Confucianism isn’t very focused on worshipping a particular deity who takes on a specific, recognizable form, like the anger-prone God of Judaism, Christianity’s Jesus, or even the many varieties of Hindu gods.
Instead, Confucian thought deals primarily with moral and ethical behavior, here on Earth in the present, and doesn’t seem to pay much attention to whether there is any kind of life after death or any type of reward or punishment for our behavior in this life.
To Confucians, what’s most important is order—appropriate, righteous behavior among ordinary people and especially among government officials. Cultivating perfection in this world is a Confucian’s main goal, and there’s not a whole lot of thought given to what comes after this life.
So, does that mean Confucianism doesn’t believe in God or in an afterlife? Not at all.
The Chinese people who lived at the time when Confucius first laid out his ideas pretty much took the notion of an afterlife for granted. They believed there is a heaven and that it was there that the spirits of our deceased ancestors "lived."
Not only was there a heaven where all spirits went after death, but all those spirits of former human beings had one leader—a head ancestor and chief Spirit, known as Shang Ti. (And generally, the leader of a spirit world is considered God, whether he/she is referred to by that name or not.)
According to ancient Chinese beliefs, ancestors deserved to be treated with the utmost respect and devotion—like all elders—even long after they had died. Eventually, when we die, we'll join all our ancestors in heaven.
The difference between the Confucian idea of heaven and that of other religions is that Confucian heaven is kind of vague—not necessarily anything like the puffy-cloud version of heaven I personally had in mind back when I was a Christian. Confucians believe heaven exists and that we all go there after we die, but they don't dwell on the details a whole heck of a lot.
Even though the ancestors may be long gone, Confucians believe that they can and do continue to interact with the living, as much as possible for spirits who don’t have bodies or vocal cords. One way they do this is by showing us signs—omens—that can warn us about potential problems or let us know that good things are coming.
I don’t know. I guess maybe my ancestors are a bit lazy (or maybe they’re partying a little too hard, like many of them did in life), because I’ve never received any kind of sign. But maybe this month, one of my dead relatives will finally step up to the plate. Come on, Nanny, give me a good omen. I could sure as hell use one.
Anyway, the point is that heaven and the notion of one overarching “spirit,” who can be considered God, does exist in Confucianism. These things just aren't the main focus.
As religious scholar Huston Smith explains in The World’s Religions, “To understand the total dimension of Confucianism as a religion it is important to see Confucius shifting his people’s attention from Heaven to Earth without dropping Heaven from the picture entirely.”
Basically, it’s not that God and heaven don’t matter to Confucians; it’s that the mess we’ve made down here on Earth is a much more pressing issue.
When people would ask Confucius about how they should best serve the spirits of the dead, he would answer, “You are not even able to serve people. How can you serve spirits?”
So Confucians may seem to be a bit disinterested in the spirit world, but they have bigger fish to fry. And besides, setting things right here on Earth would, in theory, put affairs in order on every plane of existence, so it makes sense to focus on what we can control—our own lives and behavior—and not worry so much about what’s going on in the spirit world, at least until we’re part of it.
All the rules and rituals that Confucianism advocates are considered the “Will” or the “Way” of “Heaven,” so it all comes down to the same basic premise that we find in most of the major religions: Living properly on Earth is the way to find unity with God.
I’d say that’s pretty religious, wouldn’t you?
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