Confucianism - Freedom and democracy 2.0
Is Confucianism a religion?
VII. Is Confucianism a religion? Yes. No. Maybe.
Sections to follow –
What is this thing called Confucianism?
Some Confucian details and some comparisons with Christianity
An alternate morality
Being a good leader
More on similarities
God and tian
Rules gold and silver
What is religion?
Can Confucianism qualify? Maybe no.
Can Confucianism qualify? Maybe yes.
Can Confucianism qualify? Maybe. Sort of.
Modern Confucianism
Imagine there’s no heaven
The four books
Additional resources
Transcendence and immanence
Varieties of Confucianism
Can Confucianism Leave Asia?
It can, and we need it
Western philosophers and theologians have had a difficult time classifying Confucianism. No one wants to claim Confucianism for their particular discipline. In the past, western philosophers have maintained that since Confucianism is not engaged with a search for truth, it is more like a religion. Theologians don’t see relation to an omnipotent God or afterlife, and conclude that Confucianism is not religion, more like a philosophy.
Neither fish nor fowl, Confucianism has puzzled the west as it has sustained the east. Puzzles arise in China as well as the west. Interpretive difficulties arise from translation and linguistic problems with classical Chinese as well as theological problems imposed by Christian assumptions. Joseph Adler has a nice review of the issues Still Hazy After All These Years. In the words of comparative religion scholar W.C. Smith - “The question ‘Is Confucianism a religion?’ is one that the West has never been able to answer, and China has never been able to ask.”
In Confucianism as a Religious Tradition: Linguistic and Methodological Problems Adler concludes that Confucianism is a non-theistic diffused religious tradition that regards the secular realm of human relations as sacred. That sounds about right. It recalls the origins of Confucian traditions in Chinese folk religions and Buddhism and Daoism, but as a tradition rather than a religion it is compatible with Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Calling Confucianism a religion places burdens on the tradition that are hard to justify and just not necessary.
Per Smith, Confucians tend not to be bothered by such questions. But American liberals who wish to use Confucian ideas in engaging with American conservatives would certainly want to know whether Confucianism is a religion. Their interlocutors will demand to know. Let us proceed.
What is this thing called Confucianism?
Confucianism is a virtue ethic with similarities to Aristotelian ethics and early Christianity.
Confucianism is better known in China by the term 儒家 rujia, which means the scholarly tradition. It relies on the wisdom contained in the Four Books, one of which is the Analects of Confucius (孔夫子 Kong Fuzi, master Kong, 551-479 BCE). (For some context, Confucius died a few years before the birth of Socrates). Rujia focuses on benevolence, ritual propriety, justice, and sincerity. It describes a path toward becoming fully human - that is, fully humane. Confucianism has been influenced today by modern values coming from democracy and the Enlightenment. As with Christianity and democracy and any other complex philosophy, there are numerous varieties and interpretations.
Some Confucian details and some comparisons with Christianity
Both Christianity (at least in its love-centered early versions) and Confucianism are virtue ethics. Virtue ethics do not provide rules for moral behavior, a la Kant or Bentham, but rely in part on the role of exemplars to guide behavior, and focus on self-cultivation and a life lived for others as the path by which to make moral choices and become more fully human and closer to God.
Exemplary persons are role models in virtue ethics. Christianity uses Jesus and apostles and saints and some holy men as models. Confucianism never developed a need for holy men, relying on exemplars who are most benevolent, most self-cultivated, most humane – the noble man or excellent man. Aristotle looked to the noble citizen, not just the good man, for leadership. In truth, becoming an exemplar is a useful goal but unattainable for most people. Confucianism describes a path for attaining the most humane, most excellent human standard, that of the junzi – the educated, wise, benevolent man. Aristotle and Christianity would find this a worthwhile goal, even if insufficient for attaining heaven.
As Christianity evolved from Judaism, Confucianism evolved from Daoism and folk traditions and later incorporated Buddhist ideas. But Confucianism never bothered with a creation myth. While Jesus fulfilled the scriptures (Matthew 5:2, 17), he also innovated extensively. There could be no Christianity before Jesus – equality of all men before God and moral equality on earth were new ideas. Confucius considered himself only a transmitter of ancient values, not an innovator. What we consider “Confucian values” developed slowly over hundreds of years before Confucius.
The texts of Confucianism are subject to interpretation, as are texts in the bible. They are not considered sacred and passed down from God. As a result, there can be scholarly arguments over interpretations but the arguments are not theological. Authority is based on the scholarly tradition, passed down through the centuries. Much more than in the bible, the Confucian texts are conversations or anecdotes, from which insight should be gained. The bible contains many stories, but also more direct instructions and precepts for behavior by common people. Confucian texts do speak mostly to leaders and advisors. Confucian texts confront the problem of speaking truth to power. Biblical texts confront the problem of attaining a good afterlife.
In Judaism and Christianity, God speaks to individual people, and the people reply. In early Confucianism, as in early Chinese religions, only the king speaks to God. In Judaism and Christianity, the people may behave badly and earn the wrath of God. The people are active participants with God. In Confucianism, only rulers can be held accountable by God, and the people are passive. The Judeo-Christian God can and does punish individuals directly, along with entire peoples. The Confucian deity does not speak, and only punishes rulers. There may be ancestors and other Gods to whom people pray, and from whom they may receive direction. But tian is not that kind of God. Tian hears but does not speak.
There is some parallel between European divine right of kings and the Chinese mandate of heaven. Rulers ruled by virtue of their relationship to God, and theoretically only so long as God was sufficiently satisfied with their rule. For both, “heaven sees as the people see, hears as the people hear” and a corrupt ruler could be replaced with the approval of heaven. Thomas Aquinas condoned tyrannicide when conditions demanded - When there is no recourse to a superior by whom judgment can be made about an invader, then he who slays a tyrant to liberate his fatherland is [to be] praised and receives a reward. — Commentary on the Magister Sententiarum. Archived and available at Some Brief Remarks on Aquinas and Regicide.
An alternate morality
Its best not to make too much of this parallel, but both Christianity and Confucianism tended to serve as an alternate source of morality to kingly divine right. Both wisdom traditions were a check on absolute power. There have been many Confucian martyrs, not to faith but to the sense of right and proper behavior by rulers.
Being a good leader
Confucius speaks mostly about how to be a good leader. Ideas about loyalty and benevolence and adherence to rituals are important in becoming and being good. The burden of demonstrating moral behavior and ensuring harmony falls on rulers in Confucianism. It is a heavily demanding requirement – the responsibilities are always there. The primary job of the ruler is to take care of the people, in the manner of a father for his children. The ruler should be a moral role model – an exemplar. Even though Confucian texts put few demands on the people themselves, the Confucian ideals have become part and parcel of Chinese culture, among leaders and the populace generally, as much or more so than Christianity in medieval Europe. Rulers should be chosen from among the best and brightest. Echoing Plato, there can be no greater responsibility than to serve the people.
The Bible says only a little about the choice of leaders and less about their responsibilities. About the best we have is Timothy - 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity
and
1 Timothy 3:1-7 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money
and
Matthew 20:25-28 ... But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Confucian texts are replete with admonitions to rulers to take care of the people, by way of ensuring harmony and moving society closer to the great oneness.
The Christian idea is how to please God. The Confucian idea is mostly how to become most fully human. The basic ideas are to be humane, consider ritual as guidance from the past, and use education and experience to self-cultivate. This is quite similar to the Christian idea. Christianity and Confucianism both embrace “from those to whom much is given, much is expected” (Luke 12:48). Both understand that equality before God does not imply equality of roles on earth. In
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
More on similarities
We should expect wisdom traditions to say similar things about human frailties, desires, and paths to peace. The path of transformation required in Confucianism reminds one of the transformation required by Jesus – in James 2:24, and Matthew 6 - it is not by faith alone, and not even by works alone, but good works done for reasons of benevolence, with faith, and not recognition or for oneself, that is admirable. The Confucian emphasis on lifelong learning to be fully human demands personal engagement with others, as does the requirement for benevolence. There are no Confucian monks – being in the world is the path to humaneness. One should not boast of one’s achievements. Modesty, rang, is considered one of the virtues in Confucianism.
God and tian
Matteo Ricci, among the first Catholic missionaries in China, wrote in 1603 that ‘our Lord of Heaven is the Sovereign on High (Shangdi) in the Ancient Chinese canonical writings’ (Ricci 1985, p. 123). After citing several classic works, Ricci confidently claimed that ‘the Sovereign on High and the Lord of Heaven are different only in name.’ The Will of God is pretty clearly similar to the Mandate of Heaven in Confucianism. The rule of men is derived from heaven, as it is in Christianity. Ricci, who lived in China for 28 years and became proficient in Mandarin, saw Confucianism and Catholicism as fundamentally compatible. Later, the Church disagreed.
James Legge, the famed Protestant missionary and translator of early Confucian documents, noted that use of the Chinese characters di and tian in the Book of Documents and the Book of Poetry indicate the monotheism of ancient China.
In the Book of Documents we have ‘Heaven, to protect the inferior people, made for them rulers, made for them teachers, that they may be able to assist the Lord-on-High, to secure the peace of the four quarters of the Earth.’ Sounds quite a bit like the passages above from Timothy.
HUANG Yong. Confucian Theology: Three Models. Religion Compass 1/4 (2007): 455–478. Available at https://www.academia.edu/10610633/Confucian_Theology_Three_Models
God and tian are not interchangeable terms, though. Augustine or Job can call out to God for help. God may or may not answer, but for Mencius there is no concept of calling out to tian for help. Better to call out to ancestors.
Rules gold and silver
Perhaps most notable of Confucian sayings is the version of the Christian golden rule – do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. This Confucian version is the same as the Rabbi Hillel admonition in the Talmud - What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
There is an interpretive difference between the Christian and Judeo-Confucian versions. The New Testament version is focused on self – what should I do or not do? The Confucian and Judaic version is focused on others – what consideration should I take for others? Therein lies a large part of the usefulness of Confucianism for modern liberal societies.
This negative form, or so-called silver rule – the Christian rule being golden, after all – and its prevalence in cultures throughout the world leads us to a fundamental question. Is it only religion that can have silver or golden rules? What is religion, after all?
What is religion?
There is professional and scholarly disagreement about the definition of religion, as with every technical term in this piece. W.C. Smith noted that religion can mean a form of relationship between man and God or a set of practices and beliefs, or both. In general, a religion should be identifiable as located within particular individuals or communities.
By this description, Confucianism might qualify. There are practices and beliefs, rites and some relation between man and the supernatural. Confucianism is clearly of east Asian origin and practice. Its origin is in China and has spread to Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Wilfred Cantwell Smith. The Meaning and End of Religion: A New Approach to the Religious Traditions of Mankind (Fortress Press, 1991, p 48-49).
Merriam-Webster makes a similar potential case for Confucianism as religion -
Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements
And a third definition, from Charles Talaferro and Elsa Marty in the Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion –
A religion involves a communal, transmittable body of teachings and prescribed practices about an ultimate, sacred reality or state of being that calls for reverence or awe, a body which guides its practitioners into what it describes as a saving, illuminating or emancipatory relationship to this reality through a personally transformative life of prayer, ritualized meditation, and/or moral practices like repentance and personal regeneration.
Charles Talaferro and Elsa Marty, eds. Entry for “Religion” in Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion. Continuum Publishers, 2018, p. 240. Available here.
Paul Tillich defines religion as the realm of “ultimate concern.” Some New Confucians have linked Tillich’s idea to that of spiritual stability and an Immanent Transcendence in Confucianism.
On these bases, it seems not necessary in a definition of religion to propose a unitary supreme being, a being that is creator of the universe, a need for salvation, or an organization of priests and churches. Neither Daoism nor Buddhism has these features. If we broaden our minds that way, then Confucianism might qualify. But not so fast.
Can Confucianism qualify as religion? Maybe no.
If religion needs a supernatural power acting in the world and demanding obedience, Confucianism cannot qualify. There is no concept of revelation in Confucianism, no personal relation with the Almighty. And to the extent a religion has a defined set of practices, beliefs about the supernatural, or rites, Confucianism also fails.
Confucianism does not have institutions, dogmas, or membership and cannot be a religion if those are part of the requirements. There are no churches or attendance rituals. In any case, Confucianism has borrowed extensively from Daoism and Buddhism, which are widely understood as religions, so the idea of a Confucian religion based on those would be heavily derivative in any case. But for Confucians, it is the task, rather than the Giver of the task, that has occupied attention. So concluded Old Testament scholar H.H. Rowley in Prophecy and Religion in Ancient China and Israel (Harper, 1956, page 127).
For Confucians, heaven is a partner with man and nature in sustaining the Dao, the great generating force of all religions. Heiner Roetz gives us a definition that skirts loyalty even to a religious tradition - Ancient Confucianism did not inherit the religion of ‘Heaven’ as much but only its normative content—the primacy of morals—and that it advocated a basically areligious ethics of self-cultivation based on individual self-respect.”
Heiner Roetz. Confucianism between Tradition and Modernity, Religion, and Secularization: Questions to Tu Weiming. Dao, vol.7, no. 4, 2008. p 367-380
Can Confucianism qualify as religion? Maybe yes.
Maybe we can lower the bar a bit. Joseph Adler cites Frederick Streng in proposing that religion is a means to ultimate transformation. This requires -
(a) that the human condition is viewed as in some way flawed, and therefore in need of transformation; (b) that there is a goal of that transformation that depends on the nature of the inherent flaw; and (c) that there is a means of attaining that goal. The definition also implies that this process of transformation be considered in some sense "ultimate."
Joseph Adler. Confucianism in China Today. Lecture at Pearson Living Religions Forum. New York, April 14, 2011. Available at https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Confucianism%20Today.pdf
By this definition, Confucianism certainly can qualify as a religion. Just as the Christian hopes to be in union with God, the Confucian hopes to be one with the other two aspects of existence, heaven and nature. In both, the human is transformed and brought closer to an ultimate reality.
Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit priest who introduced east and west in the 17th century, claimed that ‘our Lord of Heaven is the Sovereign on High (Shangdi) in the Ancient Chinese canonical writings.’
Peter Berger, sociologist of religion, sees Confucianism as a religion by virtue of its attention (though fleeting) to tian, heaven. Berger - …. However, there is one classical and rather central Confucian belief that, I think, is unambiguously religious—that of tian, usually translated as “heaven”. It is not theistic, although Gods are associated with it. Rather, it is a cosmic order, supernatural in that it transcends the empirical world, over which it presides and with which it interacts. It thus serves as the necessary, ipso facto religious foundation for all the secular virtues propagated by Confucian teachings. It seems to me that this religious character of tian is most clearly expressed in the notion of the “mandate of heaven” ….
To me, this seems like pretty weak tea, although Julia Ching sees a relation between the Mandate of Heaven and the Christian God’s Will. (Huang Yong, Religion Compass, 2007, p. 459) https://www.academia.edu/10610633/_2007b_Confucian_Theology_Three_Models
In 1958 four of the leaders of what would come to be called the New Confucian movement published “A Manifesto for a Re-appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture." This extraordinary document, presented to the world at large, affirmed among other things the "religious nature" of Confucianism, reflecting the conceptual unity of man and heaven. But this document called for reassessment of western views of Chinese culture rather than promotion of a Chinese religion. None of the authors of the Manifesto advanced the religious idea. A spiritual idea was certainly part of their understanding.
A Confucian religious movement has arisen in Indonesia and to a lesser extent in Hong Kong. These have strong affiliations with Buddhist teachings. Within mainland China, thinking about a religious interpretation of Confucianism has centered around revival of a cultural nationalism, which is supported by CCP. Another interpretation echoes the civil religion concept of Robert Bellah. Confucianism as civil religion would be compatible with freedom and democracy, but of course tends to minimize the religious in favor of the civic. One could point out that Confucianism is already a civil religion within mainland China to the extent that it informs daily life of millions of people without reference to politics or government, democratic or authoritarian. Again, Confucianism as separate religion feels to me a bit of special pleading.
Sébastien Billioud and Joël Thoraval. Anshen liming or the Religious Dimension of Confucianism - The Contemporary Revival of Confucianism. China Perspectives No. 3, 2008. Available at https://www.academia.edu/21628673/Anshen_liming_or_the_Religious_Dimension_of_Confucianism_China_Perspectives_2008_3_pp_88_106?email_work_card=view-paper
In Confucian Theology: Three Models Huang Yong describes discussion of a transcendent God in several places in the Analects, The Doctrine of the Mean, the books of Poetry and Documents, and the Book of Changes. He says these references are similar to descriptions of the Christian God in crucial aspects. Other scholars see religiosity in the reverence for li, rites, or in the self-transformation required of Confucians.
Rodney Taylor has a concise summary of the case for Confucian religion in Philosophy East and West - The Religious Character of the Confucian Tradition.
Taylor first makes the case for the opposition –
Some would argue that the founder of the tradition, Confucius, is not defined in terms of a religious founder. He performs no miracles, he does not talk with the gods, he does not present himself as one possessed of great or special knowledge. He is simply a person who attempts to advise the rulers of his day on how to restore peace to the world based on his knowledge of the ways of the ancient sages of China.
Without a concept of the Absolute, Taylor says, we are not dealing with a religion. He finds such a concept in tian, the term we use for heaven or God. He concludes that Confucianism is a religion, based on his understanding of the early Confucian tradition with heaven as a transcendent authority, although without direct ability to influence lives. My own feeling is that Taylor is reaching a bit too far. He takes a far more expansive and at the same time inclusive idea of religion than I think would be comfortable for Americans or most westerners.
But one can quibble - Robert Cummings Neville in his foreword to Rodney Taylor’s The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism stated that a religious tradition need have three things – a) a mythic element with structures of the world and their meanings to society, b) rituals that are sets of repeatable and symbolizable actions that are normative to society, and c) a path of spiritual perfection or salvation. Myth and ritual are thus shown to have a sort of symbiotic relationship.
Confucian scholars Roger Ames and David Hall try to split the difference. They see tian, heaven, as central to a Confucian theology but not transcendent. (Thinking Through Confucius 201-216)
Frederick Mote, on the other hand, see Confucianism as complete without admitting any particular role for the transcendental, and even though tian is referenced it carries no direct power.
Yuri Pines similarly understands the “religious” to be “related to communication with deities (particularly ancestral spirits), or insofar as it is supposed to have a certain sacral power of influencing the world through a proper choice of wording or proper arrangement of the material.”
Quite honestly, its all just a muddle. Serious scholars disagree, and disagree over relatively fine points resolution of which are of no use to most people most of the time. The best we can do on the religion question is to waffle.
Can Confucianism qualify as religion? Maybe. Sort of.
Confucian scholar Tu Weiming has an answer to the religion question, even if his answer muddies instead of clarifies. Tu is perhaps the best-known Chinese New Confucian scholar and popularizer in the west. He was Chair Professor of Humanities and Founding Director of the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Peking University. He is a founder of the “Boston Confucians,” an informal group of academics who explore the religious and spiritual links between Confucianism and Christianity.
Tu is also Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the Asia Center at Harvard University, and Harvard-Yenching Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy and of Confucian Studies in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard. He has written extensively about application of Confucian ideas to the west.
Tu says Confucianism, if not a religion, at least has strong religious overtones. Like a religion, Confucianism has beliefs that relate the individual to the spiritual and the supernatural. Like a philosophy, Confucianism provides meaning to life and a path to human betterment. Tu’s preferred term is spiritual humanism. In any case, Tu points out, it is less important to determine whether Confucianism is a religion than to ask what it means to be religious in a Confucian society.
He defines six elements of Confucian religiosity for a modern society. These prescriptions are part of any virtue ethic, from Aristotle to Jesus, and acceptable to at least some American conservatives.
(1) strong government that works as an active "regulative and distributive agency" rather than merely being a "necessary evil" for supervising order;
(2) the cultivation of virtue through the practice of rites rather than social integration by law;
(3) the family as the "basic unit of society," acting as a transmitter of "core values" and a "richly textured natural environment for learning the proper way of being human";
(4) an understanding of civil society as "dynamic interplay between family and state" rather than an "autonomous arena" beyond both;
(5) education as the "civil religion" of society, aiming at character building; and
(6) self-cultivation as the "common root" of all of the mentioned features
Tu Weiming. Implications of the Rise of' Confucian East Asia. Daedalus 129/1, 2000. Available at http://tuweiming.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2000-Daedalus-Implications-of-the-Rise-of-Confucian-East-Asia-Tu-Weiming.pdf
Where is the religiosity in these six elements? Tu Weiming suggests Confucianism is not simply a secular humanist tradition and more than a form of social ethics. He coined a word – anthropocosmic – to capture the partnership of heaven and human in addressing the four dimensions of human experience above - Confucian Humanism as Spiritual Exercise. Heaven still sees as the people see, hears as the people hear (Mencius 18:8) Heaven does respond to the needs of the people (Mencius, Wang Zhang I) As with Judaism and Christianity, prayer seems to work, sometimes.
Religion, Tu says, differs from philosophy in requiring a personal engagement, and that is what he finds in Confucianism that distinguishes it from simply a path of training for elites. His definition of Confucian religiosity - ultimate self-transformation as a communal act and as a faithful dialogical response to the transcendent.” Tu says this is the prescription for learning to become human. Crudely, one might translate that as learning to “be all that you can be.”
Tu Weiming, Centrality and Commonality, 1989, p. 94, cited in Wenyu Xie, The Concept of Cheng and Confucian Religiosity, Journal of East-West Thought. Available at www.cpp.edu/~jet/Documents/JET/Jet2/Xie91-106.pdf)
Here, Tu himself wavers from “religious overtones” to something that does meet a definition for religion in the personal engagement with heaven.
Confucianism cannot offer the sustenance of Christianity – that in times of trouble, things will all sort of work out in the end or in an afterlife. Tu sees Confucianism as
… religious, without being “organized,”“institutionalized,” or “worship-centered religion” (pp. 145 and 147). Confucius, Tu declares, “was neither a prophet with privileged access to the divine nor a philosopher who has already seen the truth, but a teacher of humanity who is an advanced fellow traveler on the way to self-realization”…. Still, Confucian thinkers are “profoundly religious” due to the role of “Heaven as a source for moral creativity, meaning of life, and ultimate self-transformation” (p. 145). “Significantly different” from Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam, Confucianism rests on a “calling comparable in intensity of feeling and seriousness of purpose to any of the great world religions” (pp. 145–146). There is a “transcendent dimension” to Confucianism, since “the human Way is sanctioned by Heaven.”
Tu Weiming. Confucianism. In A. Sharma, Ed., Our religions (pp. 141–227). New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Ok, fine.
Modern Confucianism
In announcing the Atlantic Magazine Planet edition in October of 2020, editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg reminded us of Thoreau’s essay “Walking,” published in the Atlantic in 1862 – “I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society.” One remembers that Thoreau was a member of the Transcendental Club in the 1840s, although Confucians would decry their emphasis on self-reliance and intuition over experimentation.
Thoreau’s essay is an excellent description of the Confucian idea about man as part and parcel of nature. It doesn’t express the stewardship aspect, as Tu Weiming told us, but reflects the trinity. Tu and other modern Confucians don’t dismiss western culture, but criticize our excessive reliance on individualism and instrumental rationality. Modern Confucians hold responsible these two elements of modern western culture for the human alienation we see now every day in the news.
Tu Weiming. Implications of the Rise of “Confucian” East Asia. Daedalus 129.1 (2000): 195–219. Available at http://tuweiming.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2000-Daedalus-Implications-of-the-Rise-of-Confucian-East-Asia-Tu-Weiming.pdf
Let us conclude that there is much discussion of whether tian is an impersonal order of nature or a God with direct interest in human affairs. It is clear that for the purposes of Confucian morality, either definition of tian is acceptable, and compatible with theistic religions.
And despite Confucianism being a Chinese product, it is not some collectivist screed or guide to oppression of the masses. It is understood that the people are most important, the country second, and the emperor last. As noted in the opening of the Great Learning, one of the four Confucian classics, all people, from the emperor to the commoner, must take self-cultivation as the way to become fully human. This prescription from Confucius is a primary reason for the importance of learning in Chinese society today. It is important for the self, for the family, for the society, for the Dao. Confucius points to the path.
Confucius is not saying “follow me” as in Matthew 19:21 – he is not a religious leader – but he is pointing the way to a humane, benevolent way of life that demands spiritual commitment from each. To be human is to self-cultivate, and that includes practicing the virtues of reciprocity (Silver Rule), benevolence, tolerance, and proper respect for the rites of society.The idea for human flourishing was similar in ancient Greece - self-growth and awareness. The highest level of humanity is to be the philosopher, said Aristotle. In Confucianism, to be fully sincere, cheng, is the highest level of humanity – to be a complete human. Tu cites Zhongyong 25:3 –
… completion of the self means humanity. The completion of all things means wisdom. These are the character of nature, and these are the Way in which the internal and the external are united. Therefore, whenever it is employed, everything done is right.
Tu Weiming. Centrality and Commonality, 1989, p 80 (note: this citation is Zhongyong 26 in Legge translation, at China Text Project, Zhongyong 22 in Muller translation)
It is this sincerity that allows man to form the trinity with heaven and nature. Thus there is this moral component to the highest level in Confucianism that is not found in Aristotle. The obligation of every person is to be the most human, the most humane, one can be. “Love one another” is what Confucius told us in the Book of Rites Liji Jing Jie 4.
Imagine there’s no heaven
Confucius never had much to say about God or heaven. His focus was on the life-world, so there is no “radical transcendence” of something outside the world, outside experience that provides morality and judges humans (Tu, Confucianism and Liberal Education for a Global Era, Berkley Center, Georgetown University, 2013).
The life-world focus missed some things, though. Confucius had little to say about the difficult periods in life – illness, old age, death. Other philosophies were available to advise in those times – Daoism, Buddhism, and later, Christianity. Confucianism does not offer guidance in tough times. For that reason alone, I find Confucianism an excellent guide to social and political life, and of no use in times of personal stress. For that reason alone, I would not call Confucianism a religion. I might link Confucius and Plato. Both developed ideal schemes that paid little attention to real world variation. Buddhism offered a transcendental reality beyond the earthly one; so does Christianity. Absence of any Confucian ideas in these realms helps to make Confucianism compatible with religions, since it does not compete for attention.
Neo Confucian Zhu Xi, whose commentaries on the Confucian canon formed the basis of the civil service exams from about 1313 CE, also did not promote a particular concept of God or heaven. Presumably, he thought of Analects 12 - Chi Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The Master said, "While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?" Chi Lu added, "I venture to ask about death?" He was answered, "While you do not know life, how can you know about death?" Confucius suggests that knowledge of transcendence is really above his pay grade.
But not above his seeing a transcendence in the trinity of heaven, man, and earth. In human history, civilization and benevolence work best from an initial sense of the sacred – what can we all hold dear. From that common understanding comes cooperation at scale and an ability to take care of each other. There is a sanctity to our common action. Modern Confucians such as Tu Weiming see such a sanctity in the trinity of heaven, man, and earth that takes us beyond any one issue to care for the world. A sense of the sacred is a tough issue for some American progressives, an issue they must address for democracy to flourish. The current American progressive movement has a fatal flaw – it stands for nothing beyond its own issue of the moment. It has no fundamental organizing principle beyond some concept of rights, and in the long term, even the midterm, that will be insufficient.
The four books
There are Four Books considered essential to the understanding of Confucianism. They are the Analects, supposedly written by Confucius or based on his sayings; Mencius, the writing of Mengzi, who lived about a hundred years after Confucius, and who has the clarifying and expanding role that Paul had for Jesus; The Great Learning, with sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius but written by one of his disciples; and the Doctrine of the Mean. The Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning are chapters in the collection of texts known as the Classic of Rites.
The Great Learning has a short text attributed to Confucius, followed by commentaries. The text elaborates on the importance of study to self-cultivation and achieving a state of balance for oneself. All people are able to self-cultivate and contribute to the Way.
The Doctrine of the Mean is attributed to Confucius’ only grandson, and is a guide to self-cultivation. The doctrine of mean represents honesty, sincerity, moral rectitude, and propriety. One should never act in extreme. One is reminded immediately of the golden mean of Aristotle.
The four books were codified by Zhu Xi, the Song dynasty neo-Confucian scholar. After his dearth the books became the standard for the imperial exams for the next six hundred years.
Transcendence and immanence
A way of describing God – or heaven – is whether the spiritual being is transcendent or immanent, or both. Transcendence refers to a God that is beyond all understanding, beyond earth and the universe, with whom we may have a relationship after our death. This God is not present on earth. A God who is immanent provides the experience of God on earth, around us.
The Christian idea is the transcendent God of which we may become aware at death or long after. At the same time, God is immanent in the world through the life of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. Some evangelicals maintain a notion of immanence, particularly through the value of prayer to affect human outcomes and through the ability of leaders (Trump is the obvious example) to shape America toward being a Christian nation. But these are not people with whom we can reasonably discuss.
This notion of immanence seems different from the Confucian idea, which is essentially the Buddhist notion of a reverence for all things. Human stewardship of earth is a modern Confucian and early Christian concept that influences ideas toward animal well-being and preservation of earthly resources.
Jana Rosker has a succinct description in Modernization of Confucian Ontology in Taiwan and Mainland China (Asian Philosophy, 2019) - On the one hand, Dao is above the forms (i.e. it is metaphysical), and thus not a definite, visible or perceivable thing. Therefore, it is transcendent. On the other, it can only be put into practice through definite things (i.e. through physical forms); thus, it is immanent. This is the form of ‘immanent transcendence.’
Ivan Hon further clarifies in Immanent Transcendence and the New Confucians' Discourse on the Religiousness of Confucianism -
The New Confucians have applied “transcendence” and “immanence” in the Confucian context. Mou Zongsan (牟宗三 1909-95) considers Heaven and the ways of Heaven in Confucianism as “transcendental” which is beyond human while “immanence” refers to that which is internalised in human. Liu Shuxian thought the different ways “transcendence” and “immanence” are related have given rise to the notions of “external transcendence” and “immanent transcendence.” “External transcendence” (waizaichaoyue 外在超越) refers to the transcendent external to the world it created while “immanent transcendence” refers to the transcendent internalised in the world. Based on this, Liu classifies Christianity as “external transcendence” and Confucianism as “immanent transcendence.”
Tu Weiming speaks of a Confucian “immanent transcendence” that provides duties for humans to transform the world here and now. Heaven is always here, among us, listening, but is definitely not omnipotent. The human can come to an understand of heaven through self-knowledge. From the ZhongYong, Doctrine of the Mean, another of the four Classics, Confucius told us that if you know yourself, you can know human nature, and if you know human nature, you can know the nature of things, and you can form a trinity with heaven and nature. This trinity concept is obviously not related to the Christian concept, but it does reflect a dependence and partnership among the three to bring about the Dao. It is incumbent upon humans to act in the world to do that. From Zhong Yong 23 -
It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can give its full development to his nature. Able to give its full development to his own nature, he can do the same to the nature of other men. Able to give its full development to the nature of other men, he can give their full development to the natures of animals and things. Able to give their full development to the natures of creatures and things, he can assist the transforming
and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth form a trinity.
Humans are co-creators of the Dao with heaven and nature. Humans have a responsibility to help make heaven great, to increase heaven’s presence in the world now. Tian is within each human now. Tian is transcendent, but not outside creation.
Jana Rosker on Confucian immanent transcendence –
Immanent notions, which are essential to defining Chinese philosophy, are necessary outcomes of the holistic worldview. If there is no separation between two worlds (material/ideal, subjective/objective), it is difficult to define which of the two is more important or absolute. This also explains why transcendent notions, which are generally perceived as transcending one and proceeding into another (usually higher) sphere, are also immanent in most traditional Chinese philosophical discourses. The Modern Confucians often defined the differences between “pure” and “immanent” transcendence on the basis of discursive differences between Christianity and Modern Confucianism:
The theological worldview of Christianity could be defined as “pure transcendence.” This means that God has created the world, but is not part of the world. Thus, God possesses a transcendental nature which is beyond or outside of the world. This is the actual traditional belief in the Christian tradition… The Chinese tradition instead believes that Dao circulates between heaven and earth. The Xi Ci 繫辭chapter of the Book of Changes 易經 states “that which is above the form exists as Dao (the Way, the Great principle), and that which is below them exists as a definite thing”. But it also affirms that “Dao is the definite thing and vice versa”. On the one hand, Dao is above the forms (i.e. it is metaphysical), and thus not a definite, visible or perceivable thing. Therefore, it is transcendent. On the other, it can only be put into practice through definite things (i.e. through physical forms); thus, it is immanent.
This is the form of ‘immanent transcendence’….
The notion of Dao, which is one of the core concepts of traditional Chinese philosophy and manifests itself in multiple ways in the category of the Way, is thus a notion of “immanent transcendence” (neizai chaoyue 內在超越). In its oneness and indivisibility it reflects the original cosmic principle, but at the same time it also reflects the smallest atoms of existence, constantly creating through their infinite combinations all existing worlds. Dao is both the elementary, abstract driving force of the universe, and the concrete, intimate path of every human being. Dao is the fundamental source of all existence, and the incorporation of each particular appearance.
Jana Rosker. The Philosophical Sinification of Modernity and the Modern Confucian Paradigm of Immanent Transcendence (內在超越性). Asian Studies II (XVIII), 1 (2014), pp. 67–81. Available at https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/971/2236
Most Confucian scholars now acknowledge the immanent transcendence of tian (Huang Yong, Philosophy Compass, 2007, p. 462). New Confucian Mo Zongsan explains the dual ontology this way –
The Way of Heaven, as something ‘high above’, connotes transcendence. When the Way of Heaven is invested in the individual and resides within them in the form of human nature, it is then immanent (Mou, 1990, p. 26).
Mou, Zongsan. Zhongguo zhexuede tezhi 中國哲學的特質[The characteristics of Chinese philosophy]. Taipei: Taiwan xuesheng shuju, 1990.
Varieties of Confucianism
There are many Confucianisms, as there are many Christianities. We think of three, right off the bat – traditional Confucianism, which honors the thought of Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi and many other thinkers. This Confucianism is itself divided into three parts – classical, up to about the Song dynasty; neo-Confucianism, incorporating Buddhist thought; and New Confucianism, essentially post-May 4th movement. Classical and Neo-Confucianism promoted by Mencius and the later Neo-Confucians stressed human perfectibility based on their belief in a good human nature.
There is also political Confucianism promoted today by CCP and popularized in China by Jiang Qing and Daniel A. Bell and now in Xi’s CCP. Political Confucianism encourages obedience to leaders and restraint on ambitions, to restrain excessive attention to western-inspired moral freedoms.
There is also folk Confucianism, akin to the folk Christianity Ross Douthat described, and similar to the folk spirituality originally described by Robert Bellah, et.al., in Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. It is Confucianism as cultural practice, based not on texts or priests, but simply “in the air.”
Can Confucianism Leave Asia?
Regardless of compatibility between Confucianism and Christianity, there may be no particular reason to consider its applicable to modern western culture. Why do we need it? We don’t venerate our ancestors or play much table tennis, either, and if Confucianism is really a religion, many of us already have one, thank you. If a philosophy, we’ve done ok with Kant and Bentham and Locke and Mill. That has been the argument. The west is individualism, now become sovereign individualism.
It can, and we need it
But we aren’t doing so well now with Kant and Bentham and Locke and Mill. They took us from living under the thumb of kings and popes, and this is of course a good thing. But they did not provide a way to restrain growing individual freedom when it became individual sovereignty, an individuality without rules or boundaries or obligations.
My suggestion is that we can do better, and in our global, hyper-financial-capitalist world, we need to do better. We look with dismay and fear at a cheap, vile, and rootless American culture. Our religions offer scant help, if any at all. Our commitment to being alone, in households and community is killing us. Our celebration of excessive individualism is unique in history. That alone should be a warning. Being alone is not the human or humane way.
All the virtue ethics, including Confucianism and Christianity, give us a source of morality that is outside the self. In a world that is connected economically but anarchic with regard to rules and regulations, we need some morality compatible with those who are religious and those who are not. If we are alone, we can bleat into the darkness of social media, but we are not thereby together. There is no communication.
The Washington Post tells us that Democracy Dies in Darkness. It also dies in silence, if we cannot communicate. We all need a model for humaneness and the tolerance to live with the Augustinian Peace of Babylon Providence Magazine - Peace of Babylon. The idea is from Jeremiah 29:7 - Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” In the New York Times, author Beth Macy described the difficulties of family togetherness in times of political warfare If I'd Stayed in My Hometown, Would I be a Trump Voter? Her idea, echoing Jeremiah and Augustine, is My siblings and I are a lot like the country: Uncompromising and unevenly scarred, we are equal parts resentment and love. I don’t know how to move forward, but for now I’ll cling to the little things that bind us.
There is no more urgent need in America now, and I think Confucianism can help.
This is not the place to fully explore Confucianism, and I would not be qualified to do that in any case. I suggest that the questions for Confucians from western philosophers, theologians, and Christians have been explored extensively. My goal here is only to stimulate further reading.
There are plenty of resources for exploration of Confucianism, Confucianism as religion, Confucianism and Christianity. See Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Confucius for Christians by Gregg A. Ten Elshof. Perhaps the most thorough exploration for the sophisticated layman is the Robert Neville’s Boston Confucianism.
This last is an explication of a small but significant movement, still called Boston Confucianism, started by Tu Weiming and Robert Neville at Harvard in the 1980s. This is an attempt to find a Confucian path in modern American culture. Neville –
The point of Boston Confucianism … is to focus ethical life on the development of social forms and styles that properly humanize people …. Neville looks particularly at the role of rituals in American life – “ … propriety has had a far deeper meaning in the Chinese tradition, and its western parallels are not merely good manners…. Propriety creates culture, is conventional, and is a peculiar kind of harmony.” (pages 7-9)
Neville, in summing up –
Confucianism and Christianity are in complete agreement that the fall from original perfection consists in forgetting and neglecting the rituals of high civilization, and that sageliness or sanctification consists in their reestablishment and practice. (p. 204, Boston Confucianism)
Neville finds differences between Confucianism and Christianity that can make for intellectual or spiritual conundrums. But he doesn’t discount the possibilities of a Confucian Christian – he is one, himself – and he offers a deep spiritual and practical path to doing so. There is no obstacle to being a Christian Confucian or a Jewish Confucian or a Muslim Confucian. All are welcome in the Confucian space.
In Confucianism and Catholicism - Reinvigorating the Dialogue editors Michael Slater, Erin Cline and Philip Ivanhoe note three basic similarities between Catholicism and Confucianism, not about theology so much as about practice and study. Both have a tradition of commentary, generated over millennia, that reinvent and reinterpret basic texts. Ancient writers have a role to play in this ongoing understanding. Both honor ritual practice as a way of informing the present and connecting with the sacred. And both have rich and complex views about the need for self-cultivation over a lifetime of commitment to … well, “be all that you can be.”
Christian writer G. Wright Doyle noted Confucianism has never “warmed the heart." For that very reason, it may suffice as a political ideology to frame public discourse about national norms, without worry that it ever could become a transforming religion. The goal of a "harmonious society" remains out of reach, like heaven on earth.
Tu Weiming goes beyond Doyle to see a greater understanding of the heart/mind, human nature, and heaven –
Human nature is endowed by Heaven.… the uniqueness of being human is our inner ability to learn the follow the Way. We are capable of educating ourselves to become worthy partners of the cosmic process…. Surely, existentially we cannot fully realize our heart-and-mind. Thus, in practical terms, it is unlikely that we will ever know our nature in itself and, by inference, it is unlikely that we will ever know Heaven in its entirety. But, in theory and to a certain extent in practice, we can be attuned to the Way of Heaven; specifically a sympathetic resonance with the cosmic process is realizable through our persistent self-cultivation.
Tu Weiming. Creativity: A Confucian View. Dao 6:2, 2007. p 115-124 Available at https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/special-topic-creativity-in-christianity-and-confucianism-eTxh3jO7f2?articleList=%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DTu%2BDao%2BCreativity
One sees Augustine in this view of human nature as well. We cannot attain the City of God on earth, but it is a worthwhile thing – and incumbent upon us - to constantly attempt to serve God.
Confucian scholar Jana Rosker sums it up well in Is Confucianism a Religion? - Thus, in Modern Confucian reading, Confucianism is not a religion in the Western sense, but a discourse that represents both a practical moral teaching as well as abstract philosophy of immanent transcendence.
In the last analysis, American progressives, liberals, and conservatives can rest easy with a lack of strong religious tenets in Confucianism. There are religious overtones that speak to both a cultural conservatism and a respect for earth and environmental values. There is no competition with Christianity or any established tradition. Confucianism can coexist with all, and as a virtue ethic stands in contradistinction to none. Is Confucianism a religion? No. Very few Chinese would claim to be a follower of a Confucian religion, CCP or no CCP. Is Confucianism compatible with Christianity as a guide to moral behavior here on earth? Quite so.
Next: VIII. But Isn’t Confucianism … http://chinareflections.com/index.php/81-sections-from-book-comments-encouraged/493-confucianism-freedom-and-democracy-2-0-is-confucianism-a-religion-viii-but-isn-t-confucianism
