Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

Issues 203Confucianism is a religion has continued. Confucianism is generally –though not entirely – taught in university departments of Religious Studiesand appears, labeled as a religion, in most textbooks that cover world religions.Confucianism is rarely taught in Philosophy departments – reservedfor the study of white European males – though courses may be offered inEast Asian Studies departments.Confucianism is defined as a religion not just in the Western mind, but,as we have seen, the New Confucians often stress a religious dimensionto Confucianism, arguing that Confucianism is not just rote learning, butsomething to be practiced and experienced.If Confucianism is a religion, what are the kinds of things we wouldexpect to see? We think of religions as having moral teachings, a historyof maintaining an orthodoxy, temples, ritual, a following (though not acongregation in, for example, the Christian sense), a set of texts consideredto be very important, and some sense of the metaphysical in, for example,the concept of Heaven. Confucianism has all of that.What would we expect to find in a religion that we do not find inConfucianism? There is no priesthood, no central leader, no congregation(that might, for example, support the building and upkeep of a temple), nosacred texts, no God or gods.So it may be that the expectations we have around the word “ religion ”make for the difficulty in defining Confucianism. 18 Are we the ones whoassume that religion is separate from secular activities? Are we makingassumptions that religion must be defined as something centered aroundtemples, texts, and a sense of the sacred? Is this why the Confucian school( jia ) or teachings ( jiao ) do not fit our expectations? Perhaps it is our definitionof religion that is the problem here. So when we look at Confucianismand see things like an emphasis on practice, temples, and lack of a centraldeity, we find ourselves at a loss.The same sorts of problem develop when you try to define Confucianismas a philosophy. What sort of things do you expect to find in a philosophy?How is philosophy distinguished from religion?Another consideration for this discussion is one thing Confucianismdoes not do, and has never done: there are no sanctions in Confucianism.Many Christians believe that bad people will go to hell when they die. InBuddhism, bad people build up karma and will have a very unpleasantrebirth in the next life. In the Confucian tradition, if someone behavesbadly, the worst you can do is say to them, “ Well, you are no gentleman! ”This lack of sanctions has, historically, allowed the corrupt, the cruel,and the bullies to do whatever they like, safe in the knowledge that notmuch can be done about them. I have witnessed instances of ill - treatmentof children, students, and subordinates by parents, professors, and bossesthat I would describe as abuse. The children and subordinates have, almost