“The Church pays homage to the many moral values contained in other religions and to the potential for a spiritual life that profoundly influences the traditions and cultures of entire societies.” (Discourse to the Peoples of Asia by Saint John Paul II, February 21, 1981)
The meaning of the Chinese character for religion (宗敎) is primary teaching. Confucianism can be understood as a religion in that it places the teachings of Confucius first.
However, if we ask whether Confucianism corresponds to the Western concept of religion— it is not easy to affirm this. The Western idea of religion requires objects of worship, rituals, a system of doctrines, and organization, and it is difficult to see Confucianism as satisfying all of these conditions.
Confucianism also corresponds to the universal definition of religion: it is a human endeavor and aspiration toward ultimate reality. The fundamental spirit of Confucianism is ultimately to follow the will of Heaven in human life. In this respect, some points in Confucianism can be compared to the religious practices of Christianity.
Does Confucianism have objects of faith and worship and religious rituals?
“Asia is a continent where spirituality is highly respected and where religious sensibilities are deeply engraved....” (Address to the Peoples of Asia by Saint John Paul II, February 21, 1981)
Even if it does not conform to the Western concept of religion, Confucianistic ways are practiced with absolute belief. Confucianism's highest absolute being is ‘Cheon’ (天) (heaven). Originally, Cheon was a character with a single line drawn over the icon ‘대’ (big) (大) that represents a figure, meaning ‘the sky that looks down on humans from above’, i.e. the supreme and incomparable being.
The title that personally expresses this heaven is 'Sangje' or 'Shangdi'(上帝). In Korean, ‘Cheon’ corresponds to ‘heaven’ and Shangdi (should be translated as "Highest Deity", but also has the implied meaning of "Primordial Deity" or "First Deity" in Classical Chinese).
These are the most commonly used names of absolute beings in Confucian scriptures and traditions. Heaven and Shangdi are the origin of all things, objects of reverence, sacrifice, and prayer, and are intelligent beings with will and emotions, the masters of rewarding good and punishing evil, and the supreme gods who give and take the mandate of heaven to humans. Humans look up to Heaven and Shangdi and revere him (敬天). There are also rituals to show respect for Confucius. In Confucianism, Confucius is not considered a divine being or an object of faith like Jesus Christ, but rather a saint or sage, and is revered as an ethical teacher.
Name for ‘God’ in Korean—
“Developing ecclesial communities will be able to gradually express their Christian experience in original ways and forms, by the objective demands of faith and in keeping with their own cultural traditions, in the spirit of the Gospel.” (Redemptoris Missio, n. 53)
The Jesuits played an important role in the process of spreading Catholicism to the East. Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a founding member of the Society of Jesus, went to India and began missionary work in Japan in 1549 but died before being able to do missionary work in China. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), who arrived in China in 1583, realized the dream of Francis Xavier as a Jesuit and actively carried out Christian missionary work using Chinese culture, writing “The Reality of the Lord of Heaven” (天主實義). This book, which was introduced to Joseon (Korea), was read by the aristocratic class and played a major role in the birth of Korean Catholicism.
In Confucianism, Heaven was originally called Shangdi and was revered as a personal absolute being, but in the late 16th century, Neo-Confucianism was mainstream in China. Unlike classical Confucianism before the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period (before the 8th century BC), Neo-Confucianism was influenced by Taoism and Buddhism and had an atheistic tendency, so people at the time understood Heaven as an impersonal law of nature.
Matteo Ricci, in an attempt to introduce the personal God of Christianity to the Chinese, created the term ‘Cheonju’, meaning the ruler of all things in heaven and earth, while setting the Heaven (天) that they revere as the master or ruler (主). He also emphasized that Heaven and Shangdi, which appear in Confucian scriptures, are the same beings as the God of Christianity, Cheonju.
The expression ‘Cheonju’ for God and the ‘Catholic Church’ has continued to this day within Catholicism. The Catholic Church is also called the ‘Cheonju’ Church.
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