“Boston Confucianism”

Abstract “Boston Confucianism” begins with an unusual orientation to the Confucian tradition: it starts with what is currently worthwhile. After a brief survey of Confucianism in the contemporary West, it addresses the question of whether Confucianism is a religion. The chapter argues that it is a religion because it has from very early onward had concepts and symbols about what is ultimate, existential demands that determine when individuals are in ultimate perspective, and practices of life, albeit various, for living relative to ultimacy. The main body of the chapter treats six related topics: an ontology of spontaneity, continuity across the board, the roles of ritual in building civilized structures, the self-cultivation of individuals in a new sense, the social role of scholar-officials, and, briefly, the spread of Confucianism beyond East Asia. “Boston Confucianism,” of course, is a joke.