Confucianism

It is widely acknowledged that Confucianism has a dominant influence in Chinese culture. But what is religion in the Chinese context? Chinese scholars writing in Chinese generally see Confucianism (ruxueorrujiathinking) as a school of Chinese philosophy, and the question of whether Confucianism is a religion or not does not arise. Western scholars on religion, however, often regard Confucianism as a religion. Indeed, Weber's famous work on Chinese religion is entitledThe Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism(Weber 1951). It is worth noting that, historically, Chinese do not make a clear distinction between moral teaching and the western concept of religious teaching, these being referred to asjiaoor “teaching.” Thus,sanjiao, referring to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, is better translated as “three teachings” rather than as “three religions,” for in the Chinese understanding ofjiao, it is not an important issue whether Confucianism is a religion or not.