The concept of civil religion today acquires great significance for Chinese society. Confucianism is the subject of active discussions about the civil religion in China. Confucianism underlies the basic identities of Chinese society, it’s the core for future transformations and upgrades. Despite the anti-Confucian campaigns of the twentieth century, Confucianism is alive at the level of human relations and in the way of life of the Chinese. The prospects for the formation of the Chinese civil religion are in the plane of personal ethics and morality. Civil religion exists in the norms of behavior, habits and moral consciousness of people. Taking into account the characteristics of Confucian religiosity, in Chinese civil religion the sacrality of the social unity of the people is based on the “superhumanistic” nature of values and duty of everyone to respond to the call of the transcendent (Heaven). Building civil society in China, based on traditional Confucian concepts, not only ensures the continuity of generations and the legitimacy of political power, but can also be seen as the transcendent goal of all political processes.
Keywords: civil religion, Confucianism, Confucian religiousness, Confucian civil religion, China
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2019.4.55-64
About the author
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Marina A. Khaymurzina – PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor at Chinese Study Department of the Amur State University; 21 Ignatyevskoe Shosse, Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, Russia, 675027; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |