Confucianism

Confucianism
Family	East Asian / Chinese
Origin region	China
Founding period	6th-5th century BCE and later classical development
Estimated adherents	Often counted as a philosophy, ethical-religious tradition, or civilizational system rather than a membership religion.

Confucianism is An East Asian ethical, ritual, and social tradition associated with Confucius, focused on humane conduct, learning, family, and social harmony.

Overview

Confucianism has shaped Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and global East Asian cultures. It emphasizes moral cultivation, ritual propriety, filial piety, humane governance, education, and reverence for ancestors and sages.

Key beliefs

• Ren or humane goodness
• Li or ritual propriety
• Xiao or filial piety
• Moral cultivation through learning
• Harmony between family, society, and cosmos

Practices

• Ancestor rites
• Study of classics
• Ritual observance
• Ethical self-cultivation
• Commemoration of Confucius and sages

Places of worship

• Confucian temple
• Ancestral hall
• Family altar

Sacred texts

• Analects
• Mencius
• Great Learning
• Doctrine of the Mean
• Five Classics

Holidays and observances

• Confucius birthday commemorations
• Ancestor observances
• Local ritual calendars

Branches and related traditions

• Classical Confucianism - Teachings associated with Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and early classical texts.
• Neo-Confucianism - Song dynasty and later developments integrating metaphysics, self-cultivation, and social ethics.
• New Confucianism - Modern intellectual movements reinterpreting Confucian thought for contemporary life.

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion