Is Confucianism technically considered atheistic?

Xiaoming Guo
Dec 13, 2023

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Q: Is Confucianism technically considered atheistic?

A:

I would say Confucianism should be best considered as Humanism because the deity is irrelevant to Confucius. Human is in the center of the universe according to Confucianism. Confucianism addresses issues of human society without resorting to supernatural beings, such as magic, miracles, omens, prophets, messiahs, creators, etc. In Confucianism, Human is always the subject of all actions while all universe including supernatural beings are objects to be manipulated by human will.

In contrast, monotheism considers only God has the will and is the subject of all actions. Human is considered an object of God. Human has no will because all is within the plan of God.

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Xiaoming Guo
Xiaoming Guo

Written by Xiaoming Guo

Ph.D. from McGill University. MBA from Queen’s University. A patriot Canadian believes that a good relationship with China serves our best national interest.

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