Confucianism: A Religion Essay

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"Study the past, if you would divine the future."-Confucius. The ideas of Confucianism, a system of philosophical and ethical teachings originally taught by Confucius, are now found throughout the world, embedded into cultures and hammered into many minds. Today, there are 630,000 and growing numbers of people following Confucius' thoughts, but in the past, it was not so. The teachings of Confucius have taken a long time to become what they are now, starting with its origins, and eventually the sacred texts and key beliefs, resulting in rewarding effects on society.
The history and roots of Confucianism came from a long time ago, in the sixth to fifth centuries B.C. Early Confucianism was simply a set of rules thought up mainly by a single person named Kong-fu-zi regarding the simple aspects of life, mainly for the purposes of giving rise to restoring order in Chinese society. Over time, these "rules", or rather practices, went from forced habits to form its own religion. This was a result of the snowball effect- as more and more thinkers began to catch on to these rules, they added their own idea, just like adding snow on to a snowball, and the thinkers' ideas were accepted and became a part of the religion. One of these thinkers, Kong-fu-zi, or better known by the outside world as "Confucius", was one of the most significant Confucianism-related scholars, and is often regarded as the founder of Confucianism.
As with any other religion, Confucianism has its own religious texts, most of which are considered "sacred". A great deal of Confucianism's religious texts were composed hundreds of years ago, with the two most famous being The Analects, written by Confucius' students, and the writings of Mencius, one of Confucius's follo...

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...re respect was paid to elders and people in higher classes, so there was pandemonium in society. Everyone improved in their actions, for Confucius had once stated that people must set examples for others that were of lower classes or younger in age. Kings were to set example for his people, his people to set examples for other people, and they were to set examples for the younger generations. In short, society was influenced by Confucius' teachings and beliefs.
In conclusion, the long journey upon which Confucianism has traveled over centuries of time and hundreds of little changes has made it become what it is today. From its ancient beginnings to the precious sacred texts and everchanging beliefs to the great influences Confucianism had on society, Confucianism's efforts have not been denied, and it will remain one of the world's most special religions forever.

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