Chinese Religion: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism

China has a 4,000 year recorded history and is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. We will take a look at three main religious themes in China’s history. Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have played major roles in the development of Chinese civilization. Each has held a predominant position at some point in Chinese history and each has had its followers. Taoism and Confucianism were the primary religions in China’s early history. Buddhism later spread to China and established a large following. While Taoism and Confucianism are largely philosophical, ethics based codes of living, Buddhism has a deeper spiritual aspect. Buddhism’s spiritual ties along with its relative simplicity of approach and practice and similarities to Taoism and Confucianism allowed the religion to gain a strong foothold in China.
Confucianism has been mainstream Chinese philosophy for over two thousand years. It was a primary religion for the Chinese people. Many hold that Confucianism...