There have been many attempts to define religion in more culturallyneutral ways. Scriptures comprise a large part of the literature of the world. List of founders of religious traditions wikipedia. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life, confucianism developed from what was later called the hundred schools of thought from the teachings of the chinese philosopher confucius 551479 bce.
It was founded in china and then was taught also in vietnam, japan, korea. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy, sometimes as a religion, confucianism is perhaps best understood as an allencompassing humanism that is compatible with other forms of religion. Study 217 terms human geography flashcards quizlet. They are split into two groups, the four books and the five classics.
A comparative survey of churches and religions ad 30 to 2200, there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones. The main divisions of christianity are, according to the number of adherents. The philosophy and religion of confucianism uphold nine different works as its canonical texts, known as the four books and five classics. But after all the evidence is weighed and the data evaluated, the bible is not one of the many holy books it is the holy book. The development of confucian religion khong kauw kongjiao in java is a good. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book for each. The torah which is the first five books of the old testament or the pentateuch. The buddhas teachings were preserved in the pali canon, which acts as an extensive analytical record written in pali, the buddhas native dialect. I would say, however, that i wish that it were a bit longer and more detailedit is definitely for the complete beginner more than one wanting a handbook of sorts. Taoism, which has close links with folk religion, entered taiwan in the mid17th century and has up to 3,000,000 followers. Other books, including older versions of the encyclopedia britannica, have listed chinese religionists under taoism. Nonchinese followers of confucius and confucianism, mostly koreans in korea.
This is a list of religious populations by number of adherents and countries. World religions religion research guides at pacific. For example, on 2009sep28, wikianswers responded differently to two almost identical questions submitted by their visitors. The bible is one of many holy books among the eastern and western religions. Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. Religion is a particularly good example of the tension between globalization and local diversity because a. Role of confucianism confucianism, the teachings of confucius during 500 bc, has played an important role in forming chinese character, behavior and way of living.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Sep 15, 20 answer 1 as published worldwide, number of confucianism followers in the world as of 2009 is more than 6 million people around 0. Sep 12, 2019 filial piety in confucianism and islam. People who practice confucianism today do so secretly, and its number of. Korean confucianism project gutenberg selfpublishing. Although many chinese consider it to be a religion on the pattern of other divinely. Scripture, also called sacred scripture, the revered texts, or holy writ, of the worlds religions. Confucianism, also known as ruism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient.
Confucianism is an ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the chinese philosopher confucius kong fuzi, or kungfutzu, lit. How many followers of confucianism are in the world answers. From zhu xis time to our own, particular stress has been placed on the four books as the most central part of the canon, as well as the place for students to begin their lifelong study of it. Confucianism rujiao is a way of life taught by confucius kong fuzi in china in the 6th5th century bce and the rituals and traditions associated with him.
Most of these postdate confucius, and the first of the books is the analects, the. Confucianism, four texts as containing the central ideas of confucian thought. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book for. Migrants usually leave their religion behind when they migrate to a new area. Confucianism, buddhism, ethnic creeds, and popular religion and adapted many of their features. List of religious populations news newspapers books scholar jstor october 2018 learn how and when to remove this template message. For more than two thousand years, daoism has evolved in close interaction with the other major traditions of china confucianism, buddhism, ethnic creeds, and popular religion and adapted many of their features. Mencius also spelled mengzi or mengtzu, a book of his conversations with kings of the time, is one of the four books which form the core of orthodox confucian thinking. In the 12th century, zhu xi codified the sacred texts of confucianism, calling them simply the four books. Yet, one of the most well know and most followed would be the analects. People who practice confucianism today do so secretly, and its number of adherents is estimated at some 5 or 6 million.
In older world religion books the estimates of the total number of adherents of confucianism range up to 350 million. While china has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Korean confucianism is the form of confucianism that emerged and developed in korea. The world religions series facts on file is more engaging with better layouts and higher print quality. Many of our children here in the indies, said sin po, are either studying in. Confucianism as a religion is now practiced by five million people, most of them in asia. While many people in china and other asian countries may not claim to be. In modern times the four books are usually filled out by the classic of filial piety, item 9. A final key religion in the world today is confucianism, which reigned in china for centuries but was officially abolished in 1949 after the chinese revolution ended in communist control. These books are the book of history, the book of poetry, the book of changes, the book of rites, and the spring and autumn annals. Mencius interpretation of confucianism has generally been considered the orthodox version by subsequent chinese philosophers, especially the neoconfucians of the song dynasty. The state of religion in china council on foreign relations. For spiritism, the quintessential books are the ones by allan kardec.
This chart shows current confucianism followers by country. Number of adherents of confucianism a knowledge archive. It is common to see that taiwan folk deity goddess of the sea matsu and the buddhist goddess of mercy kuanyin are worshipped in the same temple or even home. If buddhism began in india, why is it all over some many eastern countries. Sep, 2011 neo confucianism was a combination of the three major philosophiesreligions confucianism, taoism, and buddhism that it was popular and stood out to many followers. After buddhas death, some of his followers had some differences of opinion which eventually led to their breaking away and forming separate kinds of buddhism. The five largest religions in order of number of adherents are a. The word confucianism implies the existence of a philosophy, a religion, or a worldview that goes by the name. Ap human geography chapter 6 religion flashcards quizlet.
Jun 05, 2008 why do people believe these books are holy when they are really books of cultral knowledge. I thought that jennifer oldstonemoores confucianism was a useful, beginning guide to understanding the origins and background of the religious tradition of confucianism. Major religions of the world ranked by number of adherents. Estimates of the number of adherents of confucianism vary over a range of almost 60 times. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books.
Please submit questions, suggestions, comments, corrections, etc. Confucianism is a religious and philosophical tradition dating. It also lists those who have founded a specific major denomination within a larger religion. Early christianity rejected many of the social, cultural, and religious. Major world religions populations pie chart statistics list. The catholic church, led by the bishop of rome and the bishops worldwide in communion with him, is a communion of 24 churches sui iuris, including the latin church and 23 eastern catholic churches, such as the maronite catholic church.
Library of world religions and faith traditions patheos. Informations in holy books are, according to the followers, are truth and final for them. Guo 1995 its primary purpose is to achieve harmony, the most important social value. Start studying chapter six religion test questions. Worldwide adherents of all religions by six continental areas, mid2010. Confucianism holy sites include the school of scholars, the teaching of scholars, and the study of the scholars teaching of confucius. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity.
The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Many of these confucians suffered and sometimes died because of their. Other books, including older versions of the encyclopedia britannica, have listed chinese religionists under taoism, with adherent estimates up to about 200 million. There are a number of books written by different spritualists, which adherents may take as guidance. It is significant because it expresses many themes of chinese philosophy and political. The people that practice confucianism call their scriptures, analects lunyu, the five classics wujing, and the four books sishu.
What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book. Confucianism was really not a religion, but an ethical system, although there were religious overtones in it. Confucius was primarily known in china for giving moral advice to the leaders of the country. Confucianism, also known as ruism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient china. Hence, it is difficult to establish how many adherents confucianism or taoism have, or whether they can be classified as separate religions at all. Scripture, the revered texts, or holy writ, of the worlds religions. Mar 23, 2020 provide an overview of major religious traditions and their role in politics and society around the world. Confucianists revere a quartet of ancient texts, known simply as the four books. Confucianism, it must be said, is not a religion in a strict sense.
The hebrew scriptures, referred to by christians as the old testament, are called the tanakh, which is the hebrew acronym for the three different parts. Illustrated encyclopedia of confucianism call number. The books, while generously illustrated, contain a number of photos and reproductions that are either faded, dark, or do not offer enough contrast. Bible although opinion varies on how many books are included. Yet some independent reports suggest the number of religious adherents in china is far larger and is steadily. The texts of the faith and its most important creeds were codified in the 300s ce. There are approximately 6 million adherents of confucianism all over the world.
Confucianism is an east asian school of ethical, philosophical, and more contentiously religious thought originally developed from the teachings of the early chinese sage confucius 551 479 b. Taoistsconfucianists chinese traditional religionists. They were selected by zhu xi in the song dynasty to serve as general introduction to confucian thought, and they were, in the ming and qing dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service. According to david barrett et al, editors of the world christian encyclopedia.
Cultural knowledge becomes individual, group and social law. Major religions of the world ranked by number of adherents last modified 6 september 2002. Answer 1 as published worldwide, number of confucianism followers in the world as of 2009 is more than 6 million people around 0. Confucian ideas or attributes are assumed to have roots in ancient china, to be part of the common heritage of people of chinese ancestry in other parts of the world, and to be shared by the peoples of korea, japan, and vietnam, who have been heavily influenced by. The number of muslims in america varies from 1 to 5 million, but the number has increased from a few hundred thousand in 1990.
Confucius, a title meaning master, wrote in the fifth century b. Pali is considered the classical language of buddhism, and. I see no good in judaism, christianity, or islam good people, yes, but any religion based on a single, well, frenzied and virulent god, is not as useful to the human race as, say, confucianism, which is not a religion but an ethical and educational system. There are two main groups of sacred writings that people of the confucianism religion follow. Buddhism 376 million followers tripitaka pali canon 5.
In my last blog entry, i continued to ask or perhaps dance around the simple question. What are the major rituals, holy days, garments, ceremonies and symbols. Confucianism includes nonchinese followers of confucius and confucianism, mostly koreans in korea. Today the legacy of confucianism remains a fundamental part of korean society, shaping the moral system. Riley falk, iman ibrahim, ramesh karki, and theo groelle what do the followers call their scriptures or holy books. Xinzhong yao notes that in many of these temples there was an inscription. Nov 01, 2017 familiar with the notorious and lengthy debates about whether confucianism is a religion and the struggles of indonesian adherents of confucianism to defend their faith, i kept wondering whether the representation of the qilin was an affirmation that confucius was a prophet who received divine blessings, like jesus or muhammad. Mar 15, 20 religion nearly 86% of the worlds population is religious, including all religions.
Uighur men leave a mosque following the eid prayers in kashgar. In the 1970s the emphasis shifted toward the teachings of the sikh tradition of the punjab, and the movement became known as the sikh dharma brotherhood. To the present day, daoism consists of a multiplicity of beliefs and practices, and continues to develop, as it has for the past. Neoconfucianism was a combination of the three major philosophiesreligions confucianism, taoism, and buddhism that it was popular and stood out to many followers. This article is an attempt to compare the teachings of confucius and islam, specifically the four books, which are authoritative works on confucius, and the original sources of islam, quran and sunnah. Since most adherents acknowledge the existence of deities, they are often grouped together with the general background of chinese folk religion, with around 400m adherents in total. Religion in historical and crosscultural perspective. Religion is an organized collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Interestingly, many people have tried to assess whatever common ground there might be between the major world religions not so much in terms of their founding prophetic figures or their revered holy books but moreso in terms of an identifiable commonality of their respective spiritual teachings. Written by the worlds leading authorities on religion and spirituality, the patheos library offers the most accurate and balanced information available on the web. However, the four books, are considered the closest we come to the original teaching of confucious. The great learning, the analects of confucius, the book of mencius and the doctrine of the mean. It has been established that none of them has been written by confucious kungtzu, 551479 b. People who practice confucianism in china today do so secretly, and its number of adherents is estimated at some 5 or 6 million.
Confucianism is depending on ones perspective either a religion, philosophical movement, cultural way of life, or governmental system. Examining the early texts upon which confucianism is founded, there is no. Confucianism was founded by confucius in around 500 b. The books and web resources on this page should provide you with background information on your topic. They vary greatly in form, volume, age, and degree of sacredness. Confucianism is categorized as pantheistic meaning they have unknown gods and is an ethnic religion. He wrote deeply, mostly about individual morality and ethics, and the proper use of political power by the rulers of the world. Hence, it is difficult to establish how many adherents confucianism or taoism have, or whether they can be classified. It is important to know the fact that confucianism has been followed by the chinese for more than two millennia. The four books is a collection of confucian root texts. I regard monotheism as the greatest disaster ever to befall the human race.
This article lists historical figures credited with founding religions or religious philosophies or people who first codified older known religious traditions. In numerous countries, religion guides social behavior and plays a significant role in daily life. The four books and five classics are the authoritative books of confucianism in china written. For many, but not all religions, this is given some form of agency and. To the present day, daoism consists of a multiplicity of beliefs and practices, and continues to develop, as it has for the past millennia, through the interaction. One of the most substantial influences in korean intellectual history was the introduction of confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from china. Books videos music posters we are always striving to increase the accuracy and usefulness of our website. His amerian followers were organized into religious communes which yogi bhajan called the happyhealthyholy organization 3ho. Classic of poetry or book of songs is the earliest anthology of chinese. According to yale university, the sacred texts of confucianism are five books that legend states confucius wrote.