Some Methodological Thoughtson Defining Confucianism in Terms of Religion

Abstract

This thesis investigates some of the methodological problems in defining Confucianism in terms of religion with regard to the pragmatic turn in Western academies of religious studies and reflects on the significance of the controversy about Confucian religiosity in Chinese academies. It argues that the epistemology of the question on Confucian religiosity is not so much about the “essence” of Confucianism per se as about the integrity of conceptualizing Confucianism with regard to the modern category of religion. It proposes that a solid methodological attitude be adopted in trans-culturing the Western concept of religion into the Chinese context, including both a cross-cultural critique of the etymology of religion (zongjiao) and a paradigmatic critique of the Chinese terms rujia, rujiao, and ruxue which correspond to “Confucianism” in Western languages.