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Concept
Confucian church
Summary
The Confucian church ( or ) is a Confucian religious and social institution of the congregational type. It was first proposed by Kang Youwei (1858–1927) near the end of the 19th century, as a state religion of Qing China following a European model.
The "Confucian church" model was later replicated by overseas Chinese communities, who established independent Confucian churches active at the local level, especially in Indonesia and the United States.
There has been a revival of Confucianism in contemporary China since around 2000, which has triggered the proliferation of Confucian academies (); the opening and reopening of temples of Confucius; the new phenomenon of grassroots Confucian communities or congregations (); and renewed talks about a national "Confucian church". With the participation of many Confucian leaders, a national Church of Confucius () was established on November 1, 2015; its current spiritual leader is Jiang Qing.
The idea of a "Confucian Church" as the state religion of China was proposed in detail by Kang Youwei as part of an early New Confucian effort to revive the social relevance of Confucianism. The idea was proposed at a time when Confucianism was not institutionalized, after the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the Chinese empire. Kang modeled his ideal "Confucian Church" after European national Christian churches—hierarchical and centralised institutions closely bound to the state, with local church branches, Sunday prayers and choirs, missions, journals, and even baptisms, devoted to the worship and the spread of the teachings of Confucius.
The large community of Confucian literati—who were left without an organization or an outlet for their rituals, values, and identity after the dissolution of state Confucianism, supported such projects. Similar models were also adopted by various newly created Confucian folk religious sects, such as the Xixinshe, the Daode Xueshe, and the Wanguo Daodehui.
The Confucian Church was founded in 1912 by a disciple of Kang, Chen Huanzhang, and within a few years it established 132 branches in China.
Official source
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