Group 7:
1. Confucianism is a way of life taught by Confucius in the 6th–5th century BCE.At times
confusionism was considered more of a philosophy than a religion. In china, and other authoriratain government’s in central Asia, there is a slight conflict into regarding Confucianism as a religion. Reasons for this include that Confucianism was established 2,500 years ago(a pretty long time) it was developed by dynasties. Due to it being developed from long time ago, some of the laws Confucianism provides does not follow modern day laws which is very hard for people to follow now a days. 2. Regarding violence,confusicismon opposes the idea of violence. Confusionism is a philosophy which leads into peace and harmony thus not causing any violence towards anyone. In Islam, violence is not opposed in any shape or size. Islam teaches one how to make peace upon others disregarding their religon. 
Group 6: Sections Research Group
1) After the death of Confucius, Confucianism was divided into 8 sects. The 8 sects were Mencius, Xunzi, Dong Zhongshu, Song Confucianism, Ming Confucianism, Korean Confucianism, Qing Confucianism, and Modern Confucianism. The belief system divided into branches because after Confucius stopped spreading his teachings, new people came along and interpreted his ideas differently, therefore making a new branch each time.
2) In the fourth century B.C., Mencius used the Confucian standards to teach that human nature was important and good for us. He was a student of Confucius. He also supported the idea to exercise the mind as well as the body. His beliefs were that if a person followed the ways of Confucius, they could live a good life. In the third century B.C., Xunzi was the next philosopher to think like Confucius. However, his beliefs were the opposite of what Mencius thought. He taught his followers that human nature is essentially evil. Something that was similar between Xunzi, Mencius and Confucius is that they all believed that education was important. However, Xunzi also differed from them because he believed in the importance of authority, social structure and intense scholastic work. He thought it would stop human nature from spreading too widely. In 179-104 B.C., Dong was very committed to education. Dong was also a student of Confucius. He didn’t believe that human nature was evil nor good. His beliefs were that people’s actions led to their consequences. In 960-1279, Song Confucianism used many of the scholar teachings of Confucian ideals. The men in this school believed in living a life of self-cultivation. Confucianism during the Song Dynasty was focused more on education, politics, literature and history than on promoting the powers of the military. In 1368-1644, the next Confucian school was started during the Ming Dynasty in China. They focused on trying to connect the mind to their actions and to the earth rather than the heavens. Moral idealism was an important belief for the Ming Confucians. The Ming Confucians thought that they should balance Confucianism with everyday life. Xu Heng taught Confucianism to the former by starting with the sons of Mongolian nobility. Because of his and others' work, Wang Yangming advocated using greater thought and meditation in a person's personal and vocational life. Confucianism is also a religion to many in Korea. Yi T’oegye (1501-1570), was an important scholar who stood out. Yi discussed how having a relationship with yourself is necessary for a good life. By the mid-17th century, Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty in China was becoming more politic-based. Dai Zhen, a Confucian philosopher, created the idea of the studies in the humanities. It didn’t relate to much of the spiritual and philosophic beliefs. Religion and politics in the West influenced the East at the start of the 19th century. One of the religions was Confucianism. China and Japan were both very important contributors to Modern Confucianism. They liked the idea of democracy and science. There were many protests led by student such as the May Fourth Movement. However, Confucianism, had been in Chinese culture for thousands of years and had not yet disappeared. Scholars today still use the teachings of Confucianism to their personal lives. This resulted in more difficult teachings and tests, which are relevant to education today. 3) There were eight main branches of Confucianism. These branches differentiated from the original belief system. The original belief of Confucianism involved respecting elders, having high morals and believing in the goodness of human nature. The branch, Mencius, practiced that people who lived as Confucius could not be corrupted by human temptations. This showed that this specific branch believed in living exactly as Confucius while the original belief involved living life and not being corrupted by power, riches and poverty. The branch, Xunzi, taught that human nature was evil, it was very different to the original belief system. It taught the importance of authority, social structure and education. This shows how Xunzi had different valued teachings that were completely opposite of the original belief system set by Confucius. The branch Dong Zhongshu focused on taking a neutral stance on human nature. Another large difference was the extreme focus on the five natural elements. Dong focused on Confucius's cosmological theory when using these elements. Song Confucianism was a collection of different Confucian beliefs. It however focused more on politics, literature and history. Ming Confucianism focused on uniting actions and thoughts with Earth rather than the Heavens. The branch Korean Confucianism focused on the intellectual teachings of Mencius, this caused it to be very different from the original belief system. Qing Confucianism was associated with politics rather than religion which was one main difference. A consequence of this was that through the spread of Confucius’s teachings it could not enrage the current emperor. This proves that each branch had certain aspects that drastically differentiated from the original set beliefs from Confucian. 4) Since each branch of confucianism was based of the original belief system they had many similarities. The Mencius branch believed human nature was essentially good. This related to the original set belief by Confucius because he believed human nature was good. The Xunzi branch taught the importance of education and its important values. The Dong Zhongshu branch taught education and valued being a great scholar. Song Confucianism taught self cultivation and education. Confucius specified the importance of education and being a spectacular scholar. Ming Confucianism taught how to balance the original beliefs of Confucianism with day to day life. Korean Confucianism taught Mencius’ concept of the four emotions and seven feelings. Qing Confucianism focused on scholarly lifestyles and philosophy and literature. This shows how the branches because they were based off of the original belief system had many similarities. 5) 6)Though there was never a large “divide” in the religion of Confucianism, the religion did eventually break into many branches over time. The different sects of Confucianism that now exist are Mencius, Xunzi, Dong Zhongshu, Song Confucianism, Ming Confucianism, Korean Confucianism, and Modern Confucianism. The Mencius divide happened when Mencius began to interpret and add to the original teachings of Confucius, and eventually, a new sect of the religion was founded. Xunzi disagreed with Mencius’ teachings, so he started his own sect of Confucianism, and his teachings opposed Mencius’. Dong Zhongshu took a more neutral stance and founded his own sect, basing his ideas off the five natural elements. The rest of the divides happened mostly because of changes in political leadership and ideologies. These changes most likely could not have been avoided because they didn’t harm the general idea of Confucianism, but actually made it so people could find a sect they completely agreed with, instead of following a religion they didn’t feel was completely correct. According to the article, “Confucianism”, “While there were differing interpretations of Confucianism and disagreements about its meaning, enduring sects with independent organizational structures never formed in the case of Confucianism.” Clearly. the division of Confucianism into sects could not have been avoided because people had different opinions and they chose to follow different sects. However, these divisions improved Confucianism instead of harming it by making it more appealing. GROUP 5 PRESENT DAY RESEARCH GROUP
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Group 4: Beliefs Research Group!
What are the values of the belief system? Describe and explain each value. There are three important values of the belief system which are filial piety, humaneness, and ritual. Filial piety is the most essential value that demands respect for your parents and to worship your ancestors. Since the older generation is supporting the younger generation the older generation earns the respect of the younger generation. This is needed to bring order in society. Humaneness is the second value of this belief system. Humaneness is the concern and care about other people, even if they are not part of your family. Confucius said "...The humane man, desiring to be established himself, seeks to establish others; desiring himself to succeed, he helps others to succeed. To judge others by what one knows of oneself is the method of achieving humanity...". If other person is in need, then another person should be able to help that person to function as humans together in a society. Ritual consciousness is the third and final virtue of the three Confucian values. Ritual consciousness is the proper ways of doing tasks in a more deeply thought way. Ritual are very important in Confucianism because it teaches people proper relationships with different people such as children, adults, and the elderly. There are many types of ritual that focuses on certain part of life like birth, capping(which is a coming of age ceremony for boys), marriage, and death. The point of rituals is to help during certain aspects of life that were stressed as necessary by Confucius.
Is there a central administration for the belief system? If yes, how is it organized?(Example: Catholicism is organized by the Pope.) Explain. Yes, there is a central administration for Confucianism. Confucianism is organized by qualified government officials. The first step for a Confucian wanting to be a government official he needs to become a scholar first.To earn a scholar you have to pass a test about Confucius’s teachings. Once the scholar has passed the test he will have to be a selected from a small group of highly educated scholars to become a government official. According to, afe.easia.columbia.edu, the website states, “ If he passed the examination, there was virtually only one career open to him, and that was to enter government service. Consequently, the government bureaucracy was composed of rigorously trained scholar-artists; conversely, poets and painters held official positions as powerful politicians.” This demonstrates how an educated scholar could do when he passes the test. Government officials administer Confucianism by showing good morals and enforcing education. 
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Group 3: Origins Research Group
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1. In approximately what year and place did this belief system originate?
Confucianism was founded by Confucius. He believed his teachings to be a way of life. This philosophy, or religion, originated in China. It was founded around 479 BCE. 3. Explain who is the supreme being(s) (if there is one)
There are no supreme beings of Confucianism. 
5. What is the symbol of the belief system? Explain why this symbol is used to represent the belief system.
Yin yang is the symbol for Confucianism. It symbolizes balance in nature between contradictory forces. Another symbol of Confucianism was the Confucian symbol. The Confucian symbol symbolizes total righteousness and harmony within yourself and others. The last symbol of belief of Confucianism was the Ideogram. The Ideogram symbolizes water and represents the source of life in Chinese philosophy. 6. How did this belief system spread to other regions?
The spread of Confucianism across East Asia was accomplished largely through voluntary and consensual means, rather than by conquest or conversion. 
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2. Who is the founder and how did the belief system originate? If there is no founder how did the belief system come about? Explain.
The founder of Confucianism was a Chinese philosopher named K'ung Fu-tzu or Confucius. Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E. He had a government job which he gave up to devote his life to teaching people how to behave.He believed that a society could become perfect, if the people who lived in it exhibited "beautiful conduct." Today over five million people, mostly in China and the Far East, practice Confucianism. Religious leaders:
4. Are there any religious leaders in general of the belief system? Explain their role, whether it be from the past or present.
There were two religious leaders including Confucius and Mencius. Confucius played an important role of being the founder Confucianism. This was an era of philosophical and religious creativity, and since then, Confucius has been more popular and influential than any other seminal philosophers of his era. “Mencius is now considered the second most important Confucian philosopher. However, during his era, he was more influential than Confucius himself because he taught influential noblemen and rulers. He helped develop the strain of Confucianism teaching that was much later adopted in the doctrines of Confucianism based on the idea that man is born innately good.” Work Cited Page:
"Confucianism." ChinaHighlights. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. (Question #4) "Confucianism - ReligionFacts." Confucianism - ReligionFacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. (Question #2) "Library." Exploration and Conquest. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015 (Question #6) "Symbols of Confucianism - The Six Major Religions." Symbols of Confucianism - The Six Major Religions. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. (Question #5) "When Did Confucianism Begin?" About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. (Question #1) |
Group 2: Art Group
Group 1: Music Video Group
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