Mengzian Confucianism Religion

Mengzian Confucianism is a Religion

There are several definitions of religion but there is a meeting point among all these definitions. The meeting point is that religion deals with the patterns of behavior among people and thus tries to affect the behavior of people in relation to the values that religion provides. Religion must thereby involve the instilment of values among people whereby the people then use these values to try and live up to certain standards. The more one is involved with or follows religion, the more that he or she can be said to be religious. Religion thereby affects the way of life of a person by providing a certain guideline or route through which one should live. Religion serves as a guide for people within society

Everyone would want to live according to the way that he or she sees fit which would most likely put the lives of other persons in danger. It is for this reason that religion is considered an even more powerful form of society control than even the government. Religion performs a bigger role than the government in that it makes people fearful of living contrary to the religious values provided since they know that the punishment that this attracts is even bigger than perhaps what the government may do in terms of punishment. Although religions such as Islam, Hindu and Christianity are well recognized and appreciated world wide as forms of religion, there are other religions that are not as well appreciated and recognized. It is mainly because people do not feel that these religions satisfy certain aspects that are common with most religions. Mengzian Confucianism is one of these practices that are not appreciated worldwide as a religion but a close analysis of the practice shows that it qualifies

Virtues and values are crucial to the achievement of social order because they prevent people from acting in just any manner they deem fit. Whereas the modern societies lay claim to having or providing freedom to the people to do whatever they see fit as long as the actions are legal, there are certain actions that are not illegal and at the same time not morally upright. Religion thereby provides a means through which the society can control the behavior of its members through adhering to values and virtues. Mengzian Confucianism teaches people the values and virtues that they need to live by in order to avoid the creation of social disorder within the society. In the ancient times especially, Mengzian Confucianism was crucial in the maintenance of social order in china since people had a system that ensured that everyone would live according to certain rules set by the Mengzian Confucianism. According to Norden, Mengzi believed that social order was only possible if a sage came to power and rule only through virtue instead of coercion (3). It shows that Mengzi had a high belief in the values and virtues that guided the society as was common with the whole Mengzian Confucianism. The strict adherence to virtues and values rhymes well with the belief system of every religion. Every religion has to have some values and virtues