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Synopsis :

In this forum on Moral and Religious Education and Confucian Ethics, the speakers discuss the question of whether Confucianism is a religion or a philosophy. One of them suggests that an ideology is religious when it makes reference to a transcendent reality. Defined that way, Confucianism would qualify under the category of religion. However, others argue that if Confucianism is a religion, so are Plato or Aristotle's philosophies. Confucius did not claim anywhere that Confucianism is a religion. A philosopher in China once suggested that Confucianism is a religion, but his idea was turned down. There are grounds which suggest that it is not a religion like the absence of leadership and discipleship in the form of monks or nuns. Besides, Confucian literature is not regarded as holy literature. The speakers feel that it is not possible to teach people to be committed to values and practise them. People need to internalise values. The more unconscious the moral education programme in schools, the more effective it will be. It is good to have a moral upbringing of an unconscious kind where people assimilate virtues and become a moral being. The best people are those who do good without knowing they are doing good. In subjects taught in school like science or literature, students have to be committed to honesty, integrity, care for evidence and justice. All these are promoted in an unwitting sort of way.