Similarities Between Christianity And Confucianism

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At first glance, Christian doctrine and Chinese Confucianism have no similarities that are worth mentioning. However, in the sixteenth century Jesuit missionaries attempted to convert the Chinese people by finding similarities between Confucianism and Christianity. These similarities applied to traditional forms of Confucianism, as opposed to Neo-Confucianism. The most prominent Jesuit missionary of this time was Matteo Ricci. Ricci was the first European to be granted access to the Forbidden City in Beijing, this was due to his sincere dedication to Chinese culture and his understanding of its importance. Ricci argued that traditional forms of Confucianism were not in opposition to Christianity but strikingly similar. Ricci’s claims were met with fierce opposition from Catholicism, this rift between different factions of Christianity would, eventually, cause the persecution of Christianity in China. The Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus, was established in 1540. This Society is a faction of Roman Catholicism; however, they are distinguished by their devotion to education and the liberal thinking of those within the order. The Jesuits systematically provided schools and began to occupy positions within the secular world in a way that no other faction of Christianity had done so far. This allowed Jesuits to…show more content…
When Ricci arrived in China, he possessed a genuine interest in Chinese culture, religion and language. While his foremost objective was to convert the Chinese people to Christianity, he did not believe that they should renounce their traditions and ideals. He believed that Christianity could be blended into Chinese culture. This thought process was revolutionary, and because of that, he was met with fierce opposition from his own

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