An Analysis about the Transformation of the Religiousness of the Idea of "Heaven" in Analects

Abstract

Carrying on the exploration of the religiousness of Confucianism in the writer's previous articles, here we reflect on the religiousness of the idea of "heaven" in Analects and re-examine particularly the view that such religiousness has been eliminated after Confucius's idea of "heaven" was humanized. This article is meant to consider whether "heaven" could preserve both its humanistic and religious attributes after the idea of heaven from Analects was transformed from a personal god to a principle of humanism. Such religiousness, or latent primeval religious feelings, is just infiltrated into other important concepts in Analects after being transformed by Confucius. Accordingly, the question consciousness of this article is primarily to review what are the other important concepts (such as tao or benevolence) from Analects that carry on the primeval humanity's need for religious feelings, while these concepts help fulfilling humanity's primeval need for religion after the idea of heaven was humanized and provide people with the religious guidance and cultivation procedure, which is what this article is intended to explore through analyzing the transformation of the religiousness of the idea of "heaven" in Analects.