Ancient Chinese Confucianism is being confronted by Christianity as conflict arises over a Christian church looking to expand in a region that is known as Confucius’ hometown.
TIME.com reports that Confucius’ hometown of Qufu in eastern China’s
Shandong province has long been a bastion of ancient Chinese
spirituality. Though China’s Communist party has tried to eradicate
religion in the past, Confucianism is seeing a rebirth in China, just as
many Christians are being persecuted and their churches demolished.
The presence of a Christian church less than two miles from Qufu’s main Confucian temple is currently sparking debate.
One prominent Confucian scholar, Zeng Zhenyu, believes that a Christian
church has no place so close to the sacred spot of Confucius’ hometown.
“Qufu in China is like Jerusalem and Mecca,” Zeng, a professor at
Shandong University’s Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies, told
TIME. “It’s the Chinese people’s spiritual home.”
You can build churches in other places,” he continued. “But you can’t
build them in Qufu, an iconic and holy spiritual place for the Chinese
people.”
Others, however, such as neo-Confucian Chen Ming, believe that Confucian philosophy welcomes all with peace.
“It’s inappropriate to escalate the dispute into a conflict between
Confucianism and Christianity, like a clash of civilizations,” he told
TIME.
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