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tem, formulated by K’ung Tzu (551-479 BC), otherwise known in the
West as Confucius 131 , does not make any reference to matters of reli-
gious substance, death or the hereafter. In time it evolved into a false

religion that spread across the Far East.
Confucius was born in China’s Shangtung province and lived five
centuries before Christ’s birth during the reign of the Chou Dynasty (BD
1027-256). His primary aim was to revive the ethical values of the initial
period of the Chou dynasty because according to him, this was the
“golden era” of the ruling dynasty. He believed that reviving these val-
ues was the only way of ensuring Chinese unity. For this reason he
chose to reform and systemize the various beliefs, tra-
ditions and rituals that had dominated China for cen-
turies rather than formulating a new system from
scratch. The system he formulated focused on the
social order. It regulated interfamilial relations,
teacher-student relations, and sought to place the
citizen-state relations on a sound footing.

However, whilst he was realizing his am-
bition, he also reintroduced many pagan
practices from ancient superstitious reli-
gions like reverence of ancestors, mak-
ing offerings to them and considering
women as second class citizens.
There were other perverted practices
he inherited from pagan religions ex-
isting in China that were not based on
Divine revelations. As there was no
concept of life in the hereafter,
Judgment Day, fate, hell and paradise

Confucius