Confucianism

Confucian ethics are at the core of East Asian culture. Today with the rapid Westernization of Asia many are discarding Confucian values and codes; nevertheless for thousands of years its moral philosophy has guided family life and molded the conduct of kings with the values of benevolence, righteousness and propriety. Father Moon has high regard for Confucian moral teachings; he calls them “close to the laws of Heaven.” The Confucian Five Relations of parents and children, ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder and younger siblings, and among friends define what he believes is a superior ethic for all humanity.

Father Moon holds that God inspired Confucianism. He affirms that in its concept of Heaven, Confucianism presents a notion of God, however vague. Confucianism’s weakness, he explains, is its vague understanding of God (Heaven) and as a consequence its inability to properly link Heaven and earth in daily life. Then, with profound insight, he proceeds to offer a solution that utilizes the best of Confucianism: The relationship between God and human beings is a parent-child relationship, and its ethic is one of Confucian filial piety. In other words, we should attend God as we would our own parents, and the Confucian ethic supplies the best description as to what that attendance requires.