The Political and Economic Effects of Confucianism

There are many differences in the way Buddhism and Confucianism affected the Chinese government. Although they are alike in some ways. For example, Buddhists believed in peace and safety for all, and so did Confucianists. To further understand this subject, one must analyze all aspects of the religions' governments, from Political, to social and economic effects of their beliefs.

Firstly, the social impact of both religions are both long lasting, and big. Confucianism and Buddhism both believed that all people should treat eachother like they would like to be treated, because in the end, only god is the one who judges, although, Confucianism believed that all people are reincarnated until they complete a journey to nirvana, which is like a blissful purgatory. And Buddhism is very much like that, for example, if your karma is high enough, you get to go to the afterlife, which is heaven in other religions. For as long as people can remember, Buddhism and Confucianism have been around since their respective birth dates, and have made a lasting impression on all of China socially.

Now to the political impacts of the two religions. Confucianism promoted people by merit, or how well you do your job. So the people who were good at what they do got promoted, and the people who couldn't do anything in their line of work were demoted or not put in any important places in the govt. Buddhism believed in democracy, which means that they voted whoever they wanted into power, much like what most nations are like today. Although, Confucianism was a slight oppressive society, if you would sum Confucius' teachings, you would come up with the phrase "obey" which Buddhism is not, Buddhism thinks of everybody as a free spirit that can do what they want, and make their own path in life.

The economic teachings of both religions are fairly straight forward, in Confucianism, money wasn't a very big thing, it was mostly education that was a big deal, for example, confucious even said, "By nature, men are pretty much alike. It is learning and practice that set them apart." Buddhism believes that the economy relies on the psychology of the human mind, and how it is affected by anxiety and emotions that help decisions between humans.

As you can see, Buddhism and Confucianism are very much alike, but also very different in certain aspects, and they have come a long way from being small groups of people, to huge dynasties, to now, just worldly renown religions that everybody knows about, and millions of people still follow them. Perhaps many small nations use the religions as a reference point on how to command their country, or maybe the religions will die out eventually.