Mohamed Ali
HUM/RELS 201 – 002
Professor Jason Sprague
3 December 2019
Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto
In this essay, we will look at the similarities and differences that Shinto shares with
Daoism and Confucianism. We will also look at what ultimate reality is, how we should live in
this world, and what is ultimate purpose is in each religion. Daoism, Confucianism and Shinto’s
three religions are located within Eastern Asian. The Shinto religion was practiced by both
Daoism and Confucianism with many religious, academic and ethical facets. Through modern-
day celebrations, lectures, and social changes and developments, we see these parallels in the
current day. Although the three faiths have many parallels, there are many variations as well.
What is ultimate reality in Confucianism and Daoism? Confucianism and Daoism
perpetuate the same cosmological theory that ancient China had inherited. The natural world is
not in a state of decline. There is no all-powerful creator and no evil equivalent. There’s no
definitive future launch, and there’s no foretold finish. Rather, the universe is cyclically evolving
and behaving like a pendulum, emerging from two poles and rotating between two opposing yet
complementing opposites. Human beings are not trapped in a battle struggle between good and
evil, and the side they pick does not end in a heaven or hell eternal fate. The focus is on peace,
coexistence, and harmony. Tian (Neo-Confucians also use the word Taiji, Absolute Ultimate) is
the ultimate reality for the Confucians. Tian is the worlds ‘ pro-creator and all the innumerable
things in it. Tian also has a special relationship with humans and communicates his great design
for humanity with selected individuals. This communication does not take place in Abrahamic
traditions through dramatic and ecstatic encounters like that between god and prophets. Rather,
by their keen observation of nature and careful review of human affairs as documented in history
and implemented in the present, Tian’s meaning is discerned by perceptive and articulate human
representatives. In this way, Confucianism is not, in the conventional sense, a revelatory faith.
Daoism, on the other hand, is a revelatory religion in its organized form. The Dao, the “mother of
the universe,” is its ultimate reality. Originally formless and undifferentiated, it later takes on
human and divine forms, giving instructions to the faithful and revealing texts. In his message,
Daoism can also be salvific, along with prescriptions for repentance and thanksgiving.
How should we live in Confucianism and Daoism? The ancient Chinese religious view of
the human condition has been inherited by both Confucianism and Daoism: humans, like
