Modernization, Globalization, and Confucianism in Chinese Societies

(Hardback)

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Confucianism has influenced Chinese societies for more than 2,000 years, and such influence is likely to continue in the future. However, during the preceding centuries, the nature of what was understood to be Confucianism has changed, and this process will also continue. Today, the scholarly tradition is adapting both to the modernization of Chinese societiesmainland China, Singapore, and Taiwanand to the emergence of global society. Tamney and Chiang focus on current social changes, their implications for the Chinese scholarly tradition, and the responses of Confucianists to these changes. Special topics include the response of Confucian scholars to the democracy movement, how politicians are using Confucian beliefs and values, the role of the scholarly tradition in contemporary Chinese popular culture, the challenges to Confucianism resulting from the changing role of women, and how competition with world religions is affecting the scholarly tradition. Throughout the book two themes are explored: the division of Confucianism into traditionalist and modernist forms and the nature of ideological convergence in the contemporary world. Scholars, students, and researchers interested in the ways Confucianism is becoming more similar to Western beliefs and values and in the ways Confucianism is likely to remain distinctive will find the volume invaluable.

Reviews

[A] useful contribution to the growing literature on globalization and religion.-Sociology of Religion
"A useful contribution to the growing literature on globalization and religion."-Sociology of Religion
"[A] useful contribution to the growing literature on globalization and religion."-Sociology of Religion

Author Bio

JOSEPH B. TAMNEY is Professor of Sociology, Ball State University and former editor of Sociology of Religion._Professor Tamney has published widely in scholarly journals. His most recent book publications are Western Modernization and Asian Values in Singapore and The Resilience of Conservative Religion. LINDA HSUEH-LING CHIANG is Professor of Education at Anderson University._Among her earlier publications is the second Chinese-language edition of Multicultural Education.