Religious Organization and The Confucian Orthodoxy
Chinese civilization had no religious prophecy nor a powerful priesthood social class. The emperor was the high priest of the state religion and the supreme ruler. Weber emphasized that Confucianism tolerated the simultaneous existence of many popular cults and made no effort to organize them as part of a religious doctrine, while nonetheless curtailing the political ambitions of their priests. Instead it taught adjustment to the world.
This forms a sharp contrast with medieval Europe, where the Church was often able to superimpose its will over those of secular rulers, and where the same, singular religion was the religion of rulers, nobility and the common folk.
Read more about this topic: The Religion Of China: Confucianism And Taoism
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