Daoism vs. Confucianism The author of this report is asked to compare and contrast Daoism (also commonly known as Taoism) with the focus being on the contrast. Indeed, the two belief and philosophy structures are quite different but they also have some strong similarities. Those facets and components that are the same will be enumerated throughout this text. The two writing styles follow common themes but are presented differently. Confucian writing was all second-hand and primarily focused on how to be the right kind of person. Taoism/Daoism focused on how society should be organized in the context of an agrarian setting (Diffen, 2013)(USHistory.org, 2013).

Similarities

The first similarity between Daoism and Confucianism that the author of this report would bring out is the fact that they both have clergy. The clergy take on different names. Confucianism clergy are called sages, bureaucrats and so forth. Daoism clergy are called priests, monks and nuns. Even so, they both clearly have a clergy structure. Second, the country of origin for both Daoism and Confucianism is China. Similarly, both of the belief structures came to be at roughly the same time period in the last few centuries C.E. Both belief structures were created on or around 550 BCE (Diffen, 2013)(USHistory.org, 2013).

Both Confucianism and Daoism include the practice of going to temples or other holy sites to pay homage to different Gods or parties. There is a bit of a difference in that Taoists focus on paying homage to Taoist deities while Confucians pay homage to Ti'en (God or Heaven), Confucius himself and/or the involved ancestors. Both Confucians and Confucius believe in at least one god The difference is that Confucians believe in "one god" (in the deist sense) while the Taoists believe in multiple gods with the highest being the Jade Emperor and the Three Pure Ones (Diffen, 2013)(USHistory.org, 2013).

In both Confucianism and Daoism, the...

In the case of Confucianism, a person is commonly referred to as a Follower of Confucius. As for Taoism, a follower of Daoism/Taoism is called a follower of the Tao or "the way." Both Confucianism and Taoists make use of or are allowed to use statues and pictures as part of their belief structure and practice. Another strong similarity between Taoism and Confucianism is that both belief structures, since their inception more than two millennia ago, have sprung out several branches and arcs not unlike the Christian and Jewish faiths. Branches of Confucianism include neo-Confucianism, Han Confucianism, contemporary Confucianism, Japanese Confucianism, Vietnamese Confucianism, and Singapore Confucianism. Branches of Taoism or Daoism include philosophical Daoism, religious Daoism, Folk Daoism, Chen Tao, Ascended Masters and so forth (Diffen, 2013)(USHistory.org, 2013).
As for life after death, both Taoism and Confucianism believe in some sort of elevated state after death. Confucians are worshipped by subsequent followers as an ancestor while Taoists believe that their soul survives after death and they have the ability to fly through space after entering that state. Both Confucianism and Daoism have some sort or rites, although they are called different things. With Confucians, they make use of ceremonies while Taoists make use of shamanism. Another similarity is that both Confucianism and Taoism have no belief in angles at all. Both Confucianism and Taoism use temples as places of worship (Diffen, 2013)(USHistory.org, 2013).

Both Confucianism and Taoism believe in faith and rigid belief as being a means of attaining salvation. Both groups have one or more precepts that must be believed in and followed rigidly to attain salvation. Confucianism references Li (ritual, property and etiquette), Hsiao (love between parents and children), Yi (righteousness), Xin (honesty), Jen (benevolence) and…