Final Report Summary - CHINACQR (Christianity in China. Western Culture in front of the Far East. Adaptionism, Syncretism and Simulation. The specific case of a small and important group of French Jes
Project context and objectives
We know that the literature produced by Jesuits in China, and their brethren's 'bricolage' in Europe created the myth that China had higher ethics and morals than Europe. China slowly made its way in enlightenment and libertine thought, as evidenced by a virtuous society of atheists. Such presumed Chinese atheism fed the debate on morality not depending upon religion. In France and Europe, the Jesuits' histories of China were then used by libertine authors in writings on religious tolerance, freedom of speech, human rights, and a new interpretation of world history. This debate is still valid today when democratic societies are represented as a post-secular society in which the process of secularisation seems to be stopping or in which people discuss around the origin and roots of their social system. The impact of the 'discovery' of China could be considered as an anticipation of today's discussion topic about religions and their role in society and atheism as an alternative European tradition. A recent manifestation at the National Mall, in Washington DC, proposed the question in in present-day terms: atheist and secular Americans gathered for a rally where they celebrated their lack of religious affiliations.
My research is focused on how the Jesuits initially 'constructed' China for the Europeans, and were the first to use the word 'atheism' for part of the Chinese people's religion, with substantial changes during the course of their mission, from Matteo Ricci to the Jesuit intellectual, currently known as 'Figurism'. Later on, they fought strenuously against the European idea that used 'China' as a synonym of 'atheism'. In other words, the Jesuits first described as atheist some aspects of Chinese culture - adopting categories of atheism established by the tradition of the Fathers of the Church - and subsequently they defended China from the accusation of atheism. In so doing, they contributed the parameters for a new and more sophisticated definition of atheism, relative to idolatry and superstition - terms that were often used to qualify the religious systems encountered during the discovery of the New Worlds.
Atheism, it seems, is a feature or symptom of the modernity that is traumatically coming to birth. If theism is one of the certainties that European modern society is losing, then atheism is one of those certainties it is attempting to acquire. In this sense, atheism is an inescapable aspect of modernity; atheism and modernity seem to be inextricably linked.
With the construction and 'invention' of a different atheism, the Jesuits defended their mission in China and their decision to relate ancient or contemporary Confucianism to Christianism. Their many defensive weapons soon included a propaganda that examined how the accusations of atheism made against China influenced European atheism. Should China be officially condemned for its atheism, European atheists could have gleefully claimed that a virtuous society could exist without religion. But defending a common source for Christianism and Confucianism would sever Confucianism from Spinozism, save the Jesuits' mission in China and halt the progress of moral atheism in Europe.
We know that the literature produced by Jesuits in China, and their brethren's 'bricolage' in Europe created the myth that China had higher ethics and morals than Europe. China slowly made its way in enlightenment and libertine thought, as evidenced by a virtuous society of atheists. Such presumed Chinese atheism fed the debate on morality not depending upon religion. In France and Europe, the Jesuits' histories of China were then used by libertine authors in writings on religious tolerance, freedom of speech, human rights, and a new interpretation of world history. This debate is still valid today when democratic societies are represented as a post-secular society in which the process of secularisation seems to be stopping or in which people discuss around the origin and roots of their social system. The impact of the 'discovery' of China could be considered as an anticipation of today's discussion topic about religions and their role in society and atheism as an alternative European tradition. A recent manifestation at the National Mall, in Washington DC, proposed the question in in present-day terms: atheist and secular Americans gathered for a rally where they celebrated their lack of religious affiliations.
My research is focused on how the Jesuits initially 'constructed' China for the Europeans, and were the first to use the word 'atheism' for part of the Chinese people's religion, with substantial changes during the course of their mission, from Matteo Ricci to the Jesuit intellectual, currently known as 'Figurism'. Later on, they fought strenuously against the European idea that used 'China' as a synonym of 'atheism'. In other words, the Jesuits first described as atheist some aspects of Chinese culture - adopting categories of atheism established by the tradition of the Fathers of the Church - and subsequently they defended China from the accusation of atheism. In so doing, they contributed the parameters for a new and more sophisticated definition of atheism, relative to idolatry and superstition - terms that were often used to qualify the religious systems encountered during the discovery of the New Worlds.
Atheism, it seems, is a feature or symptom of the modernity that is traumatically coming to birth. If theism is one of the certainties that European modern society is losing, then atheism is one of those certainties it is attempting to acquire. In this sense, atheism is an inescapable aspect of modernity; atheism and modernity seem to be inextricably linked.
With the construction and 'invention' of a different atheism, the Jesuits defended their mission in China and their decision to relate ancient or contemporary Confucianism to Christianism. Their many defensive weapons soon included a propaganda that examined how the accusations of atheism made against China influenced European atheism. Should China be officially condemned for its atheism, European atheists could have gleefully claimed that a virtuous society could exist without religion. But defending a common source for Christianism and Confucianism would sever Confucianism from Spinozism, save the Jesuits' mission in China and halt the progress of moral atheism in Europe.