From TheBestLinks.com
The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church in the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry or not.
The Jesuits argued that Chinese folk religion and offerings to the emperor and departed ancestors were civil in nature and therefore not incompatible with Catholicism, while the Dominicans argued the reverse.
It was related to larger controversies between the two orders over the adoption of local practices of other countries, such as the ascetic brahmin practices of India.
The pope decided in favor of the Dominicans, which greatly reduced Catholic missionary activity in China.
At the time, there was fascination among European intellectuals with Chinese culture, Confucianism, and the Chinese language. Some even pretended that the Church declared Confucius as a Christian saint.
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