The Confucian church (Chinese: 孔教会; pinyin: Kǒng jiàohuì or pinyin: Rú jiàohuì) is a Confucian religious and social institution of the congregational type. It was first theorised by Kang Youwei (1858–1927) in the last years of the 19th century as a state religion of Qing China on the model of Europe. The "Confucian church" model was later continued amongst overseas Chinese communities, who established independent Confucian churches active on the local level, especially in Indonesia and the United States.