SECULAR OR POST SECULAR?

Korea as a Multi-Religious Society

Authors

  • Young-Jun Lee Korea University, Seoul
  • Jong-Oh Lee Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Keywords:

Institutional Religions, Korean Religion, Multi-religious Society, Religious Population, Religious Tradition, Secular vs Post-secular

Abstract

Despite predictions that modernization would threaten the existence of religion, Korean religions have thrived throughout the process of modernization. Unlike many Western countries, where Christianity is the principal religion, multiple religions and beliefs have co-existed in Korea since antiquity. Thus, even if social change brings the downfall of one religion, another religion takes its place. Although Korea has never historically seen the decline of religion, a decrease in the religious population has been observed since 2010. We believe this is attributable to the secularization of institutional religions and could be interpreted as another choice or change in itself, rather than as evidence of the decline or deterioration of religiosity. We argue that Korean religions are going through the post-secularization process, wherein people seek out their own individual spirituality. Based on Western theories of secularization and post-secularization, we examine the changes in Korean religious diversity, and discuss the challenges they face. This will, finally, lead to helping reveal what Korean religious institutions have to do for Koreans to find their way into religion again.

Author Biographies

Young-Jun Lee, Korea University, Seoul

Dr Young-Jun Lee is a research fellow at the Innovation, Competition, Reg7ulation Center in Korea University, Seoul. His areas of research are Religious Sociology, Heroism, and Korean New Religions.

Jong-Oh Lee, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Dr Jong-Oh Lee(corresponding author) is a Professor of Department of Global Cultural Contents at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. His areas of interest are Culture-led Korean Urban Regeneration, Festival Culture, and Community Cultural Resources.

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Published

2019-09-30

How to Cite

Lee, Y.-J., & Lee, J.-O. (2019). SECULAR OR POST SECULAR? Korea as a Multi-Religious Society. Journal of Dharma, 44(3), 301–320. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/jd/article/view/216