Donald L. Baker 

10.18399/acta.2016.19.1.002

Catholicism Protestantism monotheism women democratization

Less than 30% of the South Korean population is Christian. Nevertheless, you cannot understand Korea’s modern religious culture unless you take into account the impact Christianity has had on how religion in general is defined today and on how modern religious communities, both Christian and non-Christian, express their beliefs and values. Over the last three centuries, due to the influence of Christianity, monotheism has become an important feature of Korea’s religious landscape. Moreover, Koreans are much more likely now than they were three centuries ago to form distinct communities composed of both clerics and laity who meet together on a regular basis to affirm their shared beliefs through communal ritual displays of those beliefs. In addition, Christianity has had impact on the secular realm as well. The increased visibility of women in the public sphere today compared to the cloistered lives most of them lived in the Chosŏn dynasty is partially the result of Christianity both providing more formal education for women and also assigning women important tasks outside of the home. Moreover, the vibrant democracy we see in South Korea today would not have come about if Christians had not insisted that the state should not interfere in religious affairs, and if Christian faith had not inspired so many to fight authoritarian governments. For all those reasons, it is no exaggeration to say that it is impossible to understand modern Korean history without taking into account the role Christianity has played in making Korea what it is today.