Don Baker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832339
- eISBN:
- 9780824869373
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832339.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean ...
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Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean religious landscape with both Protestant and Catholic Christians as well as with shamans, Confucians, and practitioners of numerous new religions. As a result, Korea is a fruitful site for the exploration of the various manifestations of spirituality in the modern world. At the same time, however, the complexity of the country's religious topography can overwhelm the novice explorer. Emphasizing the attitudes and aspirations of the Korean people rather than ideology, this book navigates the highways and byways of Korean spirituality. It adopts a broad approach that distinguishes the different roles that folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and indigenous new religions have played in Korea in the past and continue to play in the present while identifying commonalities behind that diversity to illuminate the distinctive nature of spirituality on the Korean peninsula.Less
Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean religious landscape with both Protestant and Catholic Christians as well as with shamans, Confucians, and practitioners of numerous new religions. As a result, Korea is a fruitful site for the exploration of the various manifestations of spirituality in the modern world. At the same time, however, the complexity of the country's religious topography can overwhelm the novice explorer. Emphasizing the attitudes and aspirations of the Korean people rather than ideology, this book navigates the highways and byways of Korean spirituality. It adopts a broad approach that distinguishes the different roles that folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and indigenous new religions have played in Korea in the past and continue to play in the present while identifying commonalities behind that diversity to illuminate the distinctive nature of spirituality on the Korean peninsula.
Don Baker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832339
- eISBN:
- 9780824869373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832339.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter shows what defines “Korean spirituality.” This spirituality is evident when Koreans continue to pursue ways to overcome the limitations of existence as an individual, despite their ...
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This chapter shows what defines “Korean spirituality.” This spirituality is evident when Koreans continue to pursue ways to overcome the limitations of existence as an individual, despite their theological differences, while considering the ethics of interpersonal interaction, especially interactions among family members, as particularly important. Another aspect of this spirituality is the freedom of religious traditions to add other ethical obligations to the Confucian base. Buddhism, for example, advocates respect for all forms of sentient life. Meanwhile, the folk religion encourages efforts to maintain proper relationships with local gods and spirits, and Confucianism mandates ritual displays of respect for ancestors.Less
This chapter shows what defines “Korean spirituality.” This spirituality is evident when Koreans continue to pursue ways to overcome the limitations of existence as an individual, despite their theological differences, while considering the ethics of interpersonal interaction, especially interactions among family members, as particularly important. Another aspect of this spirituality is the freedom of religious traditions to add other ethical obligations to the Confucian base. Buddhism, for example, advocates respect for all forms of sentient life. Meanwhile, the folk religion encourages efforts to maintain proper relationships with local gods and spirits, and Confucianism mandates ritual displays of respect for ancestors.
Sharon Kim and Rebecca Y. Kim
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814717356
- eISBN:
- 9780814772898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814717356.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter narrates how second-generation Korean American ministers make use of both Korean American spirituality and contemporary evangelical worship styles and organizational structures. It ...
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This chapter narrates how second-generation Korean American ministers make use of both Korean American spirituality and contemporary evangelical worship styles and organizational structures. It points to the fact that these new, hybrid congregations may reconfigure what is considered a minority or mainstream church in today's multicultural America. The chapter reviews the different models of the second-generation's religious participation and reveals that rather than inheriting the churches of their immigrant parents or joining preestablished mainstream churches, second-generation Korean Americans are creatively forming their own houses of worship. Furthermore, within these newly built churches, they are actively and intentionally reaching out to all Americans, regardless of their ethnicity and race.Less
This chapter narrates how second-generation Korean American ministers make use of both Korean American spirituality and contemporary evangelical worship styles and organizational structures. It points to the fact that these new, hybrid congregations may reconfigure what is considered a minority or mainstream church in today's multicultural America. The chapter reviews the different models of the second-generation's religious participation and reveals that rather than inheriting the churches of their immigrant parents or joining preestablished mainstream churches, second-generation Korean Americans are creatively forming their own houses of worship. Furthermore, within these newly built churches, they are actively and intentionally reaching out to all Americans, regardless of their ethnicity and race.
