Abstract -
Korea has an unusually diverse religious culture. In the north the political philosophy of Juche, which has taken on religious overtones, monopolizes articulations of beliefs and values as well as ritual practice. In the south, on the other hand, no single religion dominates, with over half saying that they have no specific religious affiliation. Most of those who say they are religious report being Protestant, Buddhist, or Catholic. Not as numerous but nonetheless noticeable are members of Korea’s many home-grown new religious movements, some of which now have a global presence. Reflecting South Korea’s religious diversity, some of those new religious movements have Buddhist roots, some have Christian origins, some are based on Confucian beliefs and practices, and some have emerged from indigenous religious traditions, such as shamanism. Korean New Religions examines South Korea’s various new religious movements to discover what they can tell us about distinctive traits of Korea’s religious culture.
Published by Cambridge University Press in 2025
Don Baker is professor of Korean civilization in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1983 under the supervision of James B. Palais. He has been studying Korea since he first went to the peninsula as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1971 and has published numerous articles and book chapters on traditional Korean religion, philosophy, science, and historiography. He has also done some work on the May 18 1980 massacre in the city of Gwangju since he considers Gwangju to be almost a 2nd hometown (thanks to Peace Corps service there) and is very proud of how brave the people of Gwangju were in their fight for democracy and human rights.
Korea has an unusually diverse religious culture. In the north the political philosophy of Juche, which has taken on religious overtones, monopolizes articulations of beliefs and values as well as ritual practice. In the south, on the other hand, no single religion dominates, with over half saying that they have no specific religious affiliation. Most of those who say they are religious report being Protestant, Buddhist, or Catholic. Not as numerous but nonetheless noticeable are members of Korea’s many home-grown new religious movements, some of which now have a global presence. Reflecting South Korea’s religious diversity, some of those new religious movements have Buddhist roots, some have Christian origins, some are based on Confucian beliefs and practices, and some have emerged from indigenous religious traditions, such as shamanism. Korean New Religions examines South Korea’s various new religious movements to discover what they can tell us about distinctive traits of Korea’s religious culture.
Published by Cambridge University Press in 2025
Don Baker is professor of Korean civilization in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1983 under the supervision of James B. Palais. He has been studying Korea since he first went to the peninsula as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1971 and has published numerous articles and book chapters on traditional Korean religion, philosophy, science, and historiography. He has also done some work on the May 18 1980 massacre in the city of Gwangju since he considers Gwangju to be almost a 2nd hometown (thanks to Peace Corps service there) and is very proud of how brave the people of Gwangju were in their fight for democracy and human rights.
