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The Republic of Korea is a country in East Asia located on the Korean Peninsula. The Capital - Seoul. The informal name of the country, widely used in the media, is South Korea. Religion in South Korea is dominated by the traditional Buddhist faith, with a growing minority of Christians. The practice of both of these faiths has been strongly influenced by the enduring legacies of Korean Confucianism, which was the official ideology of the 500-year-long Joseon Dynasty, and Korean shamanism, the native religion of the Korean Peninsula.

According to 2006 statistics compiled by the South Korean government, about 34,3% of citizens profess to follow no particular religion. Christians account for 14% of the population and Buddhists 50,7%. Various other religions account for about 0,7% of the religious population. These include the Wonbulgyo movement, which emphasises the unity of all things. Another notable minor religion is Cheondogyo, an indigenous faith combining elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity. Confucianism is also small in terms of self-declared adherents, but the great majority of South Koreans, irrespective of their formal religious affiliation, are strongly influenced by Confucian values, which continue to permeate Korean culture. A small minority of Koreans also profess Islam. Large metropolitan areas had the highest proportions of people belonging to formal religious groups: 49.9 percent in Seoul, 46.1 percent for Busan, and 45.8 percent for Daegu. South Korea had the third highest percentage of Christians in East Asia or Southeast Asia, following the Philippines and East Timor.

Except for the Christian groups, who maintain a fairly clearcut distinction between believers and nonbelievers, there is some ambiguity in these statistics. For instance, there is no exact or exclusive criterion by which Buddhists or Confucianists can be identified. Although existing in other countries, the lineage of refuge, a commitment that distinguishes between Buddhists and non-Buddhists has disintegrated in Korea and is difficult to find because religion is seen to be hereditary. Many people outside of formal groups have been deeply influenced by these traditions. Moreover, it is not uncommon for Koreans to pray at Buddhist temples, participate in Confucian ancestor rites, and even consult a shaman and sponsoring a kut. Furthermore, the statistics may underrepresent the numbers of people belonging to new religions. Some sources have given the number of adherents of Ch'ondogyo as over 1 million.

Given the great diversity of religious expression, the role of religion in South Korea's social development has been complex. Some traditions, especially Buddhism, are identified primarily with the past. Buddhist sites such as the Pulguksa Temple and the Sokkuram Grotto in Kyongju and the Haeinsa Temple near Taegu are regarded by most South Koreans as important cultural properties rather than as places of worship. Confucianism remains important as a social ethic; its influence is evident in the immense importance Koreans ascribe to education. Christianity is identified with modernization and social reform. Many Christians in contemporary South Korea, such as veteran political opposition leader Kim Dae Jung, a Catholic, have been outspoken advocates of human rights and critics of the government. Christian-sponsored organizations such as the Urban Industrial Mission promote labor organizations and the union movement. New religions draw on both traditional beliefs and on Christianity, achieving a baffling variety and diversity of views. It has been estimated that there were as many as 5000 new religions in South Korea in the late 1800s, though many were small and transient phenomena.

So dominant in South Korea is Buddhism. Daoism, which focuses on the individual in nature rather than the individual in society, and Buddhism entered Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period (fourth to seventh centuries A.D.). Daoist motifs are seen in the paintings on the walls of Koguryo tombs. Buddhism was the dominant religious and cultural influence during the Silla (A.D. 668-935) and Koryo (918-1392) dynasties. Confucianism also was brought to Korea from China in early centuries, but it occupied a subordinate position until the establishment of the Choson Dynasty and the persecution of Buddhism carried out by the early Choson Dynasty kings.

Buddhism is stronger in the more conservative east of the country, namely the Yeongnam and Gangwon regions, where it accounts for more than half of the religious population. There are a number of different "schools" in Korean Buddhism, including the Seon; however, the overwhelming majority of Buddhist temples are part of the Jogye Order. Many adherents of Buddhism combine Buddhist practice and shamanism(Which as mentioned above is against Buddhist principles).

Buddhism in South Korea is dominated by the Jogye Order, a syncretic sect traditionally linked to the Seon tradition. Most of the country's old and famous temples, such as Bulguksa and Beomeosa, are operated by the Jogye Order, which is headquartered at Jogyesa in central Seoul. Other Buddhist traditions in South Korea include the "Taego" and "Cheontae" lineages. Taego is a form of Soen (Zen), while the Choentae is a modern revival of the T'ien T'ai lineage in Korea, focusing on the Lotus Sutra. Another lineage, the Jingak, is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism. Both the Jogye and Cheontae orders require their monastics to be celibate, while the Taego and Jingak orders allow for married priests.

Also in South Korea are Christians. Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in Korea in 1794, ten years after the return of the first baptized Korean from a visit to Beijing. However, the writings of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who lived at the Imperial court in Beijing, had been brought to Korea from China in the seventeenth century. It seems that scientists from Sirhak, or practical learning, school were interested in these works. Largely because converts refused to perform Confucian rites of their ancestors, the government prohibits the proselytism of Christianity. Some Catholics were executed in the early nineteenth century, but anti-Christian law was not strictly observed. To 1860-th years there were about 17 500 Roman Catholics. There followed a more rigorous persecution, which killed thousands of Christians, which continued until 1884.

Protestant missionaries entered Korea in the 1880s and together with Catholic priests, converted a remarkable number of Koreans. Especially successful were the Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries. They created schools, universities, hospitals, orphanages, and played an important role in the modernization of the country. During the Japanese colonial occupation, Christians were in the forefront of the struggle for independence. Factors contributing to the growth of Protestantism include the degenerate case of Korean Buddhism, the efforts of educated Christians to reconcile Christian and Confucian values (the latter is regarded as purely a social ethic rather than a religion), the encouragement of self-help and self-government of the members of the Korean Church, as well as the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism.

A large number of Christians lived in the Northern part of the Peninsula where Confucian influence was not as strong as in the South. Before 1948 Pyongyang was an important Christian center: one-sixth of its population, numbering about 300,000, was a recent convert. However, after the establishment of the Communist regime in the North, most Christians had to flee to South Korea or face persecution.

Koreans, like other East Asian residents, have traditionally been eclectic, not exclusive in their religious commitments. Their religious Outlook is not due to a single, exclusive faith but by a combination of indigenous beliefs and creeds imported into Korea. The belief in a world inhabited by spirits is probably the oldest form of Korean religious life, Dating back to prehistoric times. There is a rather unorganized Pantheon of literally millions of gods, spirits and ghosts, ranging from the "God generals" who rule the different quarters of heaven to mountain spirits (sansin). This Pantheon also includes gods who inhabit trees, sacred caves, and piles of stones and earth spirits, mentoring the gods of households and villages, mischievous goblins, and the ghosts of people who in many cases met violent or tragic ends. They say that these spirits have the power to influence or change the fate of living men and women.

Shamans, most of them women recruited by those who want the help of the spiritual world. Female shamans (mudang) hold Kut, or services to gain good fortune for clients, cure illnesses, expelling evil spirits, or propitiate local or village gods. Evangelistic services are also held in order to guide the spirit of the deceased to heaven.

Often the woman becomes a shaman very reluctantly-after heavy physical or mental illness, which indicates "possession" by the spirit. Such possession allegedly can be cured only through performance of a Kut. Once the shaman is set in her profession, she usually can make a good living.

Many scientists regard Korean shamanism as less of a religion than a "medicine" in which the spirits are manipulated to achieve human ends. There is no concept of salvation, moral and spiritual perfection, at least for the ordinary believers in spirits. The shaman is a professional who advises clients whenever there is need. Traditionally, shamans had low social status and were members of the Hughes class ommin. This discrimination continued into our time.

Animist beliefs are closely associated with the culture of fishing villages and are primarily a phenomenon found in rural communities. However, shamans also treat troubles of urban dwellers, especially recent migrants from rural areas who find adaptation to the impersonal stress of city life. The government has discouraged belief in shamanism as superstition and for many years minimized its persistence in Korean life. However, in the face of growing nationalism and cultural confidence, the dances, songs and incantations that compose the Kut became recognized an important aspect of Korean culture. Since the 1970-ies, rituals, which were not previously considered abroad, began to revive, and sometimes during the opening of a new branch in Seoul even attended a Western hotel Manager or other representative of the Executive branch. Some of these aspects Kuta was seen as a valuable cultural values that must be preserved and passed on to future generations.

Unlike the other traditions here, shamanism does not have a clear creed. For centuries, it has become closely associated with Korean Buddhism. Most of those involved in shamanism or watching them, are Buddhists; however, not all Buddhists follow shamanism.

Despite the fact that today in South Korea, as a rule, it is believed that shamanic practices remain widespread. The largest Association of shamans in South Korea claims more than 100,000 members. near the island of Jeju, these practices are almost exclusively women. Shamanic rites called gut, vary from region to region.

So according to this information, we learned the following information. Religion in South Korea is prevailed by the traditional Buddhist religion and a large but decreasing Christian population. The exercise of some of these religions has been powerfully influenced by the bearing legacies of Korean Confucianism, which made up the official political theory of Joseon Dynasty, and Korean shamanism, the indigene faith of the Korean Peninsula.

References:

Religion in South Korea // StateMaster URL: http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Religion-in-South-Korea

Religious Beliefs and Spirituality in South Korea // StudyCountry URL: http://www.studycountry.com/guide/KR-religion.htm

Ким Герман. История религий Кореи. Алматы: Издательство КазНУ. – 2001 г. – 229 с. ISBN 9965-12-168-0

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