Syncretism Of Buddhism And Shamanism In Korea

Korea is a remarkable case study in religious coexistence. Even though only about half the country identifies as religious, the half that does displays a remarkable diversity of both indigenous and imported faiths, including Buddhism and Christianity (of both the Catholic and Protestant varieties). Korean religious pluralism is no recent phenomenon. Koreans have respected religious diversity since ancient times. Indeed, if there is one overriding religious tendency in the Korean population, it is a preference for syncretism, of finding essential and common truths amidst diverse and often competing doctrines. Current Korean leaders have continued making efforts to further inter-faith understanding. This book surveys the rich religious and spiritual tapestry that is contemporary Korea. We begin with the earliest of Korean faiths—the shamanism that prehistoric Koreans brought with them as they migrated to the peninsula from Central Asia—and continue on to today's most prominent faiths: Buddhism, Christianity, andConfucianism. Korea has given birth to a large number of indigenous faiths, and we will take a look at some of these, too.

A series of psychological and anthropological studies about the oldest and the most fascinating religious tradition of Korea.

The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems- both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

This book, first published in 1932, was written by a Western expert on Korea, and was the first to thoroughly investigate and document the old religious practices of Korea. No book like this could be written again from original sources, for all of the data has passed away, and archival records are not necessarily complete. It is a key text in the study of Korean religion.

Why do Koreans use shamanic ritual even though prejudice against shamanism is universal ? Why do so many Koreans employ a pratice that is widely stigmatised and despised as superstition ?

Argues that a syncretic worldview encouraged the remarkable growth of Christianity in Korea.