For many South Koreans, faith is a personal choice and journey. The country’s constitution grants freedom of faith to all and forbids religious discrimination. Its Ministry of Culture reveals that around 56% do not claim any religion. So what’s the story here – are there more atheists, or do more complexities lie below the surface? Is it possible to belong to more than one religion? How does religious upbringing – or a lack of it – influence our beliefs as adults? The concept of multiple religious belonging may offer some answers.
South Korean Religions and Interfaith Families
South Korea has a diverse religious landscape. Pew Research Center explains that there’s no majority religion. Buddhism and Christianity have large numbers of followers. Falling into the “Other Religions” category are Islam, new movements, and folk faith traditions such as shamanism. It’s common to find South Koreans with complex religious backgrounds. The country’s last president, Park Guen-hye, is an atheist who was raised both Buddhist and Catholic.
Another Pew Research Center piece mentions that interfaith marriages are growing in the United States. Children from these marriages have a wide range of experiences. Sometimes, their parents’ religions peacefully coexist. As they grow up, they’re free to decide their beliefs. With some couples, one spouse converts to the other’s faith before they marry or have kids. But some children from these marriages are forced to choose between one or the other.
Other interfaith couples find unique ways of navigating these differences. For instance, Bono of U2 was raised in an interfaith family. His Catholic mother and Anglican father agreed to raise their first child Anglican and their second child Catholic. Yet Bono, the younger of the two, was richly exposed to both growing up.
Multiple Religious Belonging
Park Guen-hye’s background may seem a little unusual to some Westerners, but it hints at a larger story. Multiple religious belonging may explain some of these realities. Also called “double belonging,” it suggests that people can belong to more than one religion or faith. This is common throughout Asia, as Danish religion scholar Daan F. Oostveen explains. While exclusivity is a key concept in Abrahamic religions, Asian traditions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism lack this idea.
None of this is surprising, given Asia’s religious diversity. Look at South Korea – several traditions have come to the Korean Peninsula over the last several centuries. Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity have all left their marks. This diversity remains even today. Japan is another great example. Shintoism and Buddhism exist side by side, with some Japanese engaging in both practices without experiencing internal conflict.
The Fine Line Between Religion and Philosophy
If multiple religious belonging is a thing, then how do you define religion? If you use belief in supreme beings as a benchmark, then Buddhism doesn’t fit that definition. There’s already debate about whether it’s a religion, a philosophy, or both. Confucianism also straddles that line; it’s a system of ethical teachings. This could explain how traditions with vastly different origins can be compatible – Confucianism and evangelical Christianity, for example. Dr. Oostveen also points out that Western societies tend to see religion in terms of membership or belonging. Until recently, this hasn’t been as common in Asia.
There’s also a lot of debate about what double belonging means. Does it apply to a Christian who practices yoga? What about someone who was raised Hindu and performs puja to Vishnu and Jesus? Would an atheist who has a Buddhist wedding qualify? Many thinkers don’t agree on the answers to these questions. There’s a lot of ideological ground that remains to be covered. Meanwhile, billions of people live with the richness and intricacies that come with multifaith experiences.