Cheondoism
| Cheondoism | |
 Flag representing Cheondoism | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 천도교 |
| Hanja | Thiên Đạo giáo |
| Revised Romanization | Cheondogyo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'ŏndogyo |
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| Part ofa serieson the |
| Culture of Korea |
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| Society |
| Arts and literature |
| Other |
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Cheondoism(spelledChondoisminNorth Korea;[1]Korean:천도교;lit.Religion of the Celestial Way) is a 20th-centuryKoreanpantheisticreligion, based on the 19th-centuryDonghakreligious movement founded byChoe Je-uand codified underSon Byong-hi.[2]Cheondoism has its origins in the peasant rebellions which arose starting in 1812 during theJoseon.
Cheondoism incorporates elements ofKorean shamanism.[3]It places emphasis on personal cultivation and social welfare in the present world.[2]Splinter movements includeSuwunismandBocheonism.[4]
Name
[edit]Cheondogyotranslated literally means "religion of the Celestial Way", wherecheonmeans "sky",domeans "way" (written with the same character as ChineseTao), andgyomeans "religion", "teaching", "-ism".
Beliefs
[edit]Over time, Cheondoism has also adapted elements of other Korean religious traditions, including Do (Taoism) andBuddhism.[5]
In keeping with its roots inConfucianthought, Cheondoism veneratesCheon( "Sky" or "Heaven" ) as the ultimate principle of good and justice, which is referred to by the honorific termHaneullim(하늘님), or "Divinity". According to church doctrine, the term "Haneul" does not only mean "Sky"; it represents the whole universe or "oneness," as well.[6][failed verification]This title implies the quality of Heaven as "instructor"; a belief that humans and things are notcreatedby a supernatural God butgeneratedby a God-nature present in all living and unliving things.[7][need quotation to verify]
Also in keeping with its Confucian background, Cheondoism places emphasis on self-improvement in the hope that, as one improves one's innate nature, one comes closer to the Sky; that all beings' relationship to God can be measured by their nearness or distance to their innate God-nature.[2]Choe Si Hyong, the leader who published Cheondoism's scriptures, established the core principle of the unity of all things based on this innate presence of the divine.[8]This principle carried with it a sense that "to serve a person is to serve Heaven."[8]
Roland Boersummarizes the cultural impact of Chondoism as follows:[8]
Chondoism bequeathed to Korean culture a number of principles, with an explicit drive to social and religious equality. These include: 'my heart is your heart,' with reference both to others and to 'heaven'; 'treat humans as God' in a challenge to Confucian hierarchies; 'protect the nation, secure peace to the people' with a clear reference to Korea in relation to foreign powers; 'all people evolve toward unity' which has gained even more traction with the split between north and south; and 'the Kingdom of heaven on earth.'
History
[edit]
Cheondoism originated from theDonghak( "Eastern Learning" ), a religious movement that arose in 19th-century Korea as a reaction to Western encroachment, particularly the spread ofCatholicism.The Donghak movement began with Ch'oe Che-u in 1860,[9]who formulated the Donghak ideology in 1860 as an alternative to Catholicism ( "Western Learning" ), which was gaining momentum within the lower classes in Korea due to its ability to provide a sense of structure and stability beyond the family unit.[9]Due to its basis in established religions—Confucianism,Buddhism,andTaoism—and its commitment to representing Eastern ideals, the movement rapidly gained broad acceptance among the peasantry.[10]The movement "offered the most oppressed and downtrodden of Korean society a sense of their intrinsic worth."[11]Because the movement taught that the divine could be lived out on earth (a teaching with "immense socio-economic implications" ), it was viewed unfavorably by local landlords and foreign powers who sought to outlaw the movement and oversaw Ch'oe's trial and execution in 1864.[11]
Cheondosim became an officially-recognized religion under its third leader,Son Byong-hi.[12]
Cheondoism as a religion evolved in the early 1900s from the Donghak peasant liberation movements in the southern provinces of Korea, particularly the unsuccessful, yet consequential, rebellion of 1894. Followers of Donghak were severely persecuted until the establishment of the Protectorate Treaty of 1905, which guaranteed freedom of religion. Therefore, on 1 December 1905, Son Byong-hi decided to modernize the religion and usher in an era of openness and transparency in order to legitimize it in the eyes of theJapanese,who had strong influence over Korea at the time. As a result, he officially changed the name of Donghak to Cheondoism ( "religion of the Celestial Way" ). Following this, a constitution and a Central General Bureau were laid out for the religion, centralizing it and making it more accessible to the public.[12]
Recent history
[edit]As of 2005, Cheondoism reportedly had about 45,000 followers and 280 churches inSouth Korea.[13]According to the 2015 national census, Cheondoism had about 65,000 followers in South Korea.[14]
In North Korea, the state recognizes and favors Chondoism as a distinctly Korean revolutionary religion.[11]Chondoists are nominally represented in North Korean politics by the minorChondoist Chongu Party.
North Korean leaderKim Il Sung's memoirs recount at length an effort to persuade his communist comrades to accept a Chondoist recruit.[15]While Kim's memoirs lightly criticize the Korean faith (given his ownMarxist–Leninistperspective), they also stress how Chondoism draws close to the Korean form of communism.[16]Among other aspects, Kim's memoirs highlight Chondoism's concern for the intrinsic worth of all people, especially the poor and lowly.[17]According to Kim, Chondoism is a "progressive religion" characterized by the novelty of its principles, its spirit of resistance, the simplicity of its rites and practices, and its inherently popular nature.[18]
See also
[edit]- Chondoist Chongu Party
- Donghak
- Donghak Peasant Revolution
- Korean shamanism(Sinism)
- New religious movement
- Taoism in Korea
- Yongdamjeong
References
[edit]- ^"Anniversary of Chondoism Observed, KCNA".Archived fromthe originalon 12 October 2014.Retrieved23 June2012.
- ^abcYao, Xinzhong (2000).An Introduction to Confucianism.Cambridge University Press. pp. 121–122.ISBN0521644305.
- ^Lee Chi-ran, p.3 & p. 16
- ^Lee Chi-ran, pp. 16–20
- ^Hàn Quốc cận đại tông giáo 의 tam giáo dung hợp 과 sinh mệnh · linh tính – 원불교사상연구원Archived25 December 2014 at theWayback Machine
- ^[1]Archived23 September 2015 at theWayback Machine,천도교개관(영문)-천도교
- ^Lee Chi-ran, p. 16
- ^abcBoer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.p. 217.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
- ^abYoung, Carl F. pp.6–7
- ^Young, Carl F. pp.10–12
- ^abcBoer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.p. 216.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
- ^abYoung, Carl F. pp.113–121
- ^"Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Toronto".Archived fromthe originalon 7 September 2012.Retrieved23 June2012.
- ^"2018년 한국의 종교 현황"(in Korean). Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2022.Retrieved22 July2020.
- ^Boer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.pp. 218–220.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
- ^Boer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.p. 219.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
- ^Boer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.p. 220.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
- ^Boer, Roland (2019).Red theology: on the Christian Communist tradition.Boston:Haymarket Books.p. 221.ISBN978-90-04-38132-2.OCLC1078879745.
This article incorporates text fromKorea Web Weekly.Used with permission. Korea Web Weekly is not an independent source of information but is instead associated with various North Korea government sources.
Sources
[edit]- Lee Chi-ran. Chief Director, Haedong Younghan Academy.The Emergence of National Religions in Korea.
- Young, Carl F. Associate Professor, Western University.Eastern Learning and the Heavenly Way: The Tonghak and Chondogyo Movements and the Twilight of Korean Independence.[permanent dead link]
External links
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