earticle

영어

This paper aims to explore the nature of the conflicts surrounding the shinto shrine between Japanese government and Christianity in Korea during the Japanese occupation period. Japanese government demanded all koreans to participate in shinto shrine worship, arguing that shinto shrine worship is not a religious act but a national ceremony. According to Japanese government, such a worship is a civil duty. Korean christians took different attitudes to such a demand. Roman Catholic church, Anglican church, Methodist church accepted Japanese government's interpretation and participated in shinto shrine worship. Presbyterians, a major denomination of protestantism in korea, however, showed different opinions about shinto shrine worship among themselves. Some missionaries assured that shinto is a religion, shinto shrine is a religious site, and shinto shrine worship is a religious act. They also thought that they have a right of religious freedom. They, therefore, demanded Japanese government that protestant mission school students and teachers should be exempted from a duty of shinto shrine worship. Contrary to them, some presbyterian missionaries, including some korean protestant church leaders, agreed to Japanese government's opinion. They,therefore, took part in shinto shrine worship, saying that shinto shrine worship is just a civil and national ceremony, not a religious one. This paper emphasized that debates surrounding the shinto shrine worship is closely related to the problem of definition of religion and a right of religious freedom. Also, it is stressed, this problem has a continuity with ancestor worship controversies in traditional china, and Dankun statues controversies in contemporary korea.