Korean Religions

Key Information

South Korea characterizes for the presence of different religions. A wide majority of the population follows either Buddhism or Christianity – represented in its four major branches, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism, and the Orthodox Churches – as well as Taoism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam. However, the religious landscape of South Korea shows a revival of Korean Shamanism as well as the emergence of sinheung jonggyo– the term in Korean language to designate Korean new religions. These Korean new religions originated mainly from the major religions represented in the country. Some of these new religious movements either draw from one single religion or are the result of the intersection of different religious traditions. The spread of Korean new religions in Latin America is the result of both the Korean immigration and the globalization of these religions, although their followers continue to be very small groups usually related to Korean immigrant...