The Intensely Practical and Devotional Character of Korean Evangelicalism
The Intensely Practical and Devotional Character of Korean Evangelicalism
This chapter has two objectives. The first is to reinforce the point that Korean Protestantism has been dominated by an evangelical ethos, by examining the beliefs and practices of Korean Protestants. It shows that Korean Protestantism, by and large, fits the commonly used definition of evangelicalism: a species of Protestantism (broadly defined to include movements more specifically known as Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism) whose hallmarks are a literalist bent in biblical interpretation; a high Christology grounded in the substitutionary theory of atonement; a soteriology that values the individual over society; and a fervent advocacy of evangelism. The second objective is to answer the following question: If evangelicalism has indeed dominated Korean Protestantism, what can be said about its character? For example, what common ground, if any, does Korean Protestantism have with its counterparts elsewhere, especially in the United States, whose missionaries played a crucial role in laying the basis of the faith in Korea? What is distinctive about Korean evangelicalism? How much of its character is attributable to evangelicalism's general disposition? The chapter addresses these questions by examining the beliefs and practices of Korean evangelicalism, and argues that an intensely practical and devotional bent characterizes Korean evangelicalism.
Keywords: Korean Protestantism, South Korea, Korean evangelicalism, Christianity
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