Throughout most of East Asia, Christianity has remained largely on the periphery of religious history. However, in the two centuries since its introduction to the Korean peninsula, Christianity has become so intertwined with Korea's history and culture that it may now be considered an indigenous religion. Christianity is arguably the most influential religious tradition in the country today, claiming more than twenty-five percent of the South Korean population as its adherents. Korea, in turn, has emerged as one of the most dynamic and creative national churches in the Christian world: its Catholic Church has produced more than a hundred saints; its Protestant communions have sent out more missionaries than any nation except the United States.
Despite the significance of Korea in world Christianity and the crucial role Christianity plays in contemporary Korean religious life, the tradition has been little studied in the West. Christianity in Korea seeks! to fill this lacuna by providing a wide-ranging overview of the growth and development of Korean Christianity and the implications that development has had for Korean politics, inter-religious dialogue, and gender and social issues. It brings together scholars in history, sociology, theology, and comparative religion to examine Korean Christianity from a multidisciplinary perspective. The volume begins with an accessibly written overview that traces in broad outline the history and development of Christianity on the peninsula. This is followed by chapters that cover a remarkable range of topics spanning more than two centuries. There are chapters that take on broad themes, such as the survival of early Korean Catholics in a Neo-Confucian society, relations between Christian churches and colonial authorities during the Japanese occupation, premillennialism, and the theological significance of the division and prospective reunification of Korea. Others look in more detail at! individuals and movements, including the story of the female martyr Kollumba Kang Wansuk; the influence of Presbyterianism on the renowned nationalist Ahn Changho; the sociopolitical and theological background of the Minjung Protestant Movement; and the success and challenges of Evangelical Protestantism in Korea. The book concludes with a discussion of how best to encourage a rapprochement between Buddhism and Christianity in Korea.