종교와 복지 태도: 한국과 미국의 기독교 신자에 관한 비교 연구 = Religion and Welfare Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Christians in South Korea and the United States

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper analyzes how religious values among Christians in South Korea and the United States influence their attitudes toward individual welfare programs. It examines how Christian values are connected to attitudes toward the government’s responsibility for welfare. To conduct this analysis, logistic regression was performed using data from the “Role of Government” modules of the 4th (2006) and 5th (2016) rounds of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). The main findings are as follows. First, in South Korea, Protestants were found to prefer government responsibility for welfare more than those with no religion or with other religions. Second, in the United States, Catholics were more supportive of government responsibility for welfare than Protestants. Third, the value orientations of American Protestants were found to operate differently from those of Korean Protestants. Differences were also found between the value orientations of Korean and American Catholics. American Protestants tended to emphasize individual responsibility, while Korean Protestants focused more on self-interest and maintained a prosperity-oriented value system. American Catholics emphasized autonomy and the right to social participation over the principle of subsidiarity, whereas Korean Catholics emphasized solidarity as a concept of social justice while also supporting the principle of subsidiarity. After the political shift in welfare policy in South Korea around 2010, Korean Protestants’ preference for government responsibility for welfare increased. This change holds significant implications for understanding shifts in welfare attitudes in South Korea.