종교와 동물, 그 연결점의 자리 = At the Intersection of Religion and Animal: Exploring Their Thematic Relationship in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In Korea, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the winter of 2010 caused more than 3.5 million farm animals to be culled, many buried alive because euthanasia drugs have run out. The scenes of the massacre were reported vividly to the Korean audience. Many people were shocked and horrified by what they saw and posted angry messages. With the rapid growth of pet population and pet industry booming, this tragic incident called the attention of many people to the animal issue, which will be more brought to the fore, as the academic trend of western countries is introduced to Korea. This article examines the productive relationship of the academic study of religion with animal studies by highlighting the two connecting features of religion and animal. First, religion defined as the relationship with superhuman or non-human beings has to be interrelated to animal. Second, the dualism of religious/secular stands in close relation to that of human/animal. Both have played an important role to produce and maintain the Eurocentrism. Considering the shifting patterns of our world today, the examination of these dualisms can provide us with an interesting clue to overcome the Eurocentric perspective.