한국의 소수종교인들의 자기정체성 연구 = 한국 몰몬교를 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article is designed to illustrate how the religious minorities in Korea establish their identities through Korean mormonism. In the middle of twentieth century, American mormonism came into Korea just as it was, which already experienced the great changes. As already verified religious order, it need not tuck itself up in raging waves, generally showed the safe posture in the politically, economically and socially all aspects. But in relation to evangelism, they were reduced to struggle against the negative images cast on their history.
What are the negative images cast over their history? They are so called polygamy and racial discrimination. But they could not take off and throw out such suspicions about them thoroughly, because they accepted both the systems at a certain stage of their history. The religions in the mainline of Korea used these terms to regard them as heresy, especially in the case of Korean mormonism. But reminding us of such negative images about Korean mormonism in the current multicultural situation is not true, and only an expression of their hostility against Korean mormonism. These terms, such as polygamy or discrimination, frequently coming on the stage in their critical comments against Korean mormonism are the examples which have already been come over completely in their history. A certain danger faced in a certain period of the history of a religious order, only if smartly overcome, can bring them a great merits. We can confirm it through mormon culture in Korea. Controversial are the angles of view of those who are in the mainline religions.
Why bother to take their biased angle? It is I think no other than clinging to cultural hegemony. For them, humans are not logical or reasonable at all. They can only respond to the first images engraved in their memory according to their survival instincts. Imperialism or totalitarianism is the case. It never gives us happiness. We are inclined to settle down easily on the single word ‘multiculture’ and not the plural ‘multicultures’. Human subject has the inclination to the totalitarian desire.
Notwithstanding the negative aspects, what the multicultural situation in Korean society demands us is that we need to assume the very compromising position on other cultures(or other religions) and have a good mind to understand them sincerely for far deeper development of ourselves and for us not being totalitarian. So it is an old saying in religious studies, “knowing only One, knowing Nothing” that we have to cherish most valuably in the current multicultural situation.