Between God and ancestors: ancestral practice in Korean Protestantism

Abstract

This article examines traditional (Confucian) ancestral rites in Korea and their transformation into a distinctive ancestral practice within the Protestant Church called chudoyebe, a death anniversary rite. It argues that chudoyebe, a Christian alternative to traditional Confucian ancestral rites, typifies a harmonious result of the interactions between the Confucian tradition and the Christian faith. The article reveals the ways in which, in their memorial ritual, Korean Christians have struggled to balance ‘religious piety to God’ and ‘filial duty to ancestors’, which represent core Christian and Confucian values, respectively.