Abstract
Since Koreans do not consider Confucianism to be part of religion, conventional religious identification questions cannot accurately capture the number of Confucians in Korea. Using the Korean General Social Survey and other data sources, we aim to describe the identification, beliefs, and practices related to Confucianism, especially ancestral rituals, and to examine whether these beliefs and practices differ across religious groups. Contrasted with 0.2% of the adult population identifying their religion as Confucianism in the 2015 Korean Census, 51% considered themselves as Confucians when asked, “(Regardless of your religious affiliation) do you consider yourself a Confucian?” If we consider those who think that rites for deceased family members are Confucian, the proportion was 44%. Considering those who conduct ancestral rites at a gravesite as Confucians, the proportion was 86%, but was only 70% when we count those who perform ancestral rites at home as Confucians. We also found substantial differences among religious groups. In general, Buddhists were most likely and Protestants were least likely to identify with Confucianism, believe in the power of ancestors, and perform ancestral rites. Perhaps most telling is the result of religious none falling in the middle between Buddhists and Protestants in terms of identification, beliefs, and rituals of Confucianism. The differences of religious groups appear to reflect religious syncretism and the exclusivity of religion. It is overstating to declare a revival of Confucianism, but it is reasonable to say that Confucianism is not a dying tradition in Korean society.
Highlights
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Instead of presenting the usual religious identification question from previous surveys or censuses, the 2016 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) asked respondents, “(Regardless of your religious affiliation) do you consider yourself a Confucian?” Table 1 showed that fifty-one percent of people considered themselves Confucians; by religious group, 67% of Buddhists, 60% of Catholics, 47% of the unaffiliated, and 38% of Protestants identified themselves as Confucian
The rich data on Confucian identity, ancestral beliefs, and ancestral rites from recent surveys revealed the number of Confucians and their relationships with religious groups
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Most other surveys do not include Confucianism as a response category, and those who want to identify as such need to answer “Other” or “Other (please specify).”The main problem with these religious identification questions is that Koreans, whether they conceive of themselves as Confucian or not, do not consider Confucianism a religion A person could participate in a Buddhist ritual one day, a shaman ritual the and a Confucian ritual the day after without feeling any contradiction and without being seen as a Buddhist, a Shamanist or a Confucian exclusively.” (Baker 2013a, p.190)
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