Abstract
Since its modern origins in the Buddhist Purification Movement of the 1950s, South Korea’s Jogye Order has established monastic celibacy as central to its identity and claim to legitimacy as a Buddhist sect. However, in the order’s urgency to introduce Buddhist chaplains to the South Korean military in the 1960s, after almost two decades of Protestant monopoly over the chaplaincy program, the Jogye Order permitted its chaplains to marry; a practice which soon became the norm. This contradiction grew increasingly problematic for the order over subsequent decades and, in 2009, it attempted to resolve the issue by reversing the marriage exception for chaplains, reinforcing their identity as monastics within the order. While controversial, the resolution has proved effective in practice. However, this reversal has also provoked unprecedented lawsuits against South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense in 2017 and a ruling by Korea’s Human Rights Commission in 2018, challenging the Jogye Order’s exclusive control of the military’s Buddhist chaplaincies. Given the challenges these issues currently present to the Jogye Order’s chaplaincy program, this article interrogates the origins, history, significance, and impact of the issues surrounding the order’s marriage exemption for its military chaplains.
Highlights
Article 20 of the current Republic of Korea constitution grants religious freedom to its citizens and prohibits the state from according privileged status to any religion.In practice, only select religious organizations are permitted to participate in the South Korean military’s chaplaincy program
South Korean military chaplains, in turn, help conscripts emotionally endure the rigors of military life and legitimize mandatory military service as a force for the greater good
Introduced in the fourth century C.E., Buddhism thrived on the Korean Peninsula for over a millennium as a state religion patronized by a succession of kingdoms
Summary
Article 20 of the current Republic of Korea ( known as South Korea) constitution grants religious freedom to its citizens and prohibits the state from according privileged status to any religion. With 134 active chaplains, the JO celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Buddhist chaplaincy program in 2018.1 Largely heralded a success, the program is regarded as crucial to the order’s proselytization efforts It has generated contradictions which have become problematic for the order over recent decades. The resolution incited further controversy, highlighting incongruities between the military and religious hierarchies to which the order’s chaplains are accountable It provoked two unprecedented lawsuits against South Korea’s. Human Rights Commission in 2018, challenging the order’s monopolization of the Buddhist chaplaincy program Given the challenges these issues currently present to the JO’s chaplaincy program, this article interrogates the origins, significance, and impact of the issues surrounding the JO’s marriage exemption for its chaplains. It concludes with a discussion of the overall impact and future implications of the JO’s efforts to end the marriage exception for its chaplains
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