Abstract
Governments have attempted to contain the COVID-19 outbreak with a variety of regulations, including social distancing, facemask mandates, or limits on gatherings. South Korea was concerned by the “supercluster” case of a sectarian religious organization in February 2020. Since then, some Protestant churches have periodically caused cluster infections showing antagonism against health authorities. First, we traced all 2020 cluster cases and identified their denominational characteristics. We then utilized the 2020 CISJD data and conducted a series of multivariate regressions to answer the research question, “What causes differences among denominations in attitudes toward public disease control and in-person service attendance?” Results indicated that Protestants affiliated with liberal churches were more likely to follow public disease control guidelines and less likely to attend in-person religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared with individuals from other denominations. Protestants affiliated with moderate, conservative, and fundamentalist churches tended to share antagonism toward public disease control, while cherishing in-person community rituals. This research highlights social implications of public conflict in Korea, where many Protestant churches have emphasized the significance of traditional worship services, claiming the constitutional right of religious freedom, while the majority of citizens, religious and non-religious, disagree with such exclusive claims against public safety.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has had chaotic effects at the individual, institutional, and public levels
Unlike other religious organizations, conservative or fundamentalist Protestant churches in South Korea have maintained a confrontational stance against public disease control policies
This study examined cluster cases of COVID-19 within religious organizations occurring within one year of the initial outbreak based on cumulative data from the Korea
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has had chaotic effects at the individual, institutional, and public levels. After instituting strong lockdown policies, South Korea has maintained a high-level safety compared with other countries. While many people in other countries have held the Korean CDC in high regard, Protestant churches and their leaders have caused internal conflicts. Protestant churches have been identified as main sources of cluster cases among religious organizations. When Koreans first learned of the COVID-19 outbreak in Shincheon-ji (literally translated as “a new heaven and earth”), a sectarian Christian church, they acknowledged the dangers of church cluster cases due to church members’ exclusive convictions and intimate interactions. Unlike other religious organizations, conservative or fundamentalist Protestant churches in South Korea have maintained a confrontational stance against public disease control policies (i.e., state rules and regulations regarding social distancing, facemask wearing, quarantine, etc.).
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