Preparing for the Confucian Millennium: The Korean New Religious Movement Kaengjŏngyudo

Despite its small size and unconventional doctrines, the Korean new religious movement, “Rectified Confucian Way” (Kaengjŏngyudo), exerts considerable influence on Korean society today. Members of the group operate dozens of children’s camps and other educational programs aimed to promote traditiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nova religio 2021-08, Vol.25 (1), p.64-86
Main Author: Kaplan, Uri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Language
Morality
Religion
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Despite its small size and unconventional doctrines, the Korean new religious movement, “Rectified Confucian Way” (Kaengjŏngyudo), exerts considerable influence on Korean society today. Members of the group operate dozens of children’s camps and other educational programs aimed to promote traditional moral behavior among the population, in line with their millennial vision of an evolving Confucian era. This article offers the first English-language introductory investigation of this fascinating movement. It reviews the early twentieth-century mystical genesis of the religion, its development of scriptures and rituals, and its members’ active, optimistic attempts to lead the world into the Confucian millennium. Based on this data, the paper suggests that this group offers a unique model of a long-term, gradualist—rather than imminent—millennial expectation.
ISSN:1092-6690
1541-8480
DOI:10.1525/nr.2021.25.1.64