Militarism and Korean Protestant Churches

With the idea that it is important to distinguish between institutional mechanisms and informal practices of Protestant militarism, in this article, I examine the relationship between Korean Protestant churches and militarism in two dimensions. Firstly, I focus on institutionalized channels and mechanisms that contribute to militarism’s direct infiltration of the church. This includes military chaplaincy, the Christian doctrine of war and peace, and doctrinal anticommunism. Active support for sending Korean troops to assist in a war of aggression and strong opposition to conscientious objector status can be said to be the result of these three factors working together. Secondly, I focus on informal practices that allow and encourage militarism to rule the daily lives and consciousnesses of Protestant believers. These include the spiritual warfare frame, foreign and North Korea missions, and domestic evangelism and church-building.