The Asbury Journal 76/1: 35-60 © 2021 Asbury Theological Seminary DOI: 10.7252/Journal.01.2021S.04
Greg S. Whyte
A Comparative Analysis of the Major Religions in Japan and Korea During the Colonial Period
Abstract: To understand why the Christian gospel has success amid one culture, while seeming to fail in similar, neighboring cultures, one must look to additional factors than those often cited by missionary sources. Some of these factors would include the socio -political and religious context of each of those cultures in question, in addition to the prior encounters with Christianity and the reactions to the gospel by the receiving cultures. To illustrate this need, this paper analyzes the contexts of Japan and Korea during the period of Japanese expansion and wartime (1894 – 1945), and looks specifically at what was happening in the other major religions present at the time (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism), which would include their responses to the Christian missionary presence.
Keywords: Colonial Japan, Korea, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Christian mission Greg S. Whyte is a PhD student at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has an interest in the global church and how the gospel is shaped and interpreted by different cultures around the world, specifically in Eastern Asia. In addition to previously spending two years in South Korea as an English language instructor, Greg has also visited Peru, Ukraine, Southern India and Singapore. 35
