KOREAN AMERICAN CHURCHES LACKING CULTURE
From the beginning, Korean American churches have severed their relationship with Korean cultural traditions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, etc. Korean Christianity view Korean cultural traditions as superstitious and idol worshipping, resulting to them rejecting their heritage. This has led the Korean American church to become ignorant about Korean culture and history. What started as a form of nationalistic movement opposing the Japanese occupation(mentioned in the history section) has become ironically an institute of opposition to Korean culture.
Most ethnic religious communities are not just a place of worship but a place to learn native languages, values, and cultures. Jewish synagogues and Middle Eastern mosques are all places or religious and cultural learning that takes place in both their native country and in places that they have migrated. Because Korean American Christians have religious practices that do not coincide with cultural traditions, Korean American churches face a unique challenge as an ethnic religious community. Korean American churches have lost their Korean cultural heritage and have abandoned their role as guardians of Korean culture, a role the many other ethnic religious group play in the U.S. Many Korean American church leaders do not believe that maintaining Korean culture is the church’s responsibility and may undermine the Christian faith.
From this cultural point of view, Korean American churches have led the second generation of Korean Americans to lose interest in learning and appreciating Korean culture and values. Fortunately, there seems to be a new wave of second and third generation Koreans who desire to learn about their cultural heritage and a sense of pride about being descendants of Koreans. Although they will not be able to find their cultural identity in the existing Korean American churches, hopefully a new generation of Korean American churches will begin to arise.
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