Reflections on Civilization, Modernity, and Religion in Light of the Fellowship of the Truth

This essay analyzes the meaning of "modern civilization" and the ways it relates to religion conceived as a "The Fellowship of Daesoon Truth (Daesoon Jinrihoe)." We take the expression "Fellowship of Truth" in the broadest sense as indicative of a human companionship with the true nature of the Real. We therefore understand the term to be practically equivalent with the concept of "religion" as connoting the ideas of bond, relationship, debt, and duty toward the Ultimate Reality, toward fellow human beings, and toward the cosmos in general. On this basis, our intent is to assess the nature and limits of the relationship between religion as a fellowship of the Truth and the tenets of modern civilization. Within this overarching perspective, the case of Daesoon Jinrihoe is particularly significant and fruitful for two sets of reasons. Firstly, this is so because Daesoon is typically branded a "new religious movement" open to modernity while it is also true that at least some of its representatives are wary of the negative implications of the modern world. Secondly, the significance of a study of Daesoon in light of the notion of religion as a "The Fellowship of the Truth" lies in that it asserts being rooted in tradition, which raises the question of its relationship with modernity.