Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (대순사상과 동아시아종교)

DAOS(The Daesoon Academy of Sciences) (대진대학교 대순사상학술원)
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Freedom of Religion, Sangsaeng, and Symbiosis in the Post-COVID Study of (New) Religions

  • Donald A. WESTBROOK (San Jose State University)
  • Received : 2022.07.01
  • Accepted : 2023.03.20
  • Published : 2023.03.30
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Abstract

This article explores the intersection of freedom of religion, sangsaeng, and symbiosis when considering the post-COVID study of religions, especially new religions. When it comes to the study of new and alternative religious groups, where there is more potential for misunderstanding and misinformation, it becomes all the more important-and indeed mutually beneficial, in the areas of religious liberty, religious freedom, and cross-cultural dialogue-to learn about a tradition by taking into account the spiritual life and practices of members themselves and their own sacred writings and practices. Daesoon Jinrihoe offers a case study of the importance of this principle and the notion of sangsaeng in particular is a fruitful utilitarian lens for thinking about how scholars, journalists, and others might approach the study of religion in our complex and global digital age of (mis) information. Daesoon Jinrihoe is also considered in light of Roy Wallis's typology of world-rejecting, world-affirming, and world-accommodating new religious movements. Open areas for sociological research are proposed and the nascent field of Daesoon studies is compared to some similar scholarly endeavors within NRM studies.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

I am most grateful to the organizers of the 2022 JDTREA Conference, "New Frontiers in Daesoon Thought," where I presented an earlier version of this piece. In particular, I am thankful to Jason Greenberger for feedback before and during the conference.

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