• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.17
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• pp.113-134
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• 2004

According to Hans Kippenberg, the foundation of an academic study of religions coincided with the beginnings of modernization. Since the second half of the nineteenth century most European countries were involved in a process of rapid social change. The repercussions that this had for daily life were momentous. Instead of working for their traditional needs, people now had to produce goods for a market. Old customs ceded to private contracts and political laws. The superior knowledge of science replaced the inherited worldview. This deep changed severed societies from their ties to the past. Many educated people in Europe believed in an imminent end of all religions. Had not the scientific progress superseded the religious worldview? Historians had to come to terms with that expectation when they directed their attention to historical religions. Friedrich Max Muller introduced a new science, so-called Religionswissenschaft through the study of the ancient Vedic sources. He thought that genuine religion was a taste for, and sense of, the infinite. From his point of view, the Indian sources confirm that nature is more than mechanical laws. Thus his interpretation sought to contradict the materialist ideology of his day. Edward Burnett Tylor described religions as a kind of natural philosophy. His notion of 'soul' functioned to explain natural events. This legacy of the past cannot be missed even in modern society. Only the concept of the soul may preserve human dignity in an age of materialism. Gerardus van der Leeuw, also tried to perform the same function of the cultural critique for the renewal of the religious imagination in modern, rationalized Europe imprisoned in the iron-cage. In this respect, we could think that the interpretations of the history of the History of Religions in the light of the intellectual history are very suggestive for the korean student of religion. It helps them to describe the early history of the study of religion in Korea. For example, Yi Neung Wha(李能和) is regarded as 'a father of korean religious studies, but no one could present a proper answer for the question of why and through which connection of his intellectual milieu he was interested in the religious history and the study of religion. We would discover its signification in his confrontation of the prevailing social thought, such as social evolutionism.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.47
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• pp.163-190
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• 2017

This paper studies the recent surge in the number of faith-based films in Hollywood, with the aim to explore the context and implications of this new trend. By using the theoretical framework of the study of the Tilich and Van der Leeuw, who have explored the relationship between religion, culture and art, this article discusses the meaning of the spiritual theme in the film. A couple of common points can be found among the faith-based films that have been produced since the 2010s. While these films attempt a universal approach to the fundamental theme of spirituality through popular narratives familiar to the audience, they also stress 'historical truthfulness and credibility' by representing the reality, such as a featuring real person or a true story in the film. The main characters are depicted as "victorious losers" that are distinguished from the typical Hollywood superhero and the films repeatedly show the human being constantly 'asking' questions to God. By analyzing these characteristics, the paper demonstrates that recent Hollywood faith-based films have successfully differentiated themselves from existing religious films while symbolizing the universal beliefs and values beyond the religious message so as to attract more audiences to this field. The paper also suggests that despite the advances in modern science and knowledge, the public will always yearn for a spiritual recovery and salvation through the film medium, serving as a potential source that provides an outlet for spiritual experience.