Thread by @koryodynasty

Interesting article in Hankook Ilbo on why there are so many cluster outbreaks affecting S. Korean Protestant Christianity and not other religions.

Simple answer: competition. Korean Christianity encourages competitive psychology, ranking religious faith. hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A202…

In other words, it means faith should come ahead of anything else, encouraging over the top competition. They see faith as their top priority, and go beyond common sense.

Some call for people to have a martyr's attitude, putting church in a dangerous situation which then gives wrong belief that their faith is the right one. They try to instill a sense of superiority to members of overcoming Covid-19 crisis through faith.

https://twitter.com/koryodynasty/status/1301028588934709250

For them, this "superior" faith is a greater source of pride than true faith and religious values - putting church activities ahead of quarantine control.

The pastors then become heroes to the congregation.

This is why we constantly see the emergence of pastors who emphasize face-to-face worship. For them, a government that blocks church activity is a form of Satan, because a pastor who criticises the government can be seen as a hero against Satan.

https://twitter.com/koryodynasty/status/1299711176826216448

There are also political reasons. These churches are mostly all conservative. Going against the government's quarantine measures is a means of strengthening anti-government sentiment. The conservative Christian lobby group holds formidable voting power.

https://twitter.com/koryodynasty/status/1295725917415735296

Some pointed out that now some churches are taking spiritual, physical, and material exploitation in the name of the religious maturity of the church members.

Point in case is the IM missionary group which has thrived thanks to Covid-19.

https://twitter.com/koryodynasty/status/1355049956055257091

IM is known to have expanded its business rapidly in line with the spread of Covid-19.

2-3 years ago, only had a few institutions, but number surged since last year, now 24. Covid-19 "blocked" children's study abroad/learn English so they created these "international" school.

The bottom line is, churches in Korea are synonymous with businesses desperate to survive and make juicy profits. Number of followers are decreasing, and they will do whatever it takes to hold their diminishing power hence the competition and corruption.