Religious Women and the Integration of Ethnic and Sexual Minorities in South Korea

• In Event: 262 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Piety, Gender, and Ethnicity

Abstract

South Korea hosts more than 1.5 million ‘foreign-origin’ residents (2013), mostly from surrounding Asian countries, and roughly equal numbers of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender). Despite their growing visibility, ethnic and sexual minorities remain largely isolated from the larger society. I investigate the complex roles of religiously devout women in integrating ethnic and sexual minorities in three transnational organizations: Onnuri (Mainstream Evangelical), Unification Church (Christian Sect), and Soka Gakkai (Buddhist). The project focuses on three dimensions of religious women in transnational religious organizations: 1) the reconciliation of the complex identities of religious women, 2) the moral discourses of women toward the inclusion of racial and sexual minorities, and 3) the actual interaction of women with ethnic and sexual minorities. The project posits that more-educated women generate more favorable moral discourses toward ethnic and sexual minorities than less educated women; that women in outsider, sectarian organizations are more likely to develop favorable moral discourses about, and close social ties with, ethnic minorities than those in mainstream churches; and that Buddhists develop more favorable moral discourses about, and close social ties with, sexual minorities than do Christians. Ultimately, I claim that moral discourses are shaped by women’s subjective interpretation of biblical scriptures, intersecting with their class and education background; and that their actual ties with ethnic and sexual minorities are influenced by the complex configuration of individual identities. I utilize participant–observation and in-depth interviews in religious organizations in South Korea.

Author

• Gowoon Jung, State University of New York-Albany