SOCIAL PRESSURE, THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGIOUS INTEREST, AND THE INCREASING VISIBILITY OF ISLAM IN SOUTH KOREA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32699/4k9b0230Keywords:
South Korea, social pressure, religiosity, anomie, mental healthAbstract
This study examines declining religious interest in South Korea and its relationship with social pressures, mental health challenges, and the reconfiguration of spirituality in modern society. It aims to analyze these interconnected dynamics and explore the growing visibility of Islam as a minority spiritual alternative. This study adopts a qualitative-interpretive approach grounded in Émile Durkheim’s theory of anomie. Data are drawn from a literature review, semi-structured interviews, scholarly articles, media reports, and official statistics. The findings indicate that the weakening of institutional religiosity is associated with individualism, modernization, competitive culture, and pressures arising from work and academic expectations. However, declining religiosity does not necessarily signify the disappearance of spirituality. Some individuals turn toward agnosticism or non-institutional spirituality, while others express interest in Islam as a source of moral discipline, community solidarity, and transcendental meaning. Changes in South Korea’s religious landscape reflect a reconfiguration of spirituality in response to modern pressures. Islam may offer an alternative framework for meaning-making for some segments of society, particularly younger generations.
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