포스트모던과 신종교

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to examine the present situation of new religions from the point of view ‘postmodern’ and to think of their future. In the concrete, I apply context of ‘after’, ‘anti’, and ‘trans’ that consist of central index of postmodernism. Postmodernism from the context of ‘after’ has positive meaning generally. In this case, ‘modern/postmodern’ constructs a structure of ‘continuance’ or ‘succession’. Postmodernism from the context of ‘anti’ has negative one. This ‘modern/postmodern’ forms a structure of ‘opposition’ or ‘discord’. And postmodernism from ‘trans’ has a context of ‘transcendence’ or ‘conquest’. In this case, ‘modern/postmodern’ constitutes a structure of ‘sublation(Aufheben)’ or ‘transcendence’. I find that the new religions of Korea take pride in their history of establishment and are still trying to continue and repeat it. I also point that their effort has a limit that it is rather a kind of rumination on their history than creative succession of it. New religions of Korea have been in possession of a strong motif, that is ‘the foundation’, ‘the beginning’. ‘To break banality!’ This is the basis of existence and forte of Korean new religions. Recently we see that there is a sign of new change in a topographic map of Korean new religions. Some of them show a current of ‘new spirit movement’, trying to accept modern culture or popular culture.