일제강점기 신종교의 위장 개종에 대한 연구—수운교의 사례를 중심으로—

Abstract

Perhaps no other time in the history of Korean religion was characterized by the rise and fall of so many religions than Japanese occupation period. The Japanese occupation was a time when all available religious resources were mobilized to create as many religions as possible. This study aims to describe the birth, growth, and splintering of Suwoongyo, a Tonghak-affiliated new religious sect, and to trace its conversion to Japanese Buddhism in 1937 and the exposure of its disguised conversions in 1938 and 1941. Suwoongyo, which kept changing its name to Mitagyo, Heungryongsa, Mugeukdaedo, demonstrated the standard possibilities of a new religion in a colonial context. On the surface, it presents a pro-Japanese picture of compromise and eventual ‘mass conversion’ to Japanese Buddhism. However, at its core, as evidenced by the ‘disguised conversion’ incident, Suwoongyo continued its religious resistance to the colonial situation. Thus, the true nature of new religions during the Japanese occupation is not well captured by the pro-Japanese/anti-Japanese binary. This study intentionally sought to portray the religion through sources outside of the religion. Many extant new religions, including Suwoongyo, often describe their early history by cherry-picking data from the colonial context that is favorable to their religion. However, by failing to use all available sources to create a three-dimensional history, we are missing out on the very unique religious possibilities that new religions realized during the colonial period.