협동조합운동에 대한 기독교윤리적 이해

Abstract

Since the enforcement of the cooperatives law in 2012, the issue of cooperatives has been a major social concern in Korea. The cooperative movement is considered as an alternative social movement to the new-liberal capitalistic society. For the Christianity it is the way of practice of Christian beliefs and the social responsibility of the churches. The history of the Korean church shows that the cooperative movement by churches is an effective way of mission and social ministry. It is very difficult to develop and sustain a cooperative successfully. To overcome these difficulties it is needed to understand the concept, categories and history of the cooperative movement. There are several reasons for churches to be interested in and participate actively in the cooperative movement. Especially, there are three shared values and Christian beliefs in the cooperative movement as follows. Firstly, the goal of the cooperative movement and Churches is the formation of a community which regard life and human beings as the most valuable thing. Secondly, the community is organized on the spirit of cooperation and solidarity. Lastly, the community is operated by a democratic decision. Even though the realities of the cooperative movement are insufficient, when comparing to Jerusalem community in the New Testament, the cooperative movement is a meaningful attempt to realize the Christian value in the world.