힘의 악용으로서의 가정폭력과 종교: 기독교신앙의 역할

Abstract

Domestic violence has been recognized as a serious social problem affecting the lives of millions of women in the world. This article presents research of the abuse experience of Korean Christian women, seeking the implications for pastoral care from a feminist perspective. Christian women ask religious questions in order to understand and find a way out of their abuse experience through the lens of faith. They want to know why they had to suffer, and they want to understand the meaning of divorce and forgiveness. There are no easy and simple answers to those difficult questions, however. Although women struggle to achieve their own perspective on their suffering, they still want to hear more from the church and their pastors. Understanding that Christian women tend to stay longer in their abusive marriages due to their faith, special attention is given to what faith meant to the women in my interviews. The recurring themes and women’s reflection on their church experiences are described and interpreted by providing reinterpretation of traditional Christian values from a feminist perspective. Along with reinterpretation, implications for pastoral caregivers, clergy, and domestic violence professionals are suggested in order to seek steps forward for the Korean Christian women and the communities of the Korean church. Most women I interviewed reflected that their faith carried them through their sufferings and that religion played an important role in overcoming hard times. However, some traditional theological beliefs can be very harmful for Christian women in an abusive relationship. In many cases, abused Korean Christian women’s religious convictions lead them to believe that they have to endure their abuse. Various meanings of traditional beliefs: the meaning of forgiveness, suffering, and the cross have been explored by the abused Christian women. The church should provide advocacy and pastoral care for victims and survivors of domestic violence, challenge traditional religious teaching by providing different perspectives, and foster healing and reconciliation within the church. The important role of the pastoral caregiver is to challenge traditional values that capture women in abusive relationships. In doing so, the faith community should be trustworthy with victims and survivors of family violence by responding with truth telling.