The Characteristics of Changes in State-Church Relations in Korea’s COVID-19 Pandemic

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the Korean government announced restrictions on religious activities such as worship services and small group gatherings. Unlike their Buddhist and Catholic counterparts, who responded relatively pliably to the government’s quarantine guidelines, Protestants were divided in their responses: some churches actively complied with the government’s instructions, while other churches voiced opposition. This study analyzes the cases of two churches that responded differently to the government’s quarantine restrictions. The goal is to analyze the characteristics of changes in Korea’s ‘state-religion’ relationship in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first characteristic of the changing state-religious relationship is that the state-church relationship can no longer be divided into a progressive or conservative dichotomy like before but rather is individualized for each church. The second is that the state-church relationship differs by issue and that regional variables play a bigger role than before. Local churches, in particular, are more likely to become influenced by their region in their relationship with the government than those in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. This is because these churches are able to exert more influence in the region with their human and material resources. The local church’s response to the COVID-19 quarantine guidelines showed how the church could either bond with or confront the government in dealing with natural and social disasters, as well as local problems. The changes and characteristics of the state-church relationship in the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea provide insight into future analyses of state-religious relations.