Christian Fundamentalism and Prominent Sociopolitical Values among College Students in a South-Korean University

http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2007/2007-25.html

Eun Jung Oh, Stacy L. Bliss, and Robert L. Williams

The authors gave about 200 South Korean students a survey to see if their sociopolitical beliefs and religious affiliations had any correlation with American sociopolitical and religious beliefs, specifically that fundamentalist Christians are less tolerant of dissent than other religions and more nationalistic.

The students were Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, and agnostic/atheist.

Protestant students in South Korea do not exhibit the same blind patriotism and disrespect for civil liberties as American fundamentalists. Dr. Seig: We worship different gods! Christianity in the two countries are not the same Christianity.

"One possibility strongly suggested by the comparison of the Korean sample with the previously studied American sample is that Christian fundamentalism may be associated with a different worldview in South Korea than in the U.S. It appears that Christian fundamentalism has become less negatively linked to such notions as respect for civil liberties and tolerance of dissent in South Korea than in the U.S. Thus, there appears to be less tension between Christian fundamentalism and democratic principles (e.g., respect for civil liberties and tolerance of dissent) in South Korea than in the U.S. 35"

"The current findings suggest that South-Korean Christians may be less inclined to use their Christian beliefs to restrict the personal and legal rights of individuals within a society than appears to be the case for American Christians having a fundamentalist perspective."