Yoido Full Gospel Church conducts weekly online worship services in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, March 2020. Yonhap
New book addresses fatigue about church growing among some Protestants
By Lee Yeon-woo
"Do you still go to church?"
Lee Hye-seong, the founder and CEO of the Christian publishing house Bookoven, feels the negative implication of this frequently asked question. He knows too well how churches are viewed by non-Christians. Churches are, most of the time, portrayed negatively here.
In Korea, churches are criticized for various reasons. Some megachurches are under attack for their leadership succession, which is based on family ties: sons succeed their pastor fathers who founded their churches, which go on to outgrow others against all odds to become megachurches with hundreds of thousands of members. To make this succession possible, all types of unethical activities are mobilized. Some church leaders have been sent to jail for their sexual misconduct or other types of illicit activities.
Lee Hye-seong, the founder and CEO of Seoul-based publishing house Bookoven and the author of "People Who Quit Going to Church" Courtesy of Lee Hye-seong
The public's fatigue with churches and church leaders has grown substantially, causing some to leave their church ― ironically enough to protect their own Christian beliefs. People like them ― those who quit going to church, although they still identify themselves as Protestants ― are called in Korean "Canaan."
Contrary to its original meaning outside Korea (meaning the land of milk and honey), Canaan in Korea refers to inactive Protestants who are disappointed by their church so they no longer go to church on Sundays. Such a meaning is derived from the reversed sound of the three-part word "Ca-na-an" which reads "an-na-ca," or "not going there anymore" in Korean.
Lee said the term was first used in the 1990s, but the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated some churchgoers to stop going to church. "In Korea, if parents go to church, their children are encouraged to go to church. It is likely their relatives go to the same church, too," Lee told The Korea Times. "When all your family members are Christians going to the same church, it's tough to say you will quit going to church."
Nonetheless, Lee did. He has been a Canaan Christian for three years. He chose to leave his church because he was sick of its over-emphasis on its own traditions rather than the Bible itself.
The pandemic has become a watershed moment for Korean churches. Churches have experienced sharp decreases in their membership. As infection cases increased, church services had to go online. Those who were skeptical about their Sunday worship began to leave one after another. Some moved to different churches.
The cover of "People Who Quit Going to Church" by Lee Hye-seong / Courtesy of Bookoven
Lee's acquaintances were no exception. As a Bible researcher who received a master's degree in arts from the Ezra Bible Institute for Graduate Studies, Lee wanted to know why people leave their church.
He interviewed Eight Canaan Christians, from pastors to married women with children. Their stories are reflected in his newly released book, "People Who Quit Going to Church."
Lee said the reasons behind people leaving their churches vary, adding that unethical leadership, ignorance of diversity and anti-intellectualism were three of the reasons.
"Unethical leadership is not a recent issue and it also happens in other countries. But it seems like Korea has more unethical church leadership cases compared to other countries," Lee said.
Some church members are also troubled by a certain lack of respect for diversity. A pastor's wife, who asked to be identified by the alias Kim Sun-mi in the book, said people's expectations and criticisms toward a pastor's wife made her leave the church.
"No qualification was needed to become a pastor's wife. I just happened to be one as I got married to my husband who is a pastor. But people judged me by my facial expressions, the way I spoke and even what I was wearing, simply because I am their pastor's wife. I was scrutinized by them," she said.
"A diverse spectrum of people in terms of age, gender and sexual orientation gather in a church to pursue a religious life. Traditional Korean churches barely pay attention to them and their human rights."
Members of Sarang Jeil Church participate in a worship service in Gwanghwamun Square due to Seongbuk District Office ordering the closure of the church for violating quarantine rules, October 2021. Newsis
Church leaders gripped by conspiracy theories and unscientific beliefs are another reason behind the decline in active church members.
Some church leaders fanned conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. They denied the existence of the pandemic, alleging that the leftist government had created it. They refused to follow quarantine and social distancing rules and pushed for Sunday worship in person.
Some pastors prohibit members from questioning them. "Some churchgoers are highly educated and these people are frustrated when they are forced to believe without asking questions," Lee said.
Despite their decision to leave the church, interviewees voiced their belief in God as unchanged. "I think my internal conflicts are natural," said a former pastor in her 30s, who asked to be referred to by the alias Kim Ji-yeon in the book. "No community offers an unperturbed sense of belonging, even for a family linked to love and blood."
"My action doesn't define my identity," Kim Sun-mi said in the book. "I'm a Christian, and that fact will never change whether I go to church or not."
