우리나라 종교정책의 문제점과 개혁방향에 관한 고찰

Abstract

This paper begins with the central question of whether the religious policy of Korea fulfills the fundamental goal of advancing public interests faithfully. The Korean constitution declares the principles of the freedom of religion and of the separation of politics and religion. However, throughout the course of modern Korean history, actual religious policy has been shaped by real politic without accompanying either rational analysis or social discourse. The essential paradigms of Korean religious policy are the official recognition of religion and the two-tiered privilege gap; the latter is seen as a potential trigger for a serious religious conflict. In terms of conflict, the nationwide protest by Buddhists in 2008 is argued to have been a reflection of the institutionalization of the prohibition of religious discrimination amongst public officials. The prohibition was only ever a partial policy amendment, and was therefore insufficient as a means of preventing religious conflict. In order to secure maximum public interest, the core policy paradigms of an official recognition of religion and a twotiered privilege gap should be abolished.