This paper is an explorative study for understanding non-religious people in Korean society. To do this, 1) it describes roughly who the non-religious people are in Korean society based on the results of the census, 2) proposes more detailed categories for the analysis of non-religious people, and 3) reviews the basic characteristics of non-religious groups by the available data of KGSS.
Census analysis shows that males and younger age groups (under 30s) account for a large proportion of non-religious people. By region, Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Chungcheong were the highest, but the growth rate were the most prominent in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam. In addition, according to the estimates considering the distribution of residential areas by class, there seems to be less non-religious people and less of an increase in the upper class.
For a more detailed analysis of non-religious people, this study presents subcategories of anti-theists, a-theists, non-theists, and semi-theists, and analyses data related to the ratios and demographic characteristics of each type based on KGSS. According to this research, among the four types presented in this study, the highest group is atheists, followed by semitheists, antitheists, and nontheists. And nontheists in 2018 compared to 2008 has increased significantly. Regarding demographic characteristics, antitheists are more prominent among males and very progressive people than it is in religious people.

In Korean religious culture, the belief and practice of a heavenly god (天神) or a heavenly way (天道) are important research topics. Korean new religions are no exception to this. This paper discovers historical materials pertaining to ritual to heaven of early Eastern Learning and tries to understand the characteristics of the rituals in an attempt to grasp heavenly rituals of Korean new religions.
Firstly, this paper focuses on the examples of 'building altars and holding heavenly rituals' (設壇祭天) in the time of Suwoon (水雲), the founder of Eastern Learning. Depending on the writer's perspective, the ritual was either described as sacrifice or prayer. Generally, outside critics portrayed these rituals of Eastern Learning as a sacrificial rite that deludes the world and deceives the people. On the other hand, inner believers emphasized it was a form of devout prayer that enabled holy communion with god.
Secondly, this paper pays attention to the insurgent leader Lee Pilje (李弼濟)'s ritual cases of 'slaughtering of cows and dedicating them as an offering to heavenly god' (殺牛祭天) in Younhae and Youngyang. He secretly carried out this ritual to god in order to legitimize his own political rebellion and inspire his followers' will to revolt before taking violent action.
With data on the ritual to heaven of early Eastern Learning, we can interpret the characteristics of their prayer and sacrifice, and recognize their effects on religious awakening and political action.

自從萊文森(Joseph Levenson)在1960年代預期儒家的博物館化以來, 到1980年代末余英時的儒學游魂說, 儒家命運的前景一直是悲觀的。當前, 中國儒敎或者中國儒學的復興成爲一個不可否認的事實。其中, 許多學者關注民間儒學蓬勃發展的現象。盡管在'民間儒學'的硏究當中, 不同意義的話語幷存, 但本文涉及了所謂'21世紀的民間儒學', 而它和'作爲民間宗敎的民間儒學'以及'特別關懷老百姓的民間儒學(如泰州學派或太谷學派等)'幷不分開, 也有些關聯点。
本文介紹幷說明了當前中國 民間儒學的各種活動, 例如陽明精舍、道里書院、長白山書院等的民間書院以及明德書院召開的國學總裁班、國學商道大智慧峰會、天津市明德國學館所辦的講學、演講等等。從而發現民間儒學的發展需要儒家知識分子的積極參與。 但是, 隨着民間儒學的盛行, 我們可以預見, 領導者和大衆角色之間的界限將變得越來越狹窄。
民間儒學的各種活動已經進行了大約半個世紀, 而民間儒學的參與者之間在某些問題上不免出現分岐。民間儒學是當前中國儒家文化的重要趨勢, 而且如今仍然活躍, 而我們尙不知道兒童讀經敎育問題將如何通過協調而發展, 也不知道民間儒學在中國共産黨的社會主義路線下將采取哪些政治和宗敎方面的態度。 但是, 假設民間儒學建立了鄕村的文化空間幷得到發展, 以致儒家价値觀逐漸渗透到各級學校、企業和政府机構的文化中, 而且其力量得到了擴展, 那么, 我們可以對儒家未來的命運抱有積極的信念。當儒家思想紮根于民間而其价値在日常生活中逐漸顯現時, 余英時所說的儒學的游魂會附體, 而就民間儒學而言, 其'體'就是'民間'。我認爲這是民間儒學最可取的方面。

The formation and solidification of canonical scriptures in Daoism facilitated the establishment and development of the religious tradition. In particular, medieval Daoism was grounded on a unique conception of writs and scriptures. The Daoist concept of scripture is founded on a belief system in which letters and sounds are particular forms of qi, or the omnipresent “pneuma and energy.” Such a way of thinking provides a lead for understanding the Daoist veneration of scriptures and other various practices. The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics of Daoist canonical scriptures as “sacred beings,” mainly through an investigation of the Daoist perspective on scriptures, scripture-worship, and the relationship between scripture and practice.

In recent days, Korean Protestantism begins to show symptoms of shrinkage. As a possible cause of such shrinkage, this thesis pays attention to the phenomena of uniformity that prevails among Korean Protestant churches regardless of denominational differences. Among several aspects of the uniformity, two aspects are conspicuous in recent days. One is the repulsion against Darwinian theory of evolution, the other the hatred against homosexuality. In this thesis, firstly, by analyzing several documents of evolution vs creation debates triggered by creationists' petition for revising high school science textbook, I diagnose the causes of Korean Protestants' repulsion against Darwinism. Secondly, likewise, by analyzing several documents of homophobic propaganda triggered by recent same-sex marriage issue, I diagnose the causes of the Korean Protestants' hatred against homosexuality. Through these works, I will show how Korean Protestantism is assembling under new banners of anti-Darwinism and homophobia and, as the result, is transforming itself into a rigid and asocial religion.