Beyond Belief: Understanding the Demographics and Dynamics of South Korea’s Religious “Nones”

Religious “nones” is currently used in academia as a category referring to individuals who do not have a specific religious belief or do not belong to a specific religious organization. The increase in the number of religious nones is a distinct religious, cultural, and social trend not only in the West but also around the world, and South Korea is no exception. The following questions arise: What are the trends of religious nones in South Korea? What are their characteristics? What are the historical, cultural and social factors for the large number of the irreligious in the country? This paper shows that South Korea boasts one of the highest percentages of the population with no religious affiliation in the world. The paper also finds that religious nones in the country tend to be “spiritual but not religious”, i.e., they have the characteristic of pursuing spirituality by practicing their faith in their own way outside of the institutional system. As for the factors for the high rate of religious nones, the paper argues that the phenomenon of irreligion in South Korea has a long history, e.g., suppression of shamanism and Buddhism during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), and that the popularity of shamanism and Confucianism, which are often seen more as spiritual practice and a philosophical system, respectively, has also been a contributing attribute. The rapid economic development, improved living standard, high education attainment level, and the rise of leisure culture are other factors for the rise in religious nones in Korea. The paper closes by reflecting on the implications of increasing religious nones for the concept of secularization.