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Concept
Cheondoism
Summary
Cheondoism (spelled Chondoism in North Korea; ) is a 20th-century Korean pantheistic religion, based on the 19th-century Donghak religious movement founded by Ch'oe Che-u and codified under Son Pyŏng-Hi. Cheondoism has its origins in the peasant rebellions which arose starting in 1812 during the Joseon dynasty.
Cheondoism incorporates elements of Korean shamanism. It places emphasis on personal cultivation and social welfare in the present world. Splinter movements include Suwunism and Bocheonism.
Cheondogyo translated literally means "religion of the Celestial Way", where cheon means "sky", do means "way" (written with the same character as Chinese Tao), and gyo means "religion", "teaching", "-ism".
Over time, Cheondoism has also adapted elements of other Korean religious traditions, including Do (Taoism) and Buddhism.
In keeping with its roots in Confucian thought, Cheondoism venerates Cheon (Sky) as the ultimate principle of good and justice, which is referred to by the honorific term Haneullim (하늘님), or "Divinity". According to the church doctrine, the term "Haneul" does not only mean the Sky but represents the whole universe, oneness. This title implies the quality of Heaven as "instructor", that is a belief that man and things are not created by a supernatural (out of nature) God, but generated by a God, divinity that is already inside all beings, both living and unliving
Also in keeping with its Confucian background, Cheondoism places emphasis on personal cultivation in the belief that as one improves one's innate nature, one comes closer to the Sky, and that all things are the same as God in terms of their innate quality. Choe Si Hyong, the leader who published Cheondoism's scriptures, established the core principle of the unity of all things based on this innate presence of the divine. This principle carried with it a sense that "to serve a person is to serve Heaven."
Professor Roland Boer summarizes the cultural impact of Chondoism as follows:
Chondoism bequeathed to Korean culture a number of principles, with an explicit drive to social and religious equality.
Official source
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