From Separation/survival to Embrace/self-emptiness: Politics, Religion, and the Korean Immigrant Church

Due to their ties to their home countries, immigrant churches reflect foreign political, ideological, and cultural influences. These influences impact both the church and the immigrant community. Korean immigrant churches, shaped by Korea's political context, often maintain mono-faith and mono-ethnic structures, fostering exclusionary attitudes. In the diverse landscape of the United States, this exclusivity may provoke isolation or even violence. Therefore, examining the intersection of political-religious identity and immigration in these churches is crucial. In this paper, I argue that Korean immigrant church should transition its foundational structure from an exclusive structure of separation/survival to the structure of embrace/self-emptiness. It explores the origins of the separation/survival structure through the political context of Korea and proposes a theological framework based on Christ's ministry for embrace/self-emptiness.