The Trend of the Colonial Authorities’ Policieson New Religions During the Japanese Occupation: Focusing on the Concepts of ‘Religion-like Organizations’ and ‘Pseudo-Religions’

In the early years of the forced annexation, the Governor-General of Korea classified all religious organizations active in Korea as ‘Religions,’ and Korean new religions were regarded as ‘Korean religions,’ treated equally with other religions. However, the Governor-General argued strongly for the necessity of restricting the religious freedom of ‘Korean religions,’ viewing their strong political tendencies as a threat. This perspective on controlling new religions persisted throughout the colonial period, with the degree of suppression varying over time, from targeting specific groups to implementing comprehensive repression of all new religions. After the promulgation of Pogyogyuchik (布敎規則), new religions were redefined as ‘Religion-like organizations’ (宗敎類似團體). Additionally, these organizations were permitted some level of operational freedom unless they were deemed secret societies. During the 1920s, under the Cultural Governance Policy (文化統治) of the Governor-General, the freedom of association was expanded, leading to a significant increase in the number of ‘Religion-like organizations.’ By the 1930s, as Japan‘s military gained dominance over politics and the country moved further toward militarism and a total war regime, the repression of New religions in colonial Korea intensified under the guise of ideological control. The Oomoto Incident triggered crackdowns on ‘Pseudo-religions (類似宗敎)’ in both Japan and Korea. Among the classifications of new religious lineages, organizations belonging to the Jeungsan (甑山) lineage faced particularly severe repression. Baekbaekgyo (白白敎) incident further reinforced the perception of ‘Pseudo-religions=Heretical cults (邪敎)’ in Korean society, leading to policies aimed at eradicating New religions entirely. As a result, by 1937, only a few New religious organizations that cooperated with the colonial regime were allowed to maintain their nominal existence.