The political discourse of conservative protestant sermons in South Korea

This study provides an empirical analysis of the politicization and far-right tendencies embedded in the sermons of conservative Protestant pastors in South Korea, employing the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Despite the increasing tendency among conservative preachers to promote political messages and behaviors under the guise of religious communication, systematic linguistic analyses of such discourse remain scarce. This research examines six sermons delivered on “Korean War Sunday” (June 29, 2025), selected for their explicitly conservative orientation. The analysis was conducted across CDA’s three levels—textual, discursive practice, and social practice. Using a multi-layered coding strategy including open, axial, and selective coding, the study identified six key discourse codes: anti-communism, political agitation, prosperity gospel, eschatology, ethnotheocracy, and church politicization. These were further analyzed through frequency mapping, correlation matrix construction, and hierarchical clustering to visualize interrelations and structural formations. Heatmaps and cluster diagrams illustrate how these discursive elements interact to form a complex ideological apparatus. The findings reveal that conservative sermons often employ an indirect "dual integration strategy"— appearing to separate faith and politics rhetorically, while in practice binding them tightly through religious language. This strategy facilitates the political instrumentalization of religion, emotional mobilization, and distortion of the democratic public sphere. Limitations include the exclusion of audience reception analysis and the limited number of sermon cases. Future research should incorporate reception studies and cross-national comparisons to further explore the political functions of religious discourse.