An Unholy Alliance of Othering: The South Korean Church and the Military

Abstract Previous scholarship on the relationship between the military and the church has tended to emphasise the positive dimensions of both institutions. This article, however, critically examines their relationship in light of their fundamentally divergent values, articulated as Pax Romana and Pax Christi . It poses two questions: why does the church endorse the military despite these differences, and why does the military regard the church as an ally – specifically, what characteristics of the church does it consider a strategic asset? The article examines the Jeongunsinjahwaundong (1969–1973; Total Religionization Movement in the Military). By analysing this case, it argues that anti-communism functioned as the primary ideological framework that unified the two institutions. The latter part of the article traces the historical and theological foundations of the Korean church’s anti-communism. Historically, it was shaped by American missionary influence and by the experiences of the northern Christians. Theologically, communism was redefined as atheism, recast as God’s enemy, and ultimately identified with the Antichrist. Apocalyptic view, dualism, and the notions of God’s chosen people and holy war further transformed political conflict into an ideological confrontation between Christianity and communism–between absolute good and absolute evil. Through this analysis, this article highlights how anti-communism became a theological ideology underpinning church-military, and by extension church-state, cooperation in South Korea.