SEOUL (UCAN): The Catholic Church in South Korea is the most trusted religious group on the peninsula, according to a recent survey.
Among those surveyed, 21.4 per cent of respondents revealed that they had more trust in Catholicism in comparison to other religions in the country.
The 2023 Korean Church Social Trust Survey was conducted by G&Com Research on behalf of the Christian Ethics Practice Movement from January 11 to 15 among 1,000 men and women over 19 years of age.
According to the survey, Protestantism came second with 16.5 per cent of respondents supporting it, while Buddhism occupied the third spot with 15.7 per cent.
However, in comparison to 2020 data, the overall reliability of Catholicism, Protestantism, and Buddhism declined.
The survey report was released on February 16, at the 100th Anniversary Memorial Hall of Korean Churches in Seoul. It also provided an analysis of the trust level of respondents based on their income levels.
High-income respondents trusted Catholicism the most, while low-income respondents felt that Protestantism was more trustworthy. A comparison of each religion’s social service activities was also carried out in the survey.
In terms of the volume or number of social support activities conducted, Catholics accounted for 29.4 per cent, Protestants for 20.6 per cent while Buddhists accounted for 6.8 per cent.
Catholicism also tops out in terms of the quality of social support services proviced to people. In 2020 Protestantism occupied the top spot.
Among the respondents, 26.7 per cent felt that Catholic social support services offered good quality. Protestants came in second at 19.8 per cent and Buddhists at 9.8 per cent.
The survey also evaluated the overall contribution of religious groups to South Korean society.
According to the survey, Catholicism at 26.4 per cent, made the largest positive contribution followed by Protestantism at 15.7 per cent, and Buddhism at 15.1 per cent.
The Korean Catholic Church which was a ‘receiving Church’ until the mid-1980s had evolved into a ‘sharing Church’ by 1992. It contributes to Korean society through its multi-faceted support system and takes care of young and old alike through schools, colleges, hospitals, elderly care, migrant advocacy, environmental protection, pro-life advocacy, and more.
This report is brought to you in partnership with the Catholic Times of Korea.
