ENCOUNTER WITH MODERNITY: THE

"MCDONALDIZATION" AND "CHARISMATIZATION" OF KOREAN MEGA-CHURCHES

HONG, YOUNG-GI*

The dynamism of Korean Christianity today has become a significant element

in Korean society. Korean Protestant Christianity can be characterized by
rapid church growth and the emergence of mega-churches, and these attract
the focus of scholarly investigation.1
The Protestant population in Korean society has grown significantly since the
1960s. The Protestant population increased enormously from 623,072 in 1960
to 6,489,282 in 1985, and to 8,760,000 in 1995. In 1995, with Korean
Protestants (19.7%) and Catholics (6.6%) combined, Korean Christians represented about 26 percent of the total population.2 Grayson3 argues that Korean
Protestant Christianity has become fully implanted in the cultural soil of
Korea. Christianity, in spite of its short history in the country, now ranks
alongside Buddhism as a major religion in Korean society.

The phenomenon of Korean mega-churches

The phenomenon that attracts scholarly attention, along with the growth of
the Korean Protestant population, is the fact that there are many large
and mega-churches in Korea. In 1999, it was estimated that there were
nearly 400 large churches and 15 mega-churches.4 The exceptional characteristic of Korean mega-churches, namely, that it is not easy to build such
a huge church organization which thousands of people voluntarily attend,
has been the object of academic interest, regardless of any value judgement
about the phenomenon. Table 1 shows the profile of 15 Korean Protestant
mega-churches in 2002. Most large churches and mega-churches are in
the centre of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, or the surrounding metropolitan areas. Most mega-churches have many other sanctuaries where people can attend services by closed-circuit television, and have five to seven
services on Sunday. Most members of the congregations attend once each
Sunday, although some attend twice. All the mega-churches have many
sections, such as departments of mission, education, social work, home-cell
meetings, parish systems, etc. All of these churches own their buildings.
Most mega-churches operate church buses to provide transportation to
services.

*Hong, Young-gi is an ordained pastor at the Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea. Dr Hong
is also the president of the Institute for Church Growth (the chairman of the board is Rev. David
Yong-Gi Cho) and teaches missiology at Hansei University.

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Table 1 The profile of 15 Korean Protestant mega-churches in 2002

: W

Youngnak

1945

Han, Kyong-jik
(Yi, Chul-sm, 1997)

Presbytenan, Tong-Hap

Seoul

13,000
24,000

Myungsung

1980

Kim, Sam-hwan

Presbyterian, Tong-Hap

Seoul

Ju-an

1955

Na, Kyum-il (1978)

Presbytenan Tong-Hap

Inchon

15,000

Somang

1977

Kwak, Sun-hee

Presbytenan, Tong-Hap

Seoul

22,000

Onnun

1985

Ha, Yong-jo

Presbytenan Tong-hap

Seoul

17,000

Chunghyun

1953

Kim, Chang-in,
(Kim Sung-kwan, 1997)

Presbytenan, Hap-Tong

Seoul

13,000

Sarang-eui

1978

Ok, Han-heum

Presbytenan, Hap-Dong

Seoul

18,000

Kwanghm

1953

Kim, Sun-do, (1971)

Methodist

Seoul

25,000

Soong-eui

1917

Yi, Ho-moon (1973)

Methodist

Inchon

13,000

Kumnan

1957

Kim, Hong-do (1971)

Methodist

Seoul

25,000

Yoido Full
Gospel

1958

Cho, Yong-gi

Assemblies of God

Seoul

230,000

Full Gospel
Inchon

1983

Choi, Sung-kyu

Assemblies of.God

Inchon

11,000

Eunhye (nhye)
wa Chilli
1981

Cho,Yong-mok

Assemblies of God

Anyang

50,000

Sungnak

1969

Kim, Ki-dong

Southern Baptist

Seoul

23,000

Man Mm
Choon-ang

1982

Yi, Jae-rok

Unification Holiness

Seoul

12,000

Studies of the phenomenon of the Korean mega-churches have so far been at

the descriptive level.6 However, given the complexity of explaining a religious
movement, to understand the development of the Korean mega-churches in
the global context will be an intriguing study. A key aspect is to examine the
impact that modernity has had on the Korean mega-churches and their
responses to that modernity.

Modernity and Korean mega-churches

Modernity is a complex term. It may be defined as a mode of social life and
moral understanding characterized by the universal claims of reason and
instrumental rationality, the differentiation of spheres of life-experience into
public and private, and the pluralization and competition of truth claims.7
Hence, the belief in progress and the faith placed in science can both be seen
as characteristic of modern thinking. Capitalism, urbanization, the modern
state, and the knowledge sector (e.g. universities and mass communication)
are regarded as major carriers of modernity. Modernity has a close relationship with modernization, secularization (theory) and instrumental rationality
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are an inseparable trinity.8 Sociologists, such as Weber and Durkheim, in

thinking about Europe, used to argue that the carriers of modernity, viz. industrialization and urbanization, would bring about the decline and perhaps even
the disappearance of religion.
Traditional sociological orthodoxy says that the secularization that often
accompanies modernization will triumph over religion and will cause the latter's disappearance. This has now been called into question simply because of
the persistence of religion in the face of modern secularism. Of late, many
sociologists9 suggest that secularization theory based on modernity is essentially mistaken. There has been a great resurgence of traditional religion, especially of Protestant Christianity, in non-Western countries such as Brazil and
Korea. Modernization has also provoked powerful movements of counter-secularization. James D. Hunter10 has described the rise of new religions, including evangelical Christianity such as Pentecostalism, as an "anthropological
protest against modernity".
A scholar interested in the relationship between the development of
evangelical Christianity and modernization will have his attention focused
on Korea, because Christianity has developed on good terms with modernization. The religious resurgence of Korean Protestantism, especially
Korean mega-churches, should be understood in the unique historical and
cultural context of Korea, with which the impact of modernity (with the
process of modernization) has interacted. Above all, the socio-political instability of the period of Japanese domination (1910-1945), especially in the
early years, accelerated the acceptance of modernization values in Korea.
During the Japanese colonial period, many Koreans expressed their hostility to the Japanese by becoming Christians. Protestantism could be accepted
as a value that is compatible with modernization; it did not clash with
nationalism because the colonial power was not a Western country but
Japan.11
Protestantism had the opportunity to modernize Korea in a way that would
counteract Japanese influence, and promote democratic reforms. Many
Korean intellectuals earnestly grasped Christianity, while the same kind of
people in China, where Western nations were the colonial powers, rejected
Christianity. Based on both modernization and Christian values, the Protestant
church in Korea took the initiative in responding to the social situation in the
country. The church also offered spiritual power to console and soothe the
minds of people who suffered from oppression.
The timing and introduction of Protestantism, as well as the social dislocation
of the age (due to the wars, and rapid urbanization and industrialization) have
both influenced the emergence of Korean mega-churches. Within this unique
historical context, Korean mega-churches have positively accepted the
process of modernization with its cultural values and theology. As a consequence, the churches have taken new institutional forms, and there have been
great explosions of religious fervour. The churches seem to have encouraged
some values and behaviour patterns that have contributed to the process of
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modernization, e.g. the use of technology, education, training in administrative skills, social mobility, and the use of women in lay leadership.
It is my thesis that the vitality and development of Korean mega-churches may
be explained by their balanced position of ambivalence toward modernity:
With the creation of meaningful religious experiences among their members
on the one hand, Korean mega-churches have protested against a modern
rational approach. On the other hand, the mega-churches have developed
effective modern institutions by embracing modern values and structures. This
paper hopes to elaborate this through two symbolic words:
"McDonaldization" and "charismatization".
The "McDonaldization" of the Korean mega-churches
One strong characteristic of modernity's effect on the Korean mega-churches
is the "McDonaldization" of the churches. The term "McDonaldization" is of
course derived from the American hamburger chain that began with humble
origins in the mid-twentieth century and is now claimed .to be the world's
largest restaurant franchise. According to George Ritzer12, "McDonaldization"
is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant business are
coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society, as well as the
rest of the world.
"McDonaldization" is a symbolic word for the modern rationalizing social
process in our contemporary world. It is not difficult to see how this kind of
rationality now controls many people's lives at almost every point; the Korean
mega-churches are no exception. Rationalized systems are not only tolerated
but growing, and are not just seen as a means to an end but an end in themselves.13 Here I would like to apply to the Korean mega-churches the characteristics of the "McDonaldization" process that Ritzer14 outlines (i.e. calculability, predictability, efficiency and control). Although "McDonaldization"
does not represent the whole impact of modernity, it seems to be a key determinant. Without having accepted a rationalized mind-set, the emergence of
mega-churches as institutional forms would have been impossible.
Market enterprise culture
Modernity is a normative order whose overarching moral rationale and imperative is summarized by the word "progress".15 It cannot be denied that the
acceptance of the value of progress has had a great impact on the quantitative
growth of the Korean mega-churches. Progress, in this context, is related to a
calculability that is about size and quantity, which are two of the characteristics of the "McDonaldization" process.16 They imply that "bigger is best" in
modern Korean society.17 This approach demands visible results.
Korean mega-churches have been greatly influenced by the trend of the North
American enterprise culture, both in socio-economic development and church
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theology. Rapid modernization, along with the priority of the government for
economic development, have influenced the preference for what is big,18 and
encouraged local "churchism" in Korea, by which churches had to compete
against one another to achieve a larger slice of the religious market share in an
uncertain society.
Korean mega-churches have been influenced by American rational caleulability so that they have adapted "church growth theology" into their modern cultural and social context.19 The same theological influence has encouraged the
use of high technology and strategies for church growth. This has led many
church leaders and Koreans to believe that it is the big church that is beautiful. Many Korean pastors, stimulated by the mega-church model, sought to
work for the exponential growth of the church.
Mega-churches have attracted more people because many people find a big
organization or large congregations appealing. This is a result of the churches' identification with market success, signs of religious prosperity and spiritual power in Korean modern culture. David Martin has identified the Korean
Protestant scene as "a spiritual enterprise culture" that requires "in the top echelon, a kind of international manager of the spirit".20 This enterprise culture
has also brought about the negative effect that the effectiveness of evangelical
strategy has often been judged by the quantity of the "result" This culture is
also related to commodity and consumerism. Consumerism culture and rapid
industrialization have been predominant in modern Korean society.
Consumerism is concerned with the predictability of visible benefits. People
predict what they will get by what they choose. Ritzer defines predictability in
the following terms: "In a rational society people prefer to know what to
expect in all settings and at all times".21 Order, systematization and ritual are
important for this kind of predictability.
In order to grow, mega-churches had to be "seeker-sensitive" and to offer predictable and magnetic spiritual programmes. Peter Berger22 noted that the pluralistic situation is above all a market situation, and in it religious institutions
become consumer commodities. In the secular modern era, individuals are
free to choose non-participation in religious activity; churches are therefore
forced to "sell themselves" in order to bring people into the church.
Systematized programmes in the mega-churches, such as prayer or evangelism, contribute to attracting people. For instance, the Myung Sung Church is
renowned for its special dawn prayer services. These have special themes, are
held four times a year and last for one or two weeks. Most members attend
these prayer meetings (e.g., 19,000 out of 22,000 adult members in 1995) and
many people experience the spiritual answer to their prayers, as well as
answers to their problems. People expect to gain benefits from joining megachurches and participating in such programmes. For example, rituals, such as
a time of healing prayer, enhance the expectation of the people attending the
services of charismatic mega-churches.
The predictability of what goes on in the Korean mega-churches is both a
strength and weakness. Predictability is related to people's perception and
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expectation of benefits, whether these benefits be spiritual or emotional, and

mega-churches' programmes and rituals function as attractive commodified
forms for those who join. Predictable spiritual commodity provides people
with a sense of security and expected benefits. However, the downside is that
once the results of spirituality can be predicted, it becomes routine and may
lose its vitality.
The ripple effect that Korean mega-churches are having on Korean
Christianity is profound. Their programmes and ministry styles influence a
number of Korean churches. The desire for predictability leads to the adoption
of church programmes that attempt to imitate other churches that are perceived as being particularly successful.23 For example, in the Sarangui Church
a seminar about a lay leadership training programme has been held over 100
times and hundreds of Korean pastors have attended in order to learn how to
build up lay leaders. The practices and programmes of the Korean megachurches are believed to have been transplanted and replicated in many
Korean churches.
Bureaucratic systems
Bureaucracy is an inevitable fact of modern life. It is undoubtedly no less a
necessity for a successful religious organization than for prosperous secular
ones.24 Behind the bureaucratic mind-set is the seeking of efficiency. George
Ritzer25 saw that efficiency is one of the characteristics of the
"McDonaldization" process in modern life. Efficiency identifies an optimum
means to a given end. Max Weber saw that the supreme example of efficient
rationality was bureaucracy, that is, a collection of rules, regulations and procedures, and the growth of systems necessary to ensure the smooth operation
of practices.
An elaboration and standardization of procedures and the emergence of status
and roles within a complex of offices exist in the present Korean megachurches. Often functions within the congregation are increasingly differentiated. A congregation might have different persons, teams or committees
responsible for the separate functions of worship and ministry, mission,
finance and so on.26 Korean mega-churches can afford professional staff, who
are trained to perform specific tasks: youth-workers, caretakers, musicians,
etc. Where tasks are differentiated within a congregation, communication
between the various substrata of the church is normally through formal predetermined means.
Thus, committees produce minutes and decisions are determined on the basis
of formal established procedures. Church offices are equipped with computers
and photocopiers, have professionally printed church magazines, bulletins and
information leaflets, and use multimedia (projectors, slides, and electronic
instruments) in worship and teaching. These all contribute towards an efficient
and professional bureaucratic mind-set. My observations suggest that the general mode of action in the Korean mega-churches is actually similar to any
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large-scale organization. There is, of course, a possibility that when routinised

forms and procedures are substituted for the primal spiritual experiences and
motivations, and are solely emphasized, the mega-churches may cease to
maintain their vital power.
What keeps the mega-churches dynamic in spite of bureaucratic systems lies
in the effective use of small groups. Some scholars27 believe that an increase
in group size is associated with a decrease in satisfaction and group collusiveness. However, Indik28 found that it is not group size per se but rather factors
usually contingent on increasing size (e.g. poor communication, hierarchical
command structures) that diminish group cohesiveness. During the growth of
the size of the mega-churches, the organization and the effective development
of the small-group system contributed to the formation of cohesiveness and
group identity within the congregation.
Rev. Cho Yong-Gi, the senior pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church
(YFGC), which has the largest local congregation in the world, was the first
person who systematically developed an effective use of small group strategies. His idea was to divide up his church groups into homogeneous cells of
five to ten members with common orientations or occupations within bounded geographical areas. Korean mega-churches feature the clear-cut pyramidal
structure of neighbourhood leaders, pastors and subpastors, who are all under
the authority of the senior pastor. However, there is also sufficient lateral
openness through the system of cells so that their growth in number does not
necessarily threaten bureaucratic stagnation. In fact, expansion in the religious
market seems to promise an almost formidable growth of adherents.
In the design of the Korean mega-churches, it is stressed that the fundamental
building block of the church should be a small, lay-led, home-based, homogeneous group. Organized along the lines of a corporation, firm or social category, members can progress through the sub-groups of the church, and this
represents a step in their social journey. The rationalization behind the Korean
mega-churches is the differentiation of different social and intellectual spheres
by giving them autonomy. However, it remains to be seen whether the bureaucratic apparatus will stifle the life that it is supposed to assist and preserve.29
Control of spirituality by multi-media
Modern people are constantly controlled at various points of their daily life.
Control is Ritzer 's30 final category of the "McDonaldization" process in modern society. The impact of a modern mind-set on the church suggests that
churches seek to control the spirituality of people. Control by humans is
increasingly replaced with control by technology. One of the most powerful
ways of doing this is to use "image technology". Information technology is the
pinnacle of the modern worldview. People who control and create media construct social reality, which in turn defines and controls how people perceive
the world. A particular area that both expresses modernity and demonstrates
the impact of modernity on the presentation of the Christian gospel is that of
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the media.31 Television media are geared to marketing products and influencing the consumption pattern of people.
Korean mega-churches have effectively used modern technology for preaching the Christian gospel. Mass media possess much more flexible and powerful means of having an effect on the congregations in those churches. They
have focused on preaching through radio and the use of television in church
services. The first mega-church in Korea, Youngnak Church, began to preach
through radio broadcasts on Kidogyo Pangsong (Christian Broadcasting) in
1959, and this influenced many people. Cho Yong-gi also used media effectively for the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The World
Broadcasting Mission Committee in the YFGC broadcasts Cho's sermons
through radio and television to other areas of Korea* as well as many countries
such as the USA, Kenya, Indonesia and Argentina. In 1991, YFGC introduced
simultaneous closed-circuit television services in nine local sanctuaries, and in
1996 the church began its own satellite service. Thus, the members of YFGC
did not have to come to the main sanctuary of Yoido to worship. In turn, this
solved the problems of traffic, parking and travel time.
Many Korean mega-churches use a projector to display the main points of the
sermons and church news. In the case of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, broadcasts of spiritual drama (produced by the church's own television and radio
department) portraying Cho and the church's ministry activities are shown
before Cho's sermon. Furthermore, visual material relevant to the sermon's
content is shown on the screen. For example, if Cho preaches about the crucifixion of Jesus, the crucifixion scene is projected on the screen for the congregation.
Many mega-churches have also established an Internet broadcasting station
(e.g., YFGC: www.fgtv.org; Onnuri Church: www.onnuritv.com/web) where
people can attend the services of the churches on line. The Internet broadcasting of mega-churches can be accessed in various foreign languages (English,
Japanese, Chinese, French, and, in the case of YFGC, Spanish).
Congregations of "mega" proportions allow greater economies of scale so that
it is possible to use more up-to-date (and expensive) technology, and worship
in more lavish facilities built for the purpose.32 The use of mass media and
closed circuit television, plus effective educational systems using modern
technology and the like, have all contributed to the development of large congregations. However, we need to be cautioned that the use of multi-media may
also connote a danger of putting one's faith in technology and of promoting
personality cults. Furthermore, as Vinay Samuel has suggested33, a consumption-oriented media gospel may fail to enable growth in costly discipleship in
the Korean mega-churches.
It seems that technology is married to the sacred in the Korean mega-churches. Large Korean congregations have sought "the Garden of Eden equipped
with a satellite dish"34 The new universals in modern Korean society are markets, bureaucracy and communication, and we can see the impact that these
have had on the Korean mega-churches.
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Ritzer35 argues that "McDonaldization" has brought about unreasonable consequences while it engendered affirmative changes: ruin of natural environment, dehumanized surroundings, minimization of contact with people, homogeneity. The rational mind-set has aimed at maximum results in terms of quantitative growth. This kind of approach is also being challenged within the
Korean church and mega-churches today. The "McDonaldized" mind-set
might have led the mega-churches to what may be called the domestication of
God, with, the full embracing of appropriate techniques and methods.
However, the "charismatization" process in the mega-churches has tempered
some of the negative aspects of the churches' "McDonaldization" process.
The "charismatization" of the Korean mega-churches
In this paper, "charismatization" is defined as motivating people to yearn for
transcendence by charismatic religious figures.
It would be a major mistake to equate either modernization or post-modernization with the decline of religion.36 Korean mega-churches embraced not
only the modern characteristics of rationality but also rejected the modern values of a reason-centred mind-set. Institution building is central to modern
society; in the case of the Korean mega-churches, this came about through
"charismatization".
Although Korean society has gone through rapid modernization and industrialization, the culturally dominant mind-set of Koreans is religious, not social.
Clarke37 pointed this out in his discussion of dynamic new religious movements
in the European context. Clarke says that some writers mistakenly take the view
that new religious movements are a response to the process of rationalization
and the phenomenon of secularization.38 He argues that this assumption would
seem to equate prevalence and frequency with effect. Rationalization and secularization may well be socially prevalent, Clarke writes, but it has yet to be
proved convincingly that they are culturally dominant.
Although modern systems are socially prevalent, Korean mega-churches met
the spiritual and practical needs of the people in a turbulent period through
powerful charismatic leaders who could sense the religious and social needs
of the people. The dynamism of the Korean mega-churches is due to the ability of charismatic pastors to enchant the world, to make it magical, and to
make their members feel the sense of transcendence. The charisma of the
founders or senior pastors takes on an understandable significance. The charismatic authority of the senior pastors has been unconstrained by rational-legal
considerations.39
Charisma in the context of modernity
Although charisma is seen as anti-modern, many scholars40 take the view that
it has survived and persisted even in a modern society that is controlled by a
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rationalistic mind-set. Weber's view of charisma from a supernatural basis has

been refuted by other scholars who have insisted on the invalidity of the concept of charisma in modern society.41 Loewenstein42 saw that the world of religion remains the fundamental locus of charisma. He argued that the concept
of charisma is not applicable to our age of technological mass democracy. He
saw that genuine charisma in modern times would be rare. However, unlike
Friedrich43 and Loewenstein,44 Tucker45 insisted on the usefulness of the concept of charisma in modern society, thus placing himself squarely on Weber's
side. Tucker46 saw great merit in taking the category of charisma out of the
historical world of religion and applying it to political life as well. He contended that since the religious and political domains could permeate each
other in a number of ways, the concept of charisma has much relevance to our
age.
The belief in and experience of divine guidance that pastors and their congregations have may well be an important factor tempering what is the sociologically inevitable "institutionalization of charisma".47 It is perhaps this belief
that accounts for the maintenance of reticulate organizations such as the megachurches. The key characteristic of Korean mega-churches is the expectation
of divine guidance for both personal and institutional concerns; this, of course,
stands in direct contrast to rational and bureaucratic methods. The religious
"charismatization" of Korean mega-churches can be characterized by the following terms in the context of modernity: a sense of certainty, religious experience, the ensuring of lay commitment.

A sense of certainty
The emergence and attraction of Korean mega-churches can be explained in
terms of the modern conditions of uncertainty. Anthony Giddens48 argues that
modernity brings to the collective psyche a disconcerting sense of ambivalence and anxiety because it introduces radical discontinuities and fragmentations to society. Under the process of rapid modernization in an historical situation of turmoil, personal meaninglessness, i.e. the feeling that life has nothing worthwhile to offer, became a fundamental psychic problem in the circumstances of modern Korean society. Because modern conditions increased
anxiety and doubts, "Religious forces not only refused to disappear but underwent a resurgence".49 Modernity undermines all the old certainties.
Uncertainty is a condition that many people find very hard to bear. Therefore,
any religious movement (including Christian churches) that promises to provide or to renew certainty has a ready market.50
Korean mega-churches seem to offer a sense of certainty in place of doubt,
confusion and intellectualism. They are seen to address in a direct and immediate manner the individual's personal and subjective concerns, and to provide
an escape from what is seen as the relativism and moral ambiguity of the
rational, scientific and objective approach.51 The responses of the Protestant
churches, especially the Korean mega-churches, can best be understood in the
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light of this feature of modernity. Under the competitive market system of

modernity, people undergo anxieties and fears. The senior pastors of the megachurches were perceived by many people to speak with certainty of their religious vision.52 This charisma is an important factor in giving the sense of
security and conviction to modern people in the Korean mega-churches.
Dynamic transcendent experience
Modernity progressively undermines the experience of a sacred universe.
Korean mega-churches resisted the attack of this pattern of modernity. As
William James53 argued, a religious organization has its roots in religious
experience, and the vitality of Korean mega-churches seems to be accounted
for by lively spiritual experience. Fervent prayer life characterizes Korean
mega-churches and many members have testified to their healing miracles. In
the case of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, healing miracles are sometimes
broadcast on the screen in Sunday services. Religious experiences in the
mega-churches enhance members' sacred consciousness and make their theology alive.
Miller54 also argued that congregational and denominational growth or decline
is linked to the vitality of members' meaningful religious experiences that provide access to the sacred. In a path analysis of Poloma and Pendleton55, using
a sample of 1,275 members of the Assemblies of God, it was shown that
charismatic experiences led to evangelism. In my survey, based on 1,260 samples of Protestants in 1998, religious experience was significantly correlated
with the frequency of evangelism (r=0.51, p<0.01). Members' religious experience invigorates the church culture. Pastors are key in encouraging these
meaningful religious experiences within their congregation. If church leaders
did not provide ways for Christians to have an access to the sacred (divine
power), Korean churches would likely not grow in a modern social context.
One aspect of the construction of the spiritual reality of Korean mega-churches is manifested in the Kidowon (prayer retreat centre). The most notable is the
establishment of Kidowons of mega-churches which are situated mostly outside Seoul. Through the experience of Kidowon life, the instrumental rational
reasoning processes so characteristic of science and bureaucracy are absorbed
into a more dominant sacred worldview within the charismatic perspective.56
Poloma's57 understanding of American Pentecostal churches applies to the
Korean mega-churches because they have not discarded the virtues of instrumental rationality but rather have attempted to integrate the strengths of both
rational action and affective-intuitive action. In the mega-churches, God is
viewed as a miracle worker whose power permeates the mundane.
Ensuring lay commitment
One strong impact of modernity on religion is its privatization and the weakening of the commitment to organized religious institutions. Privatization
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means the marginalization of religion to the individual, private and personal

spheres of life. Privatized religious experience may lead to subjectivism and a
possibility of no institutional loyalty.
However, charisma has the power to induce the religious commitment of
church members. Kelly58 suggested that strictness (or making demands) is a
necessary condition for organizational strength: a demanding church with
highly committed members is a "strong church". Strictness ensures that members will be committed, and communicates to others the sign of being a serious church. As a consequence, strictness will result in church growth.59 Kelly
argued that mainline denominations in America had become insufficiently
strict, and had therefore lost their capacity to create meaning and to generate
commitment. However, Kelly's focus has been on theological orientation and
members' religious characteristics rather than on pastoral leadership.
The study of Tamney and Johnson60, however, suggested that it was the element of authority rather than strictness that may be important in explaining
church growth: many people favour pastors who speak with certainty. It is my
view that strong churches are likely to be created by strong leaders who are
seen by their members to possess charisma or religious confidence. Strictness
surely generates commitment and increases cohesion61, but more important is
the perceived charisma of a pastor. Rational models of religious belief and sacrifice62 suggest that unless church members are mobilized to a high level of
participation, the same congregational structure threatens to undermine the
level of commitment and contributions needed to make a religion viable.
Charismatic motivation sustains members' commitment.
Korean mega-churches encourage lay commitment in various mission activities. Women's commitment and leadership are also valued. The prominent
characteristics of Korean mega-churches, however, are a strong pastoral leadership that mediates the presence of God and commands religious commitment from the congregation, and modern technological pragmatism.
Ambivalence towards modernity
Hunter63 suggested that there are three possibilities for a community of faith
in response to modernity. The first is withdrawal: faith withdraws from any
conscious interaction with the modern world. A second strategy is accommodation: faith consciously embraces the cognitive and normative assumptions
of the modern world, and baptizes the ideas and values of modern times with
the waters of religious tradition. The last strategy is resistance: faith chooses
to engage the modern world but resist its secularizing effect in an effort to preserve faith's orthodoxy. The response of Korean evangelical mega-churches
toward modernity seems to be twofold: (1) accommodation to modernity, and
(2) resistance to modernity. This integrative ambivalence explains the dynamics of Korean mega-churches. About this, Brouwer et al. said succinctly:
Protestant behaviour in the late twentieth century seems to turn Weber on his
head: rather than religious asceticism allowing for the development of capital250

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ist behaviours (presumably inculcated in a society over a century or two), we

now have capitalist behaviours adopted in order to accelerate the efficacy of
religious faith. There is no better place to see this phenomenon at work than in
South Korea.64
The balancing act between "McDonalization" and "charismatization" is a key
characteristic for the Korean mega-church phenomenon. They intentionally
embrace modern values (e.g. technology), while simultaneously recognizing
that life-changing experiences of the sacred is what defines a healthy religion.
The Korean mega-church phenomenon is simultaneously modern and antimodern.
In the following section, I would like to make some suggestions with regard
to the future of Korean mega-churches.
The pitfalls and possibilities of Korean mega-churches
There is a constant tension between "McDonaldization" and "charismatization" in the Korean mega-churches. There, "McDonaldization" symbolizes an
institutional system centred on the idea of instrumental rationalization for the
effectiveness of mission, and "charismatization" is symbolic of the sense of
the presence of God within the rationalized systems. The development of an
organization requires both effective system and vital spirit. A balance must be
achieved between structure and substance. Although the pragmatism of
modernity has resulted in remarkable progress in the Korean mega-churches,
it must also deal with paradoxes in spiritual identity which attend to modernity. The dynamism of mega-churches may pose dilemmas with which they
should deal. Here are some of the pitfalls into which Korean mega-churches
may fall, and some suggestions to overcome these pitfalls from a Christian
perspective of mission.
First, Korean mega-churches should avoid a quantity-oriented culture. They
need to reflect on their growth pattern. It cannot be denied that modernization
in Korean society, which brought about rapid urbanization and industrialization, has led the Korean mega-churches to quantity-oriented growth. However,
the important issue confronting the mega-churches today is how to maintain
or enhance the quality of that growth65. Unlimited quantitative growth is not
possible, and it is time for Korean mega-churches to reflect on the orientation
of their growth. Qualitative growth in the Korean mega-churches is related to
community-building and discipleship-building. In a huge institution, modern
men and women are likely to lose their (spiritual) identity if they lose the
sense of belonging to a community.
Second, Korean mega-churches need to be careful of hyper-institutionalization. The vitality of Korean mega-churches has so far been a result of the balance between institutionalization and charisma, and modernity and transcendence. However, in the near future Korean mega-churches have to confront
unavoidable internal institutional dilemmas in the form of the generation gap
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between the founding members and the younger generation, hyper-bureaucracy, and the problem of succession66. Once modern rationalization and institutionalization subvert the original dynamic charismatic experience, megachurches will have difficulty in keeping their vitality. Charisma may diminish
quickly once it has completed the task of institution-building67, and then it
may be devoured by routine hyper-institutionalization.
Third, Korean mega-churches must pay regard to the effect of modernity by
which a cleavage is introduced between the private and public sectors of life.
The churches should develop a transformative spirituality. The very heartbeat
of the mega-churches' development is their members' transcendent religious
experience. However, the important thing in this matter is the character of that
religious experience. Does it have institutional limitation or social implication? Yamane68 proposed the neo-secularization theory that as religion in modern society is privatized the social significance of religion declines. If the
growth of the mega-churches comes about within an iron clad certainty and
insularity, ecclesiastical narcissism, "colossalism", or triumphalism may follow. If the members of Korean mega-churches do not bring about a transformative impact on the local community or society in which they live, their religious experience will fall victim to modernity, and eventually become marginalized and secularized.69
It has been suggested that, since 1990, while the social influence of Korean
Protestant Christianity has increased together with quantitative growth, its
social credibility has become weak.70 Unless the social credibility of Korean
mega-churches goes together with social influence, this may be a danger signal for their future. Charismatic experience induced and motivated by the
committed charismatic spiritual leader is not ongoing. Religious experience
needs to be given meaning in the wider context through rigorous theological
reflection on it. I believe that whether the dynamic present growth pattern of
Korean mega-churches will turn into pitfalls or possibilities for the future
depends on how they reflect on suggestions like those presented here.
A prognosis for the future
It has been shown that the dynamism of Korean mega-churches lies in their
ability to incorporate a charismatic spirit into rationalized systems. Korean
mega-churches will have to wage battle against the forces of modernity,
although they have benefited from it. The battle will be tough. If and when the
mega-churches lose control over modernity, they will be controlled by it. The
challenge is how to maintain both the churches' spiritual vitality (i.e. the sense
of transcendence) and healthy modern institutions.
Modern human beings want their religion to be sufficiently potent, vivid and
compelling to offer them rewards of great magnitude.71 People seek a religion
that is capable of miracles, and that imparts order and sanity to the human condition. Churches that do not constantly "re-symbolize" their message will
eventually die. Churches that do not offer meaningful religious experience
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ENCOUNTER WITH MODERNITY

will eventually pass away. Churches where transcendence is pushed to the

periphery will eventually disappear. However, churches that encounter the
sacred in profound ways and that constantly update their sacred message will
continue to grow. There may come a point when Korean mega-churches may
lose their vitality through having rationalized systems with no spiritual life in
them. The future lies open for the mega-churches.72 What is crucial is to hold
a balance between "McDonaldization" and "charismatization".

NOTES
1

3
4

5
6

8
9

10

11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Hong, Young-gi, Dynamism and Dilemma: The Nature of Charismatic Pastoral Leadership in
the Korean Mega-churches. Ph.D. thesis, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (validation by the
University of Wales), 2000.
The total population in 1995 was about 44,553,000. The Protestant population was 8,760,000.
The Catholic population was 2,950,000. The population of Buddhism in 1995 was 10,321,000,
which represents 23.1 per cent of the whole population.
Grayson, James H., "Cultural Encounter: Korean Protestantism and Other Religious
Traditions", International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 25(2), 2001, p. 71.
Hong, Young-gi, "The Backgrounds and Characteristics of Charismatic Mega-churches in
Korea", Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, 3(1), 2000, pp. 99-118. "Church" is used here in
the sense of local congregation. We need to clarify the size of a church to investigate the phenomenon of Korean mega-churches. Although there has been no agreed criterion about the
types of church size, in this paper the mega-church designation includes churches with more
than 10,000 adult attending members each Sunday.
The statistics of adult worshippers show the total number of worshippers at all the Sunday services.
E.g. Kang, Jong-kyu, Hangukui Childae Kyohoe (Korea's seven largest churches), Seoul,
Chongno Press, 1983 ; Vaughan, John N., The Worlds Twenty Largest Churches, Grand Rapids,
Baker Book House, 1984; Id., "Korea's mega-churches", Global Church Growth, 31(2), pp. 1416, 1994.
Hunter, James D., "What is modernity? Historical roots and contemporary features", in
Sampson, P., Samuel, V., and Sugden, C., eds, Faith and Modernity, Oxford, Regnum, 1994,
pp. 16-18.
Poloma, Margaret M., The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads, Knoxville, The University of
Tennessee Press, 1989, p. 3.
E.g., Berger, Peter L., "The deserialization of the world: a global overview", in Berger, Peter
L., ed., The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics, Washington,
Ethics and Public Policy Center and Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans, 1999, pp. 1-18.
Hunter, James D., "The new religions: demodernization and the protest against modernity", in
Bryan Wilson, ed., Impact of New Religious Movements, New York, Rose of Sharon Press,
1981, pp. 1*20.
Min, Kyong-bae, Hanguk Kidokkyohoisa (Korean Church History), Seoul, The Institute for
Korean Church History, 1992.
Ritzer, George, The McDonaldization of Society (rev. edn.), Thousand Oaks CA, Pine Forge
Press, 1996.
Drane, John, The McDonaldization of the Church, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd,
2000, p. 29.
Ritzer, George, op. cit.
Hunter, James, D., op. cit., p. 20.
Ritzer, George, op. cit.
Calculability may be the product of the consumerism of capitalism. We may discuss modern
cultural character briefly in the promotion of mega-churches. Eddie Gibbs, Winning Them
Back: Tackling the Problem of Nominal Christianity, Kent, Monarch, 1993, pp. 173-75, argued
for a profound difference between North America and Europe in regard to the promotion of religion (especially Christianity). He suggests that American churches had to be "seeker sensitive"

253

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF MISSION

in order to compete with other churches under the circumstances of pluralism and consumerism.
However, in the churches of Europe, in which people are born and raised, clan religion has been
the predominant basis of church allegiance. Europeans regard religious entrepreneurs with suspicion and prove to be much more sales-resistant.
18
Many people today still evaluate success by the size of the apartment or car people own. This
kind of mentality affected the mind of Korean pastors. They ministered hard with the idea that
great growth means a successful ministry. Kim Byng-s points out that many Korean pastors
saw the growth of the church as the gift of the Holy Spirit; Han'guk Sahoe-wa Kaesingyq, The
Korean Society and Christianity, Seoul, Hannul Academy, 1995, p. 80.
19
Yi, Wn-gyu, Han'guk Kyohoe-ui Hynsil-kwa Chnman, The Reality and Prospect of the
Korean Church, Seoul, Sngso Yngu (Bible Study) Press, 1994, pp. 180-201.
20
Martin, David, Tongues of Fire, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, Inc., 1990, p. 143.
21
Ritzer, George, op. cit., p. 83.
22
Berger, Peter L., The Sacred Canopy, New York, Doubleday, 1967, p. 138.
23
Drane, John, op. cit., p. 44.
24
Poloma, Margaret M., op. cit., p. 122.
25
Ritzer, George, op. cit., 1996.
26
Marshall, Peter G., The Modernisation and Post-modernisation of Ecclesiology, The Doctrine
of the Church in the Contexts of Modernity and Post-modernity With Regard to the Classical
Modernizing Theories, and Their Post-modernizing Extensions of Differentiation,
Rationalisation and Commodification. M.Phil thesis. Belfast, Queen's University, 1998, p. 107.
27
E.g., Porter, L.W. and Lawler, E.E., "Properties of organization structure in relation to job attitudes and job behaviour", Psychological Bulletin, 1965, 64, pp. 23-51.
28
Indik, B.P., "Organizational size and member participation, some empirical tests of alternative
explanations", Human Relations, 1965, 18, pp. 339-350.
29
Stark, Werner, "The routinization of charisma, a consideration of Catholicism", Sociological
Analysis, 1965, 26(4), (Winter), pp 203-11.
30
Ritzer, George, op. cit., 1996.
31
Sugden, Chris, Seeking the Asian Face of Jesus, Oxford, Regnum, 1997, p. 385.
32
Marshall, Peter G., op. cit., p. 106.
33
Samuel, Vinay, "Reflections on Dr. Robert Schuller 's response to Q. Schultze", Transformation,
9(4), 1992, p. 7.
34
Wacker, Grant, "Searching for Eden with a Satellite Dish, Primitivism, Pragmatism, and the
Pentecostal Character", In: Hughes, Richard, ed., The Primitive Church in the Modern World,
Urbana and Chicago^ University of Illinois Press, 1995, pp. 139-66.
35
Ritzer, George, op. cit.
36
Inglehart, Ronald, Modernisation and Postmodernization, Cultural Economic and Political
Change in 43 Societies, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1997, p. 80.
37
Clarke, Peter B., New Religious Movements, Canterbury, the Centre for the Study of Religion
and Society, University of Kent, 1984.
38
Ibid., p. 17.
39
Cf. Wallis, R., "Charisma, Commitment, and Control in a New Religious Movement", in Wallis,
R., ed., Millennialism and Charisma, Belfast, The Queen's University, 1982.
40
Bryman, Alan, Charisma & Leadership in Organisations, London, Sage, 1992.
41
Cf. Friedrich, C.J., "Political leadership and the problem of charismatic power", Journal of
Politics, 1961, 23, pp. 3-24.
42
Loewenstein, K., Max Weber's Political Ideas in the Perspective of Our Time, Amherst^ The
University of Massachusetts Press, 1966.
43
Friedrich, C.J., op. cit., pp.3-24.
44
Loewenstein, K., op. cit.
45
Tucker, R.C., "The theory of charismatic leadership", Daedalus, 1968,96, pp. 731-756.
46
Ibid.
47
Poloma, Margaret M., op. cit., 1989, p. 9.
48
Giddens, Anthony, The Consequences of Modernity, Cambridge, Polity Press, 1990.
49
Giddens, Anthony, Modernity and Self-identity, Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 1991,
p. 195.
50
cf. Berger, Peter L., "The deserialization of the world: a global overview", op. cit., pp. 7-11.;
Clarke, Peter B., op. cit., pp. 18-19.
51
Clarke, Peter B., op. cit., p. 19.
52
Hong, Young-gi, Dynamism and Dilemma, op. cit., p. 59.

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53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65

66
67
68
69

70
71
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ENCOUNTER WITH MODERNITY

James, William, The Varieties of Religious Experience, New York, Collier Books, 1902.
Miller, David E., Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the New Millennium, Los
Angeles, University of California Press, 1997.
Poloma, M.M., and Pendleton, B.F., Religiosity and Weil-Being, Exploring Neglected
Dimensions of Quality of Life Research, Lewiston, NY, Edwin Mellen, 1989.
Here, charismatic means a Pentecostal style that is open to religious experience and the work
of the Holy Spirit.
Poloma, Margaret M., op. cit., p. 8.
Kelly, Dean M., Why Conservative Churches are Growing, New York, Harper & Row, 1977, p.
119.
Kelly, Dean M., "Why conservative churches are still growing", Journal for the Scientific Study
of Religion, 17, 1978, pp. 165-72.
Tamney, J.B. and Johnson, S.D., "The popularity of strict churches", Review of Religious
Research, 39(3), 1998, pp. 209-23.
Kanter, Rosabeth, Commitment and Community, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press,
1976.
Finke, Roger and Stark, Rodney, The Churching of America 1776-1990 (4th printing), New
Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 2000, pp. 252-255.
Hunter, James D., "What is modernity? Historical roots and contemporary features", op. cit.,
pp. 22-23.
Brouwer, Steve, Gilford, Paul, and Rose, Susan, Exporting the American Gospel: Global
Christian Fundamentalism. New York and London, Routledge, 1996, p. 116.
Hong, Young-gi, "Nominalism in Korean Protestantism", Transformation: An International
Dialogue on Mission and Ethics, 16(4), 1999, pp. 136-141; Hong, Young-gi, "Revisiting church
growth in Korean Protestantism: a theological reflection", International Reyiew of Mission,
April 2000, pp. 190-202.
E.g. Hong, Young-gi, "The Charisma of Cho Yong-gi and Its Routinization in the Yoido Full
Gospel Church of Korea", Asian Journal of Mission, 2(1), 2000, pp. 85-90.
Poloma, Margaret M., op cit., 1989, p. 232.
Yamane, David, "Secularization on Trial: In Defense of a Neosecularization Paradigm",
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36(1), 1997, pp. 109-122.
The technological surroundings in modern culture encourage a religiosity that has little or no
interest in organized religion. An electronic church of the modern age may promote self-centred religiosity, and Korean mega-churches are no exception. Where technology gains a religious character in the worship of mega-churches, it becomes a great threat to the spirituality of
the church. Services broadcast via the Internet may easily undermine some key purposes of
worship: commitment to God and the spirit of the worshipping community. Technological
progress may erode religious social controls in the Korean mega-churches. For instance, the
Internet service allows members to "attend" worship on their own. Many anonymous or
uncommitted attenders may therefore be tempted to attend the service through this method and
thus never go to the sanctuary.
Hong, Young-gi, "Nominalism in Korean Protestantism", op. cit., pp. 136-141.
Finke, Roger and Stark, Rodney, op. cit., p. 275.
It is likely that the number of Korean mega-churches will decrease in the future, while the number of large churches may continue to increase. The change of social structure and growing disintegration of Korean business conglomerates in Korean society are very likely to influence the
future of the Korean mega-church model.

255

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