박은식의 종교 담론

Abstract

This paper seeks to illuminate BaekAm(白巖) Park Eun-sik(朴殷植, 1858~1927)s discourse on religion formed in the context of Confucian reformation during the modern transitional period, focusing on the status and features of Confucianism.First of all, BaekAm saw the essence of religion as morality(K: dodeok 道德) and defined the religion as the learning of morality. Regarding the Christian Reformation as a major cause of western modern civilization, he pursued the protection of nation and achievement of civilization through the reformation of Confucianism. At the level of nation-state, religion as the national principia was the root of politics. He believed that Confucianism, the main religion having the cultural legitimacy, would contribute to the construction of a unified nation state based on the moral maturity of people with Confucian education. In particular, He insisted that forest of Confucianists(K: yurim 儒林) should be people-oriented moral practical subjects devoting themselves to the nation state with the enthusiasm of saving the world.Second, Park Eun-sik, in the situation of Koreas independence movement, emphasized the ethnicity of religion on which the national spirit(K: gukhon 國魂) had relied. From the viewpoint of the evolution of morality, he stressed the public virtues(K: gongdeok 公德) for the country and the people rather than the private virtues(K: sadeok 私德) only for oneself and ones own family.Third, Park Eun-sik stressed the importance of communication with other religious cultures or thoughts as the source of religious creativity in an age of Great Unity(K: daedong 大同). He presented the Confuciuss teaching of Great Unity making the world shared publicly on the basis of humanity (K: In 仁) as the substance making all things one body. The bliss and pleasure of Great Peace (K: taepyeong 太平) in time of Great Unity, had the meaning of resistance and criticism against all inequalities and violence. BaekAm, in the position of moral cosmopolitanism, insisted on winning the national independence and freedom through pacifism and humanism against the Japanese Empires militarism.Fourth, Park Eun-sik, on the basis of study of mind-heart(K: simhak 心學), posited that the fundamental core study dealing with the mind-heart practice should preside the rational science. Especially he, classifying the Dohak(道學, the study of Tao) and the Sokhak(俗學, ordinary study) by the standard of moral substance as the Heavens mandate, reduced the Dohak as the problem of innate knowledge of the good(K: yangji 良知). And the inner sacred master as the moral substance was presented as the ontological foundation of all religions. The spiritual civilization based on philosophy should preside the material civilization based on rational science. He believed that philosophy and religion shared the common task of constructing moral community through the subjective awareness of moral substance and the practical actualization of it.In conclusion, Park Eun-sik, defining religion as the learning of morality leading to modern civilization, stressed the religions public morality at the level of nation-state, and presented the sacred inner master as the ontological foundation of all religions. In particular he imagined the complementary relation between philosophy and religion for the complete realization of morality. In this sense, it can be said that Park Eun-siks discourse on religion, based on the modern study of mind-heart, creatively converged Confucian tradition and Western modernity.