Abstract
This article investigates the ways in which the patriarchal God image when combined with Confucianism in Korean culture can negatively affect Korean Christian women in their concept of identity and self-worth. In doing so, a few salient constructs of Confucianism that are closely related to the role of Korean women are examined. Engaging in and dialoging with the works of Sigmund Freud and Ana-Maria Rizzuto in their treatments of God representation along with some key research findings in that area, the nature and the various dynamics of God representation are discussed. Finally some practical suggestions are given in dealing with the patriarchal image of God in relation to the lived experiences of Korean Christian women in Korean context.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Capps, D. (Ed.) (2001). Freud and Freudians on religion. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Chung, H. K. (1989). Han-pu-ri: Doing theology from Korean women's perspective. In V. Fabella & S. A. Lee Park (Eds.), We dare to dream: Doing theology as Asian women. Hong Kong: Asian Women's Resource Center for Culture and Theology.
Clifford, A. M. (2001). Introducing feminist theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
Daly, M. (1973). Beyond God the Father. Boston: Beacon Press.
Daly, M. (1975). The church and the second sex. New York: Harper & Row.
Dickie, J. R., Eshleman, A. K., Merasco, D. M., Shepard, A., Wilt, M. V., & Johnson, M. (1997). Parent-child relationships and children's images of God. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36(1), 25–43.
Fiorenza, E. S. (1994). Jesus: Miriam's child, Sophia's prophet. New York: Continuum.
Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures on psycho-analysis. In W. J. H. Sprott. (Ed. & Trans.), New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Freud, S. (1950). Totem and taboo. In J. Strachey. (Ed. & Trans.), New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Freud, S. (1964). Leonard da Vinci and a memory of his childhood. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), New York: Norton.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Greenberg, J. (1991). Oedipus and beyond: A clinical theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Johnson, E. A. (1992). She who is. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Co.
Jones, S. (2000). Feminist theology and Christian theology. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Kang, N. (1998). Feminism and Christianity. Seoul, Korea: The Christian Literary Society of Korea.
Lee, J., & Cynn, V. (1991). Issues in counseling 1.5 generation Korean Americans. In C. Lee & B. Richardson (Eds.), Multicultural issues in counseling: New approaches to diversity (pp. 127–140). Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development.
Lee, O. C. (1994). In search for our foremothers’ spirituality. Seoul, Korea: Asian Women's Resource Centre for Culture and Theology.
Park, A. S. (1993). The wounded heart of God. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Park, S. L. (2000). Speaking about God. In P. Kowk (Ed.), Introducing Asian feminist theology. (pp. 65–78). Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press.
Rizzuto, A. (1979). The birth of the living God: A psychoanalytic study. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Roof, C. W., & Roof, J. L. (1984). Review of the polls: Images of God among Americans. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23, 201–205.
Ruether, R. R. (1981). To change the world: Christology and cultural criticism. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Co.
Ruether, R. R. (1983). Sexism and god-talk: Toward a feminist theology. Boston: Beacon.
Schneiders, S. (1986). Women and the word: The gender of God in the New Testament and the spirituality of women. New York: Paulist Press.
Vergote, A. (1969). Concept of God and parental images. Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, 8, 79–87.
Vergote, A., & Tamayo, A. (1981). The parental figures and representations of God: A psychological and cross-cultural study. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton Press.
Walker, A. (1982). The color purple. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, S.S. A Korean Feminist Perspective on God Representation. Pastoral Psychol 55, 35–45 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-006-0030-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-006-0030-5