"The moment a church waves an ideological flag instead of the flag of the gospel, the essence of Christianity is damaged and the church becomes corrupt."
Rev. Ryu Young-mo, senior pastor emeritus of Hansomang Church, made these remarks in a recent interview with The Seoul Economic Daily at the Nabuteo Forum in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, saying, "The relationship between state and religion is an extremely important agenda that shows what Christianity is." Rev. Ryu, who served as the representative chairman of the Communion of Churches in Korea (CCK), is one of the leading elders representing the Protestant community. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Regent University in the United States. He has also served as chairman of the CBS Foundation and CEO of CTS Christian TV.
Rev. Ryu diagnosed the situation, saying, "Through two presidential impeachments, problems have become serious as some antisocial religious groups have tried to build political shields to protect themselves." He emphasized, "If the church is biased toward a particular ideology and fails to discern between faith and ideology—demonizing one side and turning the other into a messiah—the church will be the first to collapse."
On the principle of separation of church and state, he said, "Representing social justice, the public good, and the weak, and presenting a path forward for the government and society through sound criticism, is a Christian value." He added, "However, the church's political views must be a prophetic message, not an ideological one." He also explained, "Historically, state religion corrupts religion. The constitutional and biblical principle is that the state protects religious freedom and that religion is not subordinated to the state."
Ahead of the upcoming local elections, he urged self-reflection within the political sphere. "Politicians have been seen visiting churches, Buddhist temples, and Catholic cathedrals every election season to exploit religion for votes, and this is mocking the church and religion," he said sharply. He continued, "A good politician is not someone who attends church, but someone who represents the socially weak and embraces the marginalized. I hope this becomes an opportunity for churchgoers to develop the discernment to recognize such politicians."
Regarding the crisis facing the Korean church, Rev. Ryu pointed out, "We are now in a post-religious era. The bigger problem than the decline in church membership is that the church is losing its essence." He added, "This crisis can actually become a new opportunity to restore trust. When the church becomes truly church-like, those who left will once again take an interest in the church."
Rev. Ryu paid particular attention to changes among younger generations. "Today's youth are not the 'next generation' but a 'different generation,'" he said. "Rather than trying to pull them to our side, adults must first reach out to them." He introduced a case from the church where he served as senior pastor, in which the youth community was operated independently. The youth church was made independent, and young people managed their own finances and planned their own ministry. "After becoming independent, I saw young people voluntarily serve the weak and engage in mission work," he said. "The number of young members and the budget of the youth church grew several times over." He emphasized, "This is an era that requires horizontal, servant leadership rather than authoritative leadership. We must trust young people and give them opportunities."
Regarding the artificial intelligence (AI) era, he noted, "The proportion of pastors using AI is very high, exceeding 90 percent. However, AI, which has no emotion or conscience, cannot replace the work of discussing spirituality and morality and soothing people's pain and suffering." He added, "Rather than joining the speed competition of the AI era, the church must play a role in preserving humanity and shaping desirable AI ethics."
He also expressed his views on the controversy over hereditary succession in churches. Rev. Ryu handed over Hansomang Church—which he founded from scratch and grew into a megachurch with more than 16,000 registered members—to a successor pastor rather than a family member. "Not engaging in hereditary succession is not something great or surprising; it is something extremely ordinary and natural," he said. "If megachurches become embroiled in hereditary succession disputes, it could cause younger generations who value fairness to leave the church."
Finally, Rev. Ryu encouraged junior pastors, saying, "The current generation is facing economic difficulties, and ministry opportunities are gradually shrinking. However, I hope they keep in mind that the role of the church is to create hope in difficult times."
