Between Religious Freedom and Religious Education: The Case of Teaching Christianity in Korea’s General Curriculum

This research presents the author’s firsthand experience teaching a mandatory Christian general education course at Yonsei University—a Christian-founded institution in Korea with a highly diverse student body. The study focuses on three key elements: the challenges encountered, the pedagogical approaches employed, and reflections on student feedback. The author examines how he navigated the ambiguities and tensions inherent in this educational setting through pedagogies centered on “teaching Christianity as it is” and fostering critical thinking. In doing so, he identifies the potential for this type of education to address the challenges at hand and to advance toward a model of (religious) literacy that seeks understanding.