Richard Turley, Director of Church History Department, Addresses Korean Religion Conferences

Richard Turley, Director of the History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently visited Korea at the invitation of Dr. Jae-yeong Kim, President of the Korean Association of Religious Studies (KARS).

Dr. Turley presented a paper titled “Mormon Studies: Academic Trends and Useful Databases” at the KARS Association’s annual conference. Dr. Turley’s presentation detailed early Church information sources, the development of institutional record keeping, and contributions by key scholars and historians.

The KARS conference, which was held November 14 and 15 at Dongguk University in Seoul, consisted of 21 sessions. Dr. Turley presented his paper in the session “New Religious Traditions”.  In addition to Dr. Turley, Professor Sang-gi Bak, who is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  presented a paper titled “Business and Ethics: Case Studies in Mormon Business Leaders”. 

Additional presenters at the KARS conference included Catholic theologian and researcher, Father Peter Sam Nguuyen of Catholic University of Korea, Buddhist cleric, Professor Wol Jin of Dongguk University, and Professor Jong-so Kim of Seoul National University. 

Dr. Turley was also invited to speak about Mormon history at Chonnam National University’s theology conference held in Gwangju Korea on November 21.

Mormonism, as a subject of scholarly interest, has grown in recent years as the field continues to attract more academic attention. Recent presentations and symposia exploring various aspects of Latter-day Saint history and doctrine have also been held at Princeton University in the United States, at the University of Durham in Great Britain, at New South Wales Parliament in Australia, and at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

The field of religious studies and scholarly interest in Mormonism has grown since the 1960s. Dr. Jan Shipps, a noted United States author and professor, has made the case for Mormonism to be defined as “a new religious tradition rather than a longtime footnote to American history”.  

The available records and information concerning The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provide historians and scholars, including those outside the faith, with helpful resources and challenging academic opportunities to explore the ever expanding field of religious studies.

The popularity of Mormon Studies has grown with greater interest in newer and smaller religious traditions. Academic commitment to studying diverse faiths has also grown.