(Kim Jung Il as a god-king)

I knew Juche was a political ideology that has become a religion (sounds familiar.) But what stunned me is that it is the world’s 10th largest religion with 19 Million adherents. There are more members of Juche than Judaism or Zoroastrianism!

Juche is the only government-authorized ideology in North Korea, to the point of excluding all other religions. “Juche” means “self-reliance” in the Korean language. Some writers cited in the Adherents.com database (under “Juche” as well as “Kimilsungism”) classify Juche as a North Korean form of Marxist Communism. Juche began in the 1950s and is the official philosophy promulgated by the North Korean government and educational system. Its promoters describe Juche as simply a secular, ethical philosophy and not a religion. But, from a sociological viewpoint Juche is clearly a religion, and in many ways is even more overtly religious than Soviet-era Communism or Chinese Maoism.

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Thomas J. Belke has written a book describing Juche as the newest world religion, with “more adherents than Judaism, Sikhism, Jainism or Zoroastrianism” JUCHE: A Christian Study of North Korea’s State Religion, Publisher: Living Sacrifice Books, Bartlesville, OK; published July 1999; available at Amazon.com. Note: Any researchers interested in Juche or religion in North Korea will need to read this volume, but be aware that the “Christian Study” part of the title is not to be taken lightly. This book is not an objective ethnographic survey of Juche. Belke presents a wealth of fascinating factual information you won’t find anywhere else, but the perspective is overtly Evangelical. Some readers who are not Evangelicals — and some who are — may be annoyed by this approach, but most serious researchers will recognize that the book has value to sociologists both in the unprecedented window it opens into contemporary North Korea, as well as the glimpse into Evangelical apologetic thought..

Certainly there are more “followers” of Juche, by nature of their nationality, than there are Jews or Jains. (Belke’s book reports 23 million Juche adherents, essentially the entire population of North Korea, but the author and international news services agree that the population of the country has decreased to about 19 million during the current famine.) Belke reports a few centers in India, and Juche web sites indicate some centers in Australia, Europe and Japan. But despite the presence of these outreach centers set up the North Korean government, there do not appear to be any established communities of adherents outside of North Korea.

Juche does classify as a religion dues to its miracles such as weeping bears and supernatural births.

According to North Korean historical literature, Kim Jong Il was born in a log cabin inside a secret base on Korea’s most sacred mountain, Mt. Paekdu. At the moment of his birth, a bright star lit up the sky, the seasons spontaneously changed from winter to spring, and rainbows appeared.

Juche is described as a spirit that is conjured up with a raised fist. It is also refer to as the “Iron Fist ( not to be confused with a beloved commentator) of Juche!

Juche a silly religion that has rainbows, unicorns, crying bears and supernatural births. North Korea is a theocracy and Kim Jung Un is a real god-king. I know of a world leader who would love to be a god-king. I wonder who that is?