OMF Blog

28. Religious Freedom

NK Blog - Wednesday 09 December 2009

Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?... she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.” from Proverbs 8:1, 3, 4

Does religious freedom exist in North Korea?

In the “Frequently Asked Questions” section on their website, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), when asked if their government suppressed religion, answered this way:

“The DPRK is a multi-confessional society with sizable Christian and Buddhist populations, for example. While most North Koreans are non-religious or atheist, all citizens of the DPRK enjoy full religious freedom under the Socialist Constitution.” (43)

What would people in North Korea say?

While the North Korean constitution states that people have religious freedom to follow the religion of their choice, this does not seem to be the common experience. The situation in North Korea, in this respect, is very similar to the situation in the People’s Republic of China.

Let us pray that North Koreans will seek the Creator God, that religious freedom will come to that country, and that the church of Jesus Christ will grow there.

Romans 1:19-20 says, “What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Let us pray that North Koreans will look beyond Kim Il-Sung and will see God’s eternal power and divine nature as the source of all good things.

  • Praise God that he has planted an awareness of himself in every human being and wants to reveal more of himself to those who seek him.
  • Pray that religious freedom will come to North Korea; that people will be truly free to believe in religion and not just free to not believe in it.
  • Pray that the church of Jesus Christ would grow in North Korea.