Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea

Kelly Chong’s Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea studies the complex conversion experiences of women, who, despite being the driving force behind the rise and maintenance of Korean evangelicalism, have been largely neglected in understanding the expansion of Christianity in South Korea. In particular, the book examines why educated middle-class Korean women would convert to a conservative evangelical faith that submits them to a traditional patriarchal order. Reviewing the book’s important contribution to the fields of gender and religion, this article raises questions for Chong and others in the field of pastoral psychology on how conversion can or should change the gender and familial dynamics in and outside of the Christian community.