Kyle Ki

Primary Research Notes

INTERVIEW 1
30 Minutes
People who have attended church since birth wont experience a change in
behavior. Instead it is better to ask how Church has shaped their behavior.

How has attending church shaped your behavior?

My values have changed, what I value in my life, the things I love. I did put a lot of
value in monetary stuff maybe because I noticed how careful my family was with
money. After willingly attending church, I started to value things other than worldly
values. Worldly things come and go. I think Im also a lot less judgmental. Im still
kind of judgmental but only in the superficial sense. I think being a Christian has
helped me to be more open with other peoples ways of thinking. That was when
people become more open to me about their problems. Christianity taught me that
everything in life is a lesson. Im always a student because there will always be
things to learn.
Would you say that your behavior changes outside of church?
Yes its not completely different but there are some subtle differences. Korean
churches have expectations on how you should behave such as being extra
respectful especially towards adults. Behavior also changes between churches
because it depends how comfortable I am in that environment. I try to be an
example of a good Christian in church for the children. The major difference occurs
when I talk to adults which is when Im the most proper and respectful.
Did you ever have a phase where you acted like a good Christian
(textbook Christian)?
No I dont believe so because I was saved at a pretty early age. I never really
thought about acting in any kind of sense. I actually really hated the idea of acting
because there were a lot of problems with that in my old church. People would act
good in church but act different outside. There have been times when I have acted
better for my parents sake. I would help out the elders or adults a lot of the times
to maintain a good image for my parents sake. I definitely wasnt trying to glorify
God in those moments.
How has church affected your attitude?

Less of my church, but more of my faith in Christianity. Ive become more open, like
Ive become less afraid in opening up and sharing my feelings. Im not worried
about where my life is going to head because I have faith God will guide me. Im
more worried about how well I can listen to God.
How has church affected your lifestyle?
Ive been attending church in college more than in high school. I never attended
Friday service in hs because I was always practicing(piano). My faith in God was
pretty stagnant in hs and it improved in college. I couldnt wait until I left Long
Island because I didnt like the way my pastors worded things. I pray a lot, all the
time now even in the mornings. I do rely on God a lot now especially when there is a
problem. I will pray first before trying to figure out a way to approach the problem.
How has church affected your social life?
I never really hung out in high school because I was so busy. The people I chose to
hang out with changed a lot especially during my senior year of hs. Most of my
friends were Christian and Jewish, but religion never came up, It was almost like a
taboo to bring up religion. Ive talked a lot about my faith in college though. Here,
the decision to go to church lies with me instead of my parents so I have many
friends who did go to church, but stopped in college. I stop talking to people who
dont share similar morals as me.

OBSERVATIONS
(I observed and took part in an hour long Bible study session. The topic was about
self-righteousness)
Some of the college students in this
group are more open about how they
behave outside of church than others.
The topic the group spoke about was
pretending.

A member told the group about how his

behavior changed from the beginning of
the semester. He said that he thought he
wouldnt be able to make a lot of friends
if he didnt do more activities with them
like drinking and partying, so he decided
to think less about his faith and more

It could be because they are shy or there

really isnt anything to comment on
about the activities they do at school or
they might be ashamed.
It seems pretending is a big problem
with Christians in general. The problem
is that faking the behavior of a Christian
wont lead to salvation.
This is a good example of people acting
differently at church and outside of
church. This member wasnt able to
connect with his friends without the
participation in parties, so he had to

about his flesh. But he said that he

noticed this about himself, so hes been
slowly trying to fix this.
One of the leaders shared that when she
was in college, she had this type of selfrighteousness where she would feel
more righteous when she saw Christians
who drank or did drugs.

One of the leaders shared that back in

college, he had this mindset where being
late would be considered a sin. He
convinced himself that arriving on time
is a promise, so people who are late are
essentially breaking their promise to
arrive at a certain time. This was also a
form of self-righteousness.
The leaders agreed that being at church
and reading the Bible has helped them
understand this issue of selfrighteousness and has influenced their
decision to fix it.

discard his faith on the weekdays.

Church only changed his behavior on
Sundays, but being in church for these
past three months has allowed him to
self reflect which will in turn change his
behavior once again.
Some behavior is fueled by selfrighteousness. It seems like being in
church can sometimes influence a
member to behave inappropriately or
develop bad attitudes. In this case it was
the feeling of superiority.
It seems him judging people who are late
is connected to his definition of sin. He
was trying so hard to be conscious of his
sins that he ended up developing a habit
of judging people.

Church can change someones behavior

in a worse way(in a Christians sense).
Even though sometimes this may occur,
being in church will force them to self
reflect as they attend service and Bible
study sessions which can sometimes fix
their behavior(for the better in a
Christian sense).