[5] In keeping with its roots in Confucian thought, Cheondoism venerates Cheon ("Sky" or "Heaven") as the ultimate principle of good and justice, which is referred to by the honorific term Haneullim (하늘님), or "Divinity".

[2] Choe Si Hyong, the leader who published Cheondoism's scriptures, established the core principle of the unity of all things based on this innate presence of the divine.

These include: 'my heart is your heart', with reference both to others and to 'heaven'; 'treat humans as God' in a challenge to Confucian hierarchies; 'protect the nation, secure peace to the people' with a clear reference to Korea in relation to foreign powers; 'all people evolve toward unity' which has gained even more traction with the split between north and south; and 'the Kingdom of heaven on earth'.Cheondoism originated from the Donghak ("Eastern Learning"), a religious movement that arose in 19th-century Korea as a reaction to Western encroachment, particularly the spread of Catholicism.

[12] Cheondoism as a religion evolved in the early 1900s from the Donghak peasant liberation movements in the southern provinces of Korea, particularly the unsuccessful, yet consequential, rebellion of 1894.

Therefore, on 1 December 1905, Son Byong-hi decided to modernize the religion and usher in an era of openness and transparency in order to legitimize it in the eyes of the Japanese, who had strong influence over Korea at the time.

North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's memoirs recount at length an effort to persuade his communist comrades to accept a Chondoist recruit.

[17] According to Kim, Chondoism is a "progressive religion" characterized by the novelty of its principles, its spirit of resistance, the simplicity of its rites and practices, and its inherently popular nature.