Unification Church of the United States
Encyclopedia
The Unification Church of the United States is a new religious movement
in the United States of America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s when missionaries from Japan and South Korea were sent to the United States by the international Unification Church
's founder and leader Sun Myung Moon
. It expanded in the 1970s and then became involved in controversy due to its theology, its political activism, and the life style of its members. Since then it has taken part in many areas of American society and has itself gone through substantial changes.
were sent from South Korea
and Japan
to the United States in order to establish the church there. Among them were Young Oon Kim
, Sang Ik-Choi, Bo Hi Pak
, David S. C. Kim, and Yun Soo Lim
. Missionary work took place in Washington D.C., New York
, Oregon
, and California
. By 1971 the Unification Church of the United States had about 500 members. In the next few years it expanded to several thousand members, with most of them being in their early 20s. Some commentators have noted that this period of Unification Church growth in the United States took place just as the "hippie
" era of the late 1960s and early 1970s was ending, when many American young people were looking for a sense of higher purpose or community in their lives. After the 1970s American Unification Church membership has remained at about the same number, roughly 5,000 adult members.
Sun Myung Moon visited the United States in 1965 and 1969 and decided to move there in 1971. He then asked church members to help him in a series of outreach campaigns in which he spoke to public audiences in all 50 states, ending with a 1976 rally in Washington D.C. in which he spoke on the grounds of the Washington Monument
to around 300,000 people. During this time many church members left school and careers to devote their full time to church work. Mobile fundraising teams were set up to raise money for church projects, often giving candy or flowers in exchange for donations. Moon also brought members from Europe
and Japan
to work in the United States. Church buildings were purchased around the nation. In New York State the Belvedere Estate, the Unification Theological Seminary
, and the New Yorker Hotel
were purchased. The national headquarters of the church was established in New York City
. In Washington D.C. the church purchased a church building from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in Seattle the historic Rolland Denny house for $175,000 in 1977.
; both because of personal experience, he was born in what is now North Korea
and had been imprisoned by the North Korean communist government during the Korean War
, and because he believed that the defeat of communism by democracy
was a necessary step in God
's providence
to establish the Kingdom of God
on earth. In 1974 he asked church members to support President Richard Nixon
during the Watergate scandal
when Nixon was being pressured to resign his office. Church members prayed and fasted in support of Nixon for three days in front of the United States Capitol
, under the motto: "Forgive, Love and Unite." On February 1, 1974 Nixon publicly thanked them for their support and officially received Moon. This brought the church into widespread public and media attention.
The Unification Church of the United States sponsored other anti-communist activities during the 1970s and 1980s, including the multi-national organization CAUSA International. In 1982 Moon founded the conservative newspaper The Washington Times
, in Washington D.C., as part of News World Communications
, an international news media conglomerate which also publishes newspapers in South Korea, Japan, and South America. Although never a financial success, the Times was well-read in conservative and anti-communist circles and was credited by President Ronald Reagan
with helping to win the Cold War
.
In 1983 church members publicly protested against the Soviet Union
over its shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007. In 1984, church member Dan Fefferman
founded the International Coalition for Religious Freedom in Virginia
, which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to religious freedom by governmental agencies. In 1986 conservative author William Rusher wrote: "The members the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, now almost universally referred to as 'Moonies
,' constitute a fascinating problem for outsiders--and perhaps above all for conservatives, because they are so unabashedly anti-Communist and pro-American."
to remove their children from church membership and the activities of the church were widely reported in the media, most often in a negative light. In 1975 high-ranking church leader Steven Hassan
left the church and later became an outspoken critic. He is the author of two books on his experiences and theories on cult mind control.
In 1976 church president Neil Albert Salonen
met with Senator Bob Dole
to defend the Unification Church against charges made by its critics, including parents of some members. In 1977, church member Jonathan Wells, who later became well-known as the author of the popular Intelligent Design
book Icons of Evolution
, defended Unification Church theology against what he said were unfair criticisms by the National Council of Churches
. That same year Frederick Sontag
, a professor of philosophy at Pomona College
and a minister in the United Church of Christ
, published Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church
which gave an overview of the church and urged Christians to take it more seriously.
In 1978 and 1979, the church's support for the South Korean government was investigated by a Congressional subcommittee led by Democratic Representative Donald M. Fraser
of Minnesota
. (see also: Fraser Committee) In 1982 the United States Supreme Court struck down a Minnesota law which had imposed registration and reporting requirements on those religions that receive more than half of their contributions from nonmembers as being contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution's protection of religious freedom and prohibition of state establishment of religion. The law was seen as especially targeting the Unification Church.
In 1982, Moon was convicted in United States federal court of willfully filing false Federal income tax
returns and conspiracy
. In 1984 and 1985, while he was serving his sentence in Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
, Connecticut
, American Unification Church members launched a public-relations campaign claiming that the charges against him were unjust and politically motivated. Booklets, letters and videotapes were mailed to approximately 300,000 Christian
leaders. Many signed petitions protesting the government's case. Among the American Christian leaders who spoke out in defense of Moon were conservative Jerry Falwell
, head of Moral Majority
, and liberal Joseph Lowery
, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
. Michael Tori, a professor at Marist College
(Poughkeepsie, New York
) suggested that Moon's conviction helped the Unification Church gain more acceptance in mainstream American society, since it showed that he was financially accountable to the government and the public.(see also: United States vs. Sun Myung Moon)
Later in the 80s and early 90s church members staged a successful protest campaign against the use of the word "Moonie
" (considered derogatory) by the news media.
in New York City. The total number of couples who took part was 2075, some coming from other countries. Soon after other American members were married in ceremonies in South Korea. Most who took part were matched with their future spouses by Moon. Many couples were international or interracial. Before this most American church members had been single and living celibately
.
Also in the 1980s Moon instructed church members to take part in a program called "Home Church" in which they reached out to neighbors and community members through public service. Unification Church business interests, which had begun in the 1960s, expanded in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Church owned businesses in the United States include media and entertainment, fishing and sea food distribution, hotels and real estate, and many others. Many church members found employment in church owned businesses while others pursued careers outside of the church community. Also expanding were church sponsored interdenominational and cultural projects.
In 1984 Eileen Barker
, a sociologist specializing in religious topics, published The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? which disputed much of the negative characterization of church members by the news media In 1991 Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon by investigative journalist Carlton Sherwood
criticized the federal government's prosecution of Moon in the 1980s.
In 1991 Moon announced that church members should return to their hometowns in order to undertake apostolic work there. Massimo Introvigne
, who has studied the Unification Church and other new religious movement
s, has said that this confirms that full-time membership is no longer considered crucial to church members. In the late 1990s, both The New Yorker
and the Washington Post published stories saying that membership had fallen considerably, with the latter quoting Dr. Sontag: "There's no question their numbers are way down. The older members complain to me that they have a lot of captains but no foot soldiers."
On May 1, 1994 (the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Unification Church in Seoul
, South Korea
), Moon declared that the era of the Unification Church had ended and inaugurated a new organization: the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) would include Unification Church members and members of other religious organizations working toward common goals, especially on issues of sexual morality and reconciliation between people of different religions, nations, and races (see Unification Movement). The FFWPU co-sponsored the Million Family March
in 2000, the Global Peace Festival
in the late 2000s, and blessing ceremonies in which thousands of non–Unification Church married couples were given the marriage blessing previously given only to Unification Church members.
In 2009 Sun Myung Moon appointed his daughter In Jin Moon
president of the Unification Church of the United States. She has worked to modernise the church's worship style in an effort to involve younger members.
, in a handbook for chaplain
s, reported: "The Unification Church emphasizes the responsibility of citizenship
but sets no official rules as to military service
." It added that church members have no restrictions on diet, uniform appearance, medical treatment, or other factors which might conflict with military requirements.
The Unification Church of the United States has introduced a number of neologisms into the English language, directly or indirectly. These include the derogatory term "Moonies
", a special use of the word "indemnity", and the expressions "doomsday cult
", "love bombing
", and "crazy for God" -- the last coined by Moon himself.
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
in the United States of America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s when missionaries from Japan and South Korea were sent to the United States by the international Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
's founder and leader Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
. It expanded in the 1970s and then became involved in controversy due to its theology, its political activism, and the life style of its members. Since then it has taken part in many areas of American society and has itself gone through substantial changes.
Early history
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Unification Church missionariesMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
were sent from South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to the United States in order to establish the church there. Among them were Young Oon Kim
Young Oon Kim
Young Oon Kim was a leading theologian of the Unification Church and its first missionary to the United States.Kim was a professor of religion at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea. After she joined the Unification Church, church founder Sun Myung Moon sent her to the United States as a...
, Sang Ik-Choi, Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
, David S. C. Kim, and Yun Soo Lim
Mose Durst
Mose Durst is an author, educator, and the former national president of the Unification Church of the United States. He was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City; then an Orthodox Jewish community; to immigrants from Russia. He received a Master's degree and Ph.D while studying English...
. Missionary work took place in Washington D.C., New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. By 1971 the Unification Church of the United States had about 500 members. In the next few years it expanded to several thousand members, with most of them being in their early 20s. Some commentators have noted that this period of Unification Church growth in the United States took place just as the "hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
" era of the late 1960s and early 1970s was ending, when many American young people were looking for a sense of higher purpose or community in their lives. After the 1970s American Unification Church membership has remained at about the same number, roughly 5,000 adult members.
Sun Myung Moon visited the United States in 1965 and 1969 and decided to move there in 1971. He then asked church members to help him in a series of outreach campaigns in which he spoke to public audiences in all 50 states, ending with a 1976 rally in Washington D.C. in which he spoke on the grounds of the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
to around 300,000 people. During this time many church members left school and careers to devote their full time to church work. Mobile fundraising teams were set up to raise money for church projects, often giving candy or flowers in exchange for donations. Moon also brought members from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to work in the United States. Church buildings were purchased around the nation. In New York State the Belvedere Estate, the Unification Theological Seminary
Unification Theological Seminary
The Unification Theological Seminary , is the main seminary of the international Unification Church. It is located in Barrytown, New York and with an Extension Center in midtown Manhattan. Its purpose has been described as training leaders and theologians within the Unification Church. The...
, and the New Yorker Hotel
New Yorker Hotel
The New Yorker Hotel, is a hotel located 481 Eighth Avenue in New York City. The 43-story Art Deco hotel opened in 1930.-General:The New Yorker Hotel is a 900 room, mid-priced hotel. It is located in Manhattan's Garment Center, central to Pennsylvania Station, Madison Square Garden, Times Square...
were purchased. The national headquarters of the church was established in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In Washington D.C. the church purchased a church building from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in Seattle the historic Rolland Denny house for $175,000 in 1977.
Political involvement
Moon had long been an advocate for anti-communismAnti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
; both because of personal experience, he was born in what is now North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and had been imprisoned by the North Korean communist government during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and because he believed that the defeat of communism by democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
was a necessary step in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
's providence
Divine Providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
to establish the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
on earth. In 1974 he asked church members to support President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
during the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
when Nixon was being pressured to resign his office. Church members prayed and fasted in support of Nixon for three days in front of the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, under the motto: "Forgive, Love and Unite." On February 1, 1974 Nixon publicly thanked them for their support and officially received Moon. This brought the church into widespread public and media attention.
The Unification Church of the United States sponsored other anti-communist activities during the 1970s and 1980s, including the multi-national organization CAUSA International. In 1982 Moon founded the conservative newspaper The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, in Washington D.C., as part of News World Communications
News World Communications
News World Communications, Inc., is an international news media corporation. It was founded in New York City, in 1976, by Unification Church founder and leader, Sun Myung Moon. Its first two newspapers, The News World and the Spanish-language Noticias del Mundo, were published in New York from...
, an international news media conglomerate which also publishes newspapers in South Korea, Japan, and South America. Although never a financial success, the Times was well-read in conservative and anti-communist circles and was credited by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
with helping to win the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
In 1983 church members publicly protested against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
over its shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007. In 1984, church member Dan Fefferman
Dan Fefferman
Daniel G. Fefferman is a prominent member of the Unification Church of the United States, a branch of the international Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954....
founded the International Coalition for Religious Freedom in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to religious freedom by governmental agencies. In 1986 conservative author William Rusher wrote: "The members the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, now almost universally referred to as 'Moonies
Moonies
Moonie is a nickname sometimes used to refer to members of the Unification Church. This is derived from the name of the church's founder Sun Myung Moon, and was first used in 1974 by the American media. Church members have used the word "Moonie", including Sun Myung Moon, President of the...
,' constitute a fascinating problem for outsiders--and perhaps above all for conservatives, because they are so unabashedly anti-Communist and pro-American."
Criticism, opposition, and controversy
The Unification Church of the United States was met with widespread criticism beginning in the early 1970s. The main points of criticism were the church's unorthodox theology, especially its belief that Moon is the second coming of Christ; the church's political involvement; and the extreme lifestyle of most members, which involved full-time dedication to church activities often at the neglect of family, school, and career. During this time, hundreds of parents of members used the services of deprogrammersDeprogramming
Deprogramming refers to actions that attempt to force a person to abandon allegiance to a religious, political, economic, or social group. Methods and practices may involve kidnapping and coercion...
to remove their children from church membership and the activities of the church were widely reported in the media, most often in a negative light. In 1975 high-ranking church leader Steven Hassan
Steven Hassan
Steven Alan Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor. Hassan was an early advocate of exit counseling, and is the author of two books on the subject of "cults", and what he describes as their use of mind control, thought reform, and the psychology of influence in order...
left the church and later became an outspoken critic. He is the author of two books on his experiences and theories on cult mind control.
In 1976 church president Neil Albert Salonen
Neil Albert Salonen
Neil Albert Salonen is president of the University of Bridgeport, a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is a member of the Unification Church and became the president of the Unification Church of the United States in 1972...
met with Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
to defend the Unification Church against charges made by its critics, including parents of some members. In 1977, church member Jonathan Wells, who later became well-known as the author of the popular Intelligent Design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
book Icons of Evolution
Icons of Evolution
Icons of Evolution is a book by the intelligent design advocate and fellow of the Discovery Institute, Jonathan Wells, which also includes a 2002 video companion. In the book, Wells criticized the paradigm of evolution by attacking how it is taught...
, defended Unification Church theology against what he said were unfair criticisms by the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
. That same year Frederick Sontag
Frederick Sontag
Frederick Earl Sontag was a professor of philosophy and author. He taught at Pomona College in Claremont, California from 1952 to 2009, retiring shortly before his death.-Life and academic career:...
, a professor of philosophy at Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
and a minister in the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, published Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church
Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church
Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church is a nonfiction book about the Unification Church and its founder and leader, Sun Myung Moon. It was written by Frederick Sontag, a professor of philosophy at Pomona College and a minister in the United Church of Christ., and published by Abingdon Press in...
which gave an overview of the church and urged Christians to take it more seriously.
In 1978 and 1979, the church's support for the South Korean government was investigated by a Congressional subcommittee led by Democratic Representative Donald M. Fraser
Donald M. Fraser
Donald MacKay Fraser is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Early life:Donald Fraser played a critical role in making human rights an important part of U.S. policy. Fraser was born on 20 February 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Everett and Lois Fraser. His parents were émigrés...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. (see also: Fraser Committee) In 1982 the United States Supreme Court struck down a Minnesota law which had imposed registration and reporting requirements on those religions that receive more than half of their contributions from nonmembers as being contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution's protection of religious freedom and prohibition of state establishment of religion. The law was seen as especially targeting the Unification Church.
In 1982, Moon was convicted in United States federal court of willfully filing false Federal income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
returns and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
. In 1984 and 1985, while he was serving his sentence in Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
The Federal Correctional Institution Danbury is a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, north of downtown Danbury and from New York City...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, American Unification Church members launched a public-relations campaign claiming that the charges against him were unjust and politically motivated. Booklets, letters and videotapes were mailed to approximately 300,000 Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
leaders. Many signed petitions protesting the government's case. Among the American Christian leaders who spoke out in defense of Moon were conservative Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, head of Moral Majority
Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
, and liberal Joseph Lowery
Joseph Lowery
Joseph Echols Lowery is a minister in the United Methodist Church and leader in the American civil rights movement. He later became the third president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his immediate successor, Rev. Dr...
, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
. Michael Tori, a professor at Marist College
Marist College
Marist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...
(Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie (town), New York
Poughkeepsie is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 42,777 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the native term, "Uppu-qui-ipis-in," which means "reed-covered hut by the water."...
) suggested that Moon's conviction helped the Unification Church gain more acceptance in mainstream American society, since it showed that he was financially accountable to the government and the public.(see also: United States vs. Sun Myung Moon)
Later in the 80s and early 90s church members staged a successful protest campaign against the use of the word "Moonie
Moonie
Moonie, a family name in the United Kingdom, is used as a nickname for members of the Unification Church and is sometimes considered offensive in that use although not in others.Moonie may also refer to:*Moonie, Queensland, town in Australia...
" (considered derogatory) by the news media.
Changes in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s
On July 1, 1982 a large number of the members of the Unification Church of the United States were married by Rev. and Mrs. Moon in a Blessing ceremony (sometimes called a "mass wedding") in Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City. The total number of couples who took part was 2075, some coming from other countries. Soon after other American members were married in ceremonies in South Korea. Most who took part were matched with their future spouses by Moon. Many couples were international or interracial. Before this most American church members had been single and living celibately
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
.
Also in the 1980s Moon instructed church members to take part in a program called "Home Church" in which they reached out to neighbors and community members through public service. Unification Church business interests, which had begun in the 1960s, expanded in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Church owned businesses in the United States include media and entertainment, fishing and sea food distribution, hotels and real estate, and many others. Many church members found employment in church owned businesses while others pursued careers outside of the church community. Also expanding were church sponsored interdenominational and cultural projects.
In 1984 Eileen Barker
Eileen Barker
Eileen Vartan Barker OBE, born in Edinburgh, UK, is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics , and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights...
, a sociologist specializing in religious topics, published The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? which disputed much of the negative characterization of church members by the news media In 1991 Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon by investigative journalist Carlton Sherwood
Carlton Sherwood
Carlton Sherwood is an American journalist who produced the anti-John Kerry film Stolen Honor. Sherwood served on two news teams which were responsible for the award of the Pulitzer Prize and the Peabody Award to their organizations....
criticized the federal government's prosecution of Moon in the 1980s.
In 1991 Moon announced that church members should return to their hometowns in order to undertake apostolic work there. Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne is an Italian sociologist and intellectual property consultant. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions , an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of tens of books and articles in...
, who has studied the Unification Church and other new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s, has said that this confirms that full-time membership is no longer considered crucial to church members. In the late 1990s, both The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and the Washington Post published stories saying that membership had fallen considerably, with the latter quoting Dr. Sontag: "There's no question their numbers are way down. The older members complain to me that they have a lot of captains but no foot soldiers."
On May 1, 1994 (the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Unification Church in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
), Moon declared that the era of the Unification Church had ended and inaugurated a new organization: the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) would include Unification Church members and members of other religious organizations working toward common goals, especially on issues of sexual morality and reconciliation between people of different religions, nations, and races (see Unification Movement). The FFWPU co-sponsored the Million Family March
Million Family March
The Million Family March was a rally in Washington D.C to celebrate family unity and racial and religious harmony; as well as to address other issues, including abortion, capital punishment, health care, education, welfare and Social Security reform, substance abuse prevention, and overhaul of the...
in 2000, the Global Peace Festival
Global Peace Festival
The Global Peace Festival is a series of festivals intended to promote world peace and cooperation under the motto “One Family under God.” It was begun in 2007 and has been backed by the Unification Church. In 2008 festivals were held in North America, Central and South America, Europe, the...
in the late 2000s, and blessing ceremonies in which thousands of non–Unification Church married couples were given the marriage blessing previously given only to Unification Church members.
In 2009 Sun Myung Moon appointed his daughter In Jin Moon
In Jin Moon
In Jin Moon is the president of the Unification Church of the United States and the daughter of Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon. She was born in South Korea and moved with her family to the United States in 1973. She married Dr...
president of the Unification Church of the United States. She has worked to modernise the church's worship style in an effort to involve younger members.
Church presidents
- Gordon Ross
- Jim Fleming - to March 8, 1967
- Lowell Martin - March 8, 1967 to end of 1967
- Phillip Burley - end of 1967 to December 1969
- Farley Jones - December 1969 to December 1972
- Neil Salonen - December 1972 to May, 1980
- Mose DurstMose DurstMose Durst is an author, educator, and the former national president of the Unification Church of the United States. He was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City; then an Orthodox Jewish community; to immigrants from Russia. He received a Master's degree and Ph.D while studying English...
- May, 1980 to 1988 - James Baughman - 1988 to April 29, 1995
- Tyler Hendricks - April 29, 1995 to April 16, 2000
- Michael Jenkins - April 16, 2000. to 2009. He was appointed to the position by church founder Sun Myung MoonSun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
after serving for the previous 2 years as the HSA Vice-President for evangelical outreach. Previously, Jenkins had pastored the Chicago Family Church of Peace in the Chicago, Illinois area for seventeen years. - InJin Moon, daughter of church founder Sun Myung MoonSun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
- 2009 to present.
Military service
In 2001 the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, in a handbook for chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
s, reported: "The Unification Church emphasizes the responsibility of citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
but sets no official rules as to military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
." It added that church members have no restrictions on diet, uniform appearance, medical treatment, or other factors which might conflict with military requirements.
Neologisms
The Unification Church of the United States has introduced a number of neologisms into the English language, directly or indirectly. These include the derogatory term "Moonies
Moonies
Moonie is a nickname sometimes used to refer to members of the Unification Church. This is derived from the name of the church's founder Sun Myung Moon, and was first used in 1974 by the American media. Church members have used the word "Moonie", including Sun Myung Moon, President of the...
", a special use of the word "indemnity", and the expressions "doomsday cult
Doomsday cult
Doomsday cult is an expression used to describe groups who believe in Apocalypticism and Millenarianism, and can refer both to groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and to those that attempt to bring it about...
", "love bombing
Love bombing
Love bombing is the deliberate show of affection or friendship by an individual or a group of people toward another individual. Critics have asserted that this action may be motivated in part by the desire to recruit, convert or otherwise influence....
", and "crazy for God" -- the last coined by Moon himself.
External links
- Official site of the Unification Church of the United States
- Official site of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in the United States
- Unification Church of America History by Lloyd Pumphrey.
- Unification Church, Religion Facts.
- The Moonie Family, Leo Sandon Jr., 1978, Worldview Magazine, published by the Carnegie Council.
- Tahoe Boy, autobiography of Pat HickeyPatrick Hickey (politician)Patrick Hickey is a politician from Nevada. He is currently a representative in the Nevada State Assembly representing Assembly District 25 in Washoe County. In 2009 his autobiography, Tahoe Boy: A Journey Back Home was published by Seven Locks Press of Cabin John, Maryland.Hickey was born in...
, an early church member.