Unification Church of the United States

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The Unification Church of the United States is a new religious movement in the United States of America. It is a part of the international Unification Church founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. Although it has always had relatively few members it has played a role in many public events since its founding in the 1950s and has been the subject of much media and public attention.

Contents

[edit] Early history

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Unification Church missionaries 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.[1] 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.[2][3] 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.[4][5][6] After the 1970s American Unification Church membership has remained at about the same number, roughly 5,000 adult members.[7][8][9]

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.[10] 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.[11] In Seattle the church purchased the historic Rolland Denny house for $175,000 in 1977.[12]

[edit] Political involvement

Moon had long been an advocate for anti-communism; both because of personal experience, he was born is 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.[13] 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.[14]

The Unification Church of the United States sponsored other anti-communist activities during the 1970s and 1980s, including the multi-national organization CAUSA International.[15][16] 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.[17]

In 1983 church members publicly protested against the Soviet Union over its shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007.[18] 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."[19]

[edit] 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 deprogrammers 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.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22] (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.[23][24]

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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27](see also: Sun Myung Moon tax fraud and conspiracy case)

[edit] 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 Garden 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.[28]

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.[29][30][31][32]

Also expanding were church sponsored interdenominational and cultural projects.[33][34] 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 movements, has said that this confirms that full-time membership is no longer considered crucial to church members.[35] In the late 1990s, both The New Yorker and the Washington Post published stories saying that membership had fallen considerably, with the latter citing Frederick Sontag, who had been studying the Unification Church since the 1970s, as stating: "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."[4][36]

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.[36][37][38]

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 bring back younger members. [39]

[edit] Church presidents

[edit] Military service

In 2001 the United States Army, in a handbook for chaplains, reported: "The Unification Church emphasizes the responsibility of citizenship but sets no official rules as to military service." It also said that church members have no restrictions on diet, uniform appearance, medical treatment, or other factors which might conflict with military requirements.[47]

[edit] Neologisms

A number of neologisms have been introduced by or about the Unification Church of the United States. These include the derogatory term "Moonie",[48][49] and the expression "love bombing".[50][51] The church also has a welter of abstruse theological terms, such as "indemnity" and "restoration", "give and take", "fallen nature", "foundation of faith" and "foundation of substance", and "merit of the age".

[edit] References

  1. ^ A History of the Unification Church in America, 1959–1974: Emergence of a National Movement, Michael L. Mickler, 1987, New York: Garland, ISBN 0815311389.
  2. ^ Introvigne, Massimo, 2000, The Unification Church Studies in Contemporary Religion, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, ISBN 1-56085-145-7, excerpt page 12
  3. ^ Korean Moon: Waxing of Waning?, Leo Sandon Jr., Theology Today, Vol 35, No 2, July 1978, "Thousands of young American adults (probably 3,000-5,000) have joined the Unification Church. Many of these members are attractive, well-educated graduates from some of our finest colleges and universities. Their membership in the movement should remind us that for the young adult (18–25 years of age) conversion has a highly ideological and vocational dimension."
  4. ^ a b Moon at Twilight, The New Yorker September 14, 1998, "David Bromley, a professor of sociology and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, who has co-written a book about the Unification Church, believes that the bulk of Moon's remaining followers were recruited in the seventies, when both the establishment and the counterculture were falling apart. Bromley says that the sense of joining a close, purposeful community was crucial, and that it is no coincidence that church members refer to each other as "brother" and "sister" or that Moon is called Father. "
  5. ^ Irving Louis Horowitz, Science, Sin, and Society: The Politics of Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, 1980, MIT Press
  6. ^ Finding and Seeking; Born in affluence, the baby-boomers were driven to ask Big Questions about fulfillment and the meaning of life. How their legacy has changed us., Jerry Adler & Julie Scelfo, Newsweek, September 18, 2006
  7. ^ Melton, J. Gordon & Moore, Robert L. The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. New York: The Pilgrim Press (1984 [3rd printing; 1st printing 1982]); pg. 8. "...audiences are surprised to learn that the Unification Church has less than 5,000 members in the U.S., because the press often gives the impression of far larger numbers." Melton is a leading expert on new religious movements.
  8. ^ Finke, Roger & Stark, Rodney. The Churching of America, 1776–1990. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press (1992; 3rd printing 1997); pg. 241. "...after more than thirty years of missionizing, it is estimated that there have never been more than 5,000 followers of the Unification Church... in the United States, some of whom are from abroad."
  9. ^ The Market for Martyrs, Laurence Iannaccone, George Mason University, 2006, "One of the most comprehensive and influential studies was The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? by Eileen Barker (1984). Barker could find no evidence that Moonie recruits were ever kidnapped, confined, or coerced. Participants at Moonie retreats were not deprived of sleep; the lectures were not “trance-inducing”; and there was not much chanting, no drugs or alcohol, and little that could be termed “frenzy” or “ecstatic” experience. People were free to leave, and leave they did. Barker’s extensive enumerations showed that among the recruits who went so far as to attend two-day retreats (claimed to beMoonie’s most effective means of “brainwashing”), fewer than 25% joined the group formore than a week and only 5% remained full-time members one year later. And, of course, most contacts dropped out before attending a retreat. Of all those who visited a Moonie centre at least once, not one in two-hundred remained in the movement two years later. With failure rates exceeding 99.5%, it comes as no surprise that full-time Moonie membership in the U.S. never exceeded a few thousand. And this was one of the most New Religious Movements of the era!"
  10. ^ Moon-struck, Time, October 15, 1973, "The core members—most in their 20s, many of them converts from other spiritual, psychological or political trips—display a dogged devotion that makes even Jehovah's Witnesses look like backsliders. They are enthusiastic capitalists who rise at dawn to hit the streets with wares to exchange for "donations": flowers, votive light candles, even peanuts. Last year, when Master Moon moved his international headquarters to Tarrytown, N.Y., members sold candles across the U.S. for seven weeks to meet the down payment of $300,000 on an $850,000 estate."
  11. ^ Introvigne 2000 pages 13–16
  12. ^ A Seattle jewel shines again, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 22, 2007
  13. ^ [1] Divine Principle, Introduction. "Nonetheless, one final and inescapable conflict remains before us, the war between democracy and communism. Although each side has equipped itself with fearsome weapons and is pitted against the other in readiness for battle, the core of their conflict is internal and ideological. Which side will triumph in this final ideological conflict? Anyone who believes in the reality of God will surely answer that democracy will win."
  14. ^ Introvigne, 2000 page 16
  15. ^ Introvigne, 2000, page 18
  16. ^ Sun Myung Moon's Followers Recruit Christians to Assist in Battle Against Communism Christianity Today June 15, 1985
  17. ^ Gorenfeld, John, Dear Leader's Paper Moon The American Prospect 2005-09-19 "The American people know the truth. You, my friends at The Washington Times, have told it to them. It wasn't always the popular thing to do. But you were a loud and powerful voice. Like me, you arrived in Washington at the beginning of the most momentous decade of the century. Together, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. And -- oh, yes -- we won the Cold War." -Reagan, 1997
  18. ^ [2] San Francisco Chronicle September 3, 1983 "For a second day, the Soviet Consulate in Pacific Heights was the scene of emotional protests against the shooting down of a Korean Air Lines jumbo jet. About 300 people held demonstration yesterday morning. Among them were members of the Unification Church, or "Moonies," whose founder is the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial South Korean who has melded a fierce anti-communism into his ideology. Eldridge Cleaver, the onetime black radical who recently has had ties with the Moonies, spoke at the rally. Many pickets carried signs accusing the Soviet Union of murdering the 269 passengers and crew aboard the airliner. In another development, San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli filed a $109 billion lawsuit against the Soviet Union on behalf of the 269 victims."
  19. ^ Review of The Making of a Moonie, William Rusher, National Review, December 19, 1986.
  20. ^ Introvigne, 2000, pages 16–17
  21. ^ Dole meeting with Moon aide called cordial, Lawrence Journal-World, February 24, 1976
  22. ^ Introvigne, 2000. page 17
  23. ^ A crumbling wall between CHURCH and STATE?, Christian Science Monitor, June 2, 1982
  24. ^ Equal rights for Moonies, Time, May 3, 1982
  25. ^ Why Are Pastors Flying to Moon? Christianity Today August 1, 2001.
  26. ^ Introvigne, 2000, pages 23–25
  27. ^ Church urges Christian unity: Valley seminary open since 1975 Poughkeepsie Journal, 2003-12-11"Michael Tori, a professor in Marist College's religious studies program, said the Unification Church has gained more acceptance in mainstream society for several reasons. One reason was Rev. Moon's indictment in the early 1980s for tax evasion. The indictment showed Moon was financially accountable to the government and to the public, Tori said. Another reason the church has gained greater acceptance is that it has taken on several universally accepted causes such as the importance of family values in society and the formation of the Interreligious and International Peace Council. The church has also given financial support to institutions such as the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and made acquisitions such as the purchase of the Washington Times."
  28. ^ Introvigne, 2000, pages 47–48
  29. ^ Riverfront developer's origins are tied to Moon Richmond Times-Dispatch January 11, 2008
  30. ^ Sushi and Rev. Moon Chicago Tribune 2006-4-11
  31. ^ Here at the New Yorker New York Times, November 18, 2007
  32. ^ A Church in Flux Is Flush With Cash Washington Post 1997-11-23,
  33. ^ Rev. Moon raising his profile Christian Science Monitor 2001-04-19
  34. ^ Despite controversy, Moon and his church moving into mainstream Chicago Tribune, April 11, 2006. "Derided as a cult in the 1970s and '80s that aggressively recruited young people to sell flowers in airports, the church changed its emphasis a decade ago to forming alliances with other faiths around issues such as abstinence and resistance to gay marriage."
  35. ^ Introvigne, 2000, page 19
  36. ^ a b Stymied in U.S., Moon's Church Sounds a Retreat, Marc Fisher and Jeff Leen, Washington Post, November 24, 1997
  37. ^ Introvigne, 2000, pages 47–52
  38. ^ Thousands rally at million family march - racially and religiously diverse gathering, Christian Century, 2000-11-1
  39. ^ Unification Church Woos A Second Generation, National Public Radio, June 23, 2010
  40. ^ a b c d e f A History Of The Unification Church In America, 1959-74 - Emergence of a National Movement, Michael L. Mickler, 1987, New York: Garland, ISBN 0815311389.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h Dedication of Unification Church National Headquarters, Washington DC Area, Speech by Sun Myung Moon, Jefferson House, McLean, Virginia, July 6, 1999
  42. ^ a b The Unification Church, Studies in Contemporary Religion, 2000, Massimo Introvigne, Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-145-7.
  43. ^ a b c d New President for US Church, Peter Ross
  44. ^ a b c Unification News for June 2000
  45. ^ Alexander, Delroy; Margaret Ramirez (2006-11-05). "Rev. Moon and the Black Clergy; Taking Down the Cross (and Taking Trips) Part of an Unlikely Alliance With Local Pastors". Chicago Tribune. p. 1. ISSN 10856706. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1156751401&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=20886&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Retrieved 2008-12-29. [registration required]
  46. ^ National Public Radio, 2-18-2010
  47. ^ Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains, By U. S. Department of the Army, Published by The Minerva Group, Inc., 2001, ISBN 0898756073, ISBN 9780898756074, pages 1–41 to 1-47. Google books listing
  48. ^ *Oxford English Dictionary
  49. ^ *WordNet 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University
  50. ^ "1999 Testimony of Ronald N. Loomis to the Maryland Cult Task Force". http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/loomis_testimony.htm. 
  51. ^ "Sun Myung Moon (1978) "We Who Have Been Called To Do God's Work" Speech in London, England". http://www.unification.net/1978/780723.html. 

[edit] External links

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