When was the unification church founded

At the same time, Eileen Barker, a sociologist specializing in religion, studied Unification Church members in England. She concluded that the Unification Church did not use brainwashing for conversion and published her findings in the book The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing?

Having survived this period of intense criticism, the Unification Church emerged in the s with an expansive international program. In , Reverend Moon officially confirmed that he is the Messiah, or the second coming of Jesus Christ as prophesied in the Bible see Beliefs, below.

Members had long believed that this was the case, but it was not officially announced until then. At this time Moon also announced that his successor would be his wife, who is about 20 years his junior.

The influence of the Unification Church is extended by a variety of organizations that embody Moon's ideals, such as the Professor's World Peace Academy and the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences. In , on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the church, Moon announced the formation of the International Federation for World Peace, which assumed many of the functions formerly performed by the church. Although the early s was a period of relative stability for the Unification movement, problems arose for the church in Japan following the AUM Shinrikyo incident in , when the country was gripped by anticult hysteria.

This is perhaps the most serious issue facing the Unification Church, since its theology centers on the belief that Moon's children are sinless. But Nansook Hong wrote that Hyo Jin, who grew up in luxurious surroundings and rarely saw his busy parents, was physically and emotionally abusive and addicted to cocaine and pornography.

In March , Reverend Moon was crowned King of Peace, completed with kingly robes and golden crowns, in a building of the U. Afterward the ceremony, Moon made a long speech which included the statements:. The members of the Congress who attended said they were misled about the content of the event. It was reported in very few newspapers other than Moon's Washington Times but was widely reported in Washington blogs and websites.

Today, the church has a presence in more than countries, though exact membership figures are difficult to estimate. The Unification Church says it has 3 million members, but others sources say it is far less, estimating membership at anywhere from , to just over 1 million. His speeches are also considered authoritative. The Christian Bible is highly regarded, but used to a lesser degree. Reverend Moon's teaching is called the Divine Principle. According to the Church, "The Principle is the result of divine inspiration, prayer, and the study of religious scriptures and of life itself.

Many tears and much intense suffering were part of the price of gaining this profound understanding. The Divine Principle is based on observations of the creation in order to understand the Creator. Moon observes that everything in nature comes in pairs: male and female, positive and negative charges, arteries and veins, and so on. This duality of Sung Sang causal and masculine and Hyung Sang resultant and feminine must come from God because God is the creator of all.

God's nature is thus characterized by equal masculine and feminine aspects joined together in perfect harmony. In addition, because humans value love and harmony we can conclude that "Heart" is the essence of God's being.

Heart is the impulse to love and seek an object to love. God feels joy when He can give and receive love with His beloved. God loves each one of us individually, and rejoices when we return His love and multiply it by loving others. This is what creates, develops and sustains the cosmos.

The purpose of creation and the purpose of life is to experience the joy of love. Religion Facts Just the facts on world religions. Fast Facts: Unification Church Adherents over 1 million 3 million acc. Afterward the ceremony, Moon made a long speech which included the statements: "Emperors, kings and presidents Beliefs Reverend Moon's teaching is called the Divine Principle. Right: Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon presiding over mass wedding ceremony in the early '80s.

Left: Moon with President Nixon in Founded by the late Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church is classified as a "new religious movement" -- and the same group is also referred to as the "Moonies," and labeled a cult. With a worldwide following of million people, it is the largest active cult -- that is, if it's a cult at all. The categorization is hard to establish, and pejorative as is the nickname "Moonies".

But with its messianic leader, unorthodox views on male-female relationships, and its members' abdication of self in service of the collective, the Unification Church certainly ticks many of the boxes on the cult checklist. Whatever it's labeled, the Unification Church is undoubtedly an unusual religious phenomenon of the second half of the 20th century, becoming extremely wealthy and widespread, and its leader, Reverend Moon, wielded immense political and economic power.

Given the strong connotations of the word "cult" and the nature of belief, we won't pass judgment on whether the Unification Movement is a cult here. Much has been written debating the issue, and the U. Senate even pondered it in the controversial "Cult Phenomenon in the United States" hearings of Source: patheos. Moon claimed that Jesus appeared to him in a vision, tasking Moon with bringing peace to the world.

In the s, shortly after he began preaching his message, he was arrested and accused of spying for South Korea. He was imprisoned for five years. Near the end of the Korean War , he fled to South Korea and established his church, based on a mix of Confucian and Christian beliefs. He published his Exposition of the Divine Principle , a reinterpretation of the Bible that established the main goals of what has been called the Unification movement since the s.

One of the mass marriages. Source: waltermason. Moon did not believe in the idea of romantic love but did claim that God intended that Jesus, a second Adam, would get married.

Hak Ja Han was his second wife; he was 40 and she was 17 when they married. In , Moon conducted the blessing ceremony in Madison Square Garden for 2, couples. The largest blessing ceremony Moon presided over occurred in , when 30, couples were blessed at Seoul's Olympic Stadium. The individuals participating in the ceremony all wear similar clothing. Though referred to as "mass weddings," the blessing ceremonies often are not weddings in the legal sense.

The couples, who have been "matched" by the church, may get married before or after the blessing ceremony, following the requirements of their country's government. Newlywed couples are to refrain from sex for 40 days. Then they are to consummate their marriage during a three-day ritual. The couple is instructed to use sexual positions dictated by Moon. The breakaway sect known as the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, based in Pennsylvania, is run by Hyung Jin Moon youngest son of Sun Myung Moon , and has generated controversy by inviting its congregation to bring assault rifles to church.