Church, Unification

UNIFICATION CHURCH -  The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, founded as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, and commonly called the Unification Church, is a new religious movement founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon.

Since its founding, the church has expanded throughout the world with most members living in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and other nations in East Asia.  The church was led by Moon until his death on September 3, 2012.  Since then, his widow Hak Ja Han has assumed the leadership of the church.  In 1958, Moon sent missionaries to Japan, and in 1959, to America.   Moon moved to the United States in 1971, although he remained a citizen of the Republic of Korea.   Missionary work took place in Washington, D.C., New York, and California.  UC missionaries found success in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the church expanded in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco.   By 1971, the Unification Church of the United States had about 500 members.   By 1973, it had some presence in all 50 states and a few thousand members.   In the 1970s, American Unification Church members were noted for their enthusiasm and dedication, which often included raising money for church projects on so-called "mobile fundraising teams."

Unificationist beliefs are derived from the Christian Bible and are explained in the church's textbook, the Divine Principle.   It teaches that God is the Creator and Heavenly Parent, whose dual nature combines both masculinity and femininity and whose center is true love.  The Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church, a wedding or wedding vow renewal ceremony, is a church tradition which has attracted widespread public attention as well as controversy.  The church has engaged in interfaith activities with other religions, including mainstream Christianity and Islam,     despite theological differences.  The Unification Church is among the minority of new religious movements who have introduced their own unique scriptures.  The Divine Principle or Exposition of the Divine Principle  is the main theological textbook of the Unification Church. It was co-written by church founder Sun Myung Moon and early disciple Hyo Won Eu and first published in 1966.   A translation entitled Divine Principle was published in English in 1973.

The Unification Church has been the subject of controversy over several issues.   Its beliefs, which differ from traditional Christian interpretations of the Bible, have been called heretical and antisemitic by some critics.   It has also been criticized for its involvement in politics, especially in support of the government of South Korea for which it was investigated by a committee of the United States Congress in 1977.   The church has also been accused of brainwashing its members, which led to some being subject to deprogramming.   Other controversial events include Moon's 1982 conviction in the United States of filing false federal income tax returns and criminal conspiracy and the 2001 wedding of Roman Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo to a Unification Church member in a ceremony presided over by Moon.