THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

The Unification Church was founded in 1954 in Seoul, South Korea. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon founded the Church. The Church is also known as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity.

The Church's followers refer to themselves as Unificationists but Church followers in the U.S. are best known under the derogatory name of "Moonies."

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON

Sun Myung Moon was born in North Korea in 1920. He was originally Presbyterian. His name means "one who has clarified the Truth."

HIS CALLING

At 15, on Easter Moon had a vision of Jesus. Charging him with the responsibility of completing the work Jesus started.

HIS EXILE FROM THE CHURCH

In 1948, the Presbyterian Church of Korea felt his views were incompatible with theirs and subsequently excommunicated him.

TROUBLE WITH THE LAW

Moon moved to the United States. He was convicted of tax evasion in 1984 and was sent to prison for 13 months. He was frequently accused of spying for the South Koreans.

MOON'S VIEWS ON AMERICA

In Moon's younger years he saw America as a capitalist wonderland where he could spread his religion. Later his views changed drastically.

Moon, "turned on America, branding it a repository of immorality-Satan's harvest."

Also in 2004 Moon stated, "the founders of the world's great religions,along with figures like Marx, Lenin, Hitler, and Stalin had found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons."

Moon died on September 3,2012.

CHURCH BELIEFS

UNIFICATION BELIEFS

• Views God as one entity "with perfect intelligence, emotion, and will."
• Do not believe in the Trinity.
• Say God contains with in himself male and female aspects.
• Main goal is to unite all Christianity under one umbrella.

THE 3 ADAMS

Unificationists believe, "the 1st Adam was the individual described in Genesis; the 2nd Adam is Jesus. The 3rd Adam will be recognized as the second coming of Christ, the perfect man."

EVE

Eve had an affair with Lucifer before Adam and her were married. This caused the spiritual fall of mankind. She also engaged in premarital sex with Adam causing the physical fall of mankind.

MARRIAGE

For Unificationists the goal of marriage is to create a perfect family. As such, Church officials are the matchmakers of the couples.

Often times couples have never met before. The marriage ceremonies have taken place with over 1000 couples participating at once.

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DAYS TO HONOR

CELEBRATE

• True God's Day
• True Parents's Day /True Day of All Things
• Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World
• Declaration Day of God's Eternal Blessing
• True Children's Day

NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

The Unification Church says it has one million followers worldwide. This is disputed by scholars who I estimate that church membership stands at about 50,000.

The Church has 5,000 members in the U.S. Adherence are reported in over 150 countries

UNIFICATION BUSINESSES

The Unification Church is affiliated with newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Times in the United States. It would use these businesses to get celebrities to go to banquets, not realizing the Unification affiliation.

Overall the Unification Church is mainly centered in Asia. It differs greatly from other Christian religions and has a strong emphasis on marriage.

By: Shaheed Bashir

References
Robinson, B.A. (2012, Sept 7). The Unification Church, founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Religious Tolerance.org
Wakin,Daniel J. (2012, Sept 2).Rev.Sun Myung Moon, Self-Proclaimed Messiah Who Built Religious Movement, Dies at 92. The New York Times.com.