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Name:
Unification Church
Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity
Founded:
Date: May 1, 1954
Name: Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Born: Jan. 6, 1920 in Korea
Died: n/a
Headquarters:
Korea
Scriptures:
The Bible
Divine Principles
Membership:
Approximately 3 million worldwide
Profile:
Officially known as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the
Unification Church was founded by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon (1920- ) in Korea
in 1954. It did not gain much attention or much of a following outside of Korea until
Moon moved to the United States in the early 1970s.
The Unification Church is characterized by a specialized interpretation of the Bible and further revelations made by God to Moon, who has proclaimed himself as the successor of Jesus Christ. Members of the church who are single are "matched" by Moon to an appropriate partner and then married along with large numbers of other couples in huge ceremonies.
The group has attracted quite a lot of negative attention over the years, with accusations of brain-washing, improper political activities and more being made. Members are often given the negative label "Moonies" because of their perceived cult-status. But, unlike many similar, "hippie" movements, members of the Unification Church have always presented themselves as clean-cut, well-dressed, professional and respectful.
One of the Unification Church doctrines which has attracted the most negative attention is the idea that the Fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden was not so much a result of simple disobedience to God's commands but, rather, the result of an illicit sexual union between Eve and the Lucifer. As a consequence of this, all of her children were born with defective natures, something which God has attempted to rectify by sending religious leaders to humanity.
One of these key figures was Jesus, but he died before he was able to marry and father children who would have lacked a defective nature. Thus, he was only able to offer humanity spiritual redemption. Moon, however, was determined not to fail in the same way and his marriage in 1960 is depicted as an important step in his effort to achieve a complete redemption of humanity. Another factor in this effort is the emphasis on mass, arranged marriages between members of the Unification Church. According to the Church's doctrines, the children of such marriages are also born without the defective natures which result from Eve's sexual dalliance.
Business Dealings
The Unification Church owns or controls a number of institutions and companies without most
people even knowing about it - for example, the popular Washington Times newspaper.
They also own numerous financial institutions and other various businesses. Moon has spent
time in prison in the United States for tax evasion.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Christianity?
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Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.What is Theism?
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A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion.
