View source for Unification Church

{{Short description|International new religious movement}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[Unitarianism]], [[Universalism]], or [[Unity Church]]}}
{{redirect|Moonies||Moonie (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox religion
| name                = Family Federation for World Peace and Unification<br />(Unification Church)<br/>{{Nobold|{{Lang|ko|세계평화통일가정연합}}}}
| image               = Logo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.jpg
| imagewidth          = 150px
| caption             = Official emblem
| alt                 =
| abbreviation        = FFWPU, UC
| main_classification =[[New religious movement]]
| orientation         =
| scripture           = [[Bible]]<br />Divine Principle
| founder             = [[Sun Myung Moon]]
| founded_date        = May 1, 1954
| leader_title        = Acting Leader
| leader_name         = [[Hak Ja Han]]
| founded_place       = [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]
| headquarters        = 12F Dowon Building<br/>292-20 Dohwa-dong<br/>[[Mapo-gu]]<br/>Seoul, South Korea<ref>https://www.unification.net/misc/uc_directory.html</ref>
| area                = Worldwide
| website             = {{URL|familyfed.org}}
| other_names         = {{ubl|''Unification Movement''|''Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity'' ({{Korean|hangul=세계기독교통일신령협회|labels=no}})|''Unificationists''|''[[Moonie (nickname)|Moonies]]''}}
}}
[[File:Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han.jpg|thumb|alt=Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han, founders of the Unification Church|Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han, founders of the Unification Church]]

The '''Unification Church''' ({{Korean|hangul=통일교|rr=Tongil-gyo}}) is a [[new religious movement]], whose members are called '''Unificationists''' or sometimes informally '''Moonies'''. It was founded in 1954 by [[Sun Myung Moon]] in [[Seoul]], South Korea, as the '''Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity''' ('''HSA-UWC'''; {{Korean|hangul=세계기독교통일신령협회|labels=no|links=no}}); in 1994, the organization changed its name to the '''Family Federation for World Peace and Unification''' ('''FFWPU'''; {{Korean|hangul=세계평화통일가정연합|labels=no}}). It has a presence in approximately 100 countries around the world.<ref name="Worth-Moonies-Atlantic">{{cite journal |last1=Worth |first1=Robert F. |date=October 2023 |title=THE BIZARRE STORY BEHIND SHINZO ABE'S ASSASSINATION |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/10/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-unification-church-moonies/675114/ |journal=The Atlantic |pages=44–53 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329071117/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/10/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-unification-church-moonies/675114/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Its leaders are Moon (prior to his death) and his wife, [[Hak Ja Han]], whom their followers honor with the title "True Parents".

Moon's book, ''The Divine Principle'', informs the beliefs of the Unification Church. Moon [[list of messiah claimants|considered himself]] the [[Second Coming|Second Coming of Christ]], claiming to complete the mission [[Jesus Christ]] was unable to because of his crucifixion: beginning a new ideal family,<ref name="EB-UC">{{cite web |title=Unification Church |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Unification-Church |website=Britannica |access-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-date=September 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920223303/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Unification-Church |url-status=live }}</ref> and a larger human lineage, free from [[sin]].<ref name=maass/> The Unification Church is well known for its [[Collective wedding|mass wedding]]s, known as [[Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church|''Blessing'' ceremonies]].<ref name=nrti/> It has been criticized for its teachings and for its social and political influence, with critics calling it a [[dangerous cult]],<ref name=":5">Barker, Eileen, ''The Making of a Moonie: Choice Or Brainwashing? Modern Revivals in Sociology,'' illustrated, reprint, revised ed. (Gregg Revivals, 1993){{page needed|date=July 2022}} {{ISBN|978-0751201369}}</ref><ref>Bromley, David G. and Anson D. Shupe, Jr., ''"Moonies" in America: Cult, Church, and Crusade,'' edited by David G. Bromley, Sage Library of Social Research ([[SAGE Publishing|Sage]], 1979)</ref> a political powerhouse and a business empire.<ref>Swatos, William H. Jr. (1998). Encyclopedia of religion and society. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7619-8956-1}}.</ref><ref>Stymied in U.S., Moon's Church Sounds a Retreat, Marc Fisher and Jeff Leen, The Washington Post, November 24, 1997</ref> The group has been accused of excessive financial exploitation of its members.<ref name="Worth-Moonies-Atlantic" /> Its involvement in politics includes [[anti-communism]] and support for [[Korean reunification]].<ref name="Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes">{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=January 21, 1992 |title=Review/Television; Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/review-television-sun-myung-moon-changes-robes.html |access-date=August 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409160211/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/review-television-sun-myung-moon-changes-robes.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="slogans">Kent, Stephen A., ''From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era'' (Syracuse University Press, 2001), 168.</ref> Its members have founded, owned and supported [[Organizations related to the Unification Church|related organizations]] in business,<ref name= "Washington Post 1997" >{{Cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Marc |last2=Leen |first2=Jeff |date=November 23, 1997 |title=A Church in Flux Is Flush With Cash |pages=A01 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/main.htm |access-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007140615/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/main.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> education,<ref name="JIYamamoto">Yamamoto, J. I., 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} [http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf Excerpt:] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210024144/http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf |date=February 10, 2012 }}</ref> politics<ref name="ReferenceG">[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3944/is_200305/ai_n9239403 Sun Myung Moon forms new political party to merge divided Koreas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901005321/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3944/is_200305/ai_n9239403/ |date=September 1, 2013 }} [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State|Church and State]], May 2003</ref> and more.<ref name="AltaMira Press">{{cite book|last1=Swatos|first1=William H. Jr.|title=Encyclopedia of religion and society|year=1998|publisher=AltaMira Press|location=Walnut Creek, CA|isbn=978-0-7619-8956-1|url=http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm|access-date=February 10, 2018|archive-date=February 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225130746/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Popular terminologies ==
{{main|Moonie (nickname)}}
Moon did not originally intend to found a separate organization or denomination,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Sun Myung |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/638962627 |title=As a peace-loving global citizen |date=2011 |publisher=Washington Times Foundation |isbn=978-0-615-39377-3 |location=[Washington, D.C.] |pages=121–122 |language=en |chapter=Chapter three, part "A Church with No Denomination" |oclc=638962627 |chapter-url=http://www.euro-tongil.org/swedish/english/TFbiography%20v1.pdf |access-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823013816/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/638962627 |url-status=live }}</ref> and did not give his group of followers its official name, Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity ({{Korean|hangul=세계 기독교 통일 신령 협회|rr=Segye Gidoggyo Tong-il Sinryeong Hyeobhoe|labels=no}}), until 1954.<ref name= Barker2012/> The informal name "Unification Church" ({{Korean|labels=no|hangul=통일교|rr=Tongilgyo}}) has been commonly used by members, the public and the news media.<ref>{{cite book |title=Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains |author=U. S. Department of the Army |publisher=The Minerva Group, Inc. |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-89875-607-4 |pages=1-41 to 1-47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gDQfnMUI6gC}}</ref> By 2018, the term "Unification Movement" was also widely used.<ref>{{cite web |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/fashion/weddings/unification-parents-are-primary-matchmakers-for-their-children.html |title=Unification Parents Are Primary Matchmakers for Their Children |last=Petri |first=Alexandra E. |date=September 26, 2018 |access-date=September 14, 2022 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328234836/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/fashion/weddings/unification-parents-are-primary-matchmakers-for-their-children.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Moonie'', the colloquial term for members,<ref name="miller">{{cite book |last= Miller |first= Timothy |title= America's Alternative Religions |url= https://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill |url-access= registration |publisher= State University of New York Press |year= 1995 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill/page/223 223], 414 |isbn= 978-0-7914-2398-1}}</ref> was first used in 1974 by some American media outlets.<ref name="pacnews">{{cite news |title= Church leaders unite against Moonies |work= [[PacNews]] |publisher= [[Pacific Island News Agency Service]] |date= February 17, 2006}}</ref> In the 1980s and 1990s, the [[Unification Church of the United States]] undertook an extensive [[public relations]] campaign against the use of the word by the [[news media]].<ref name="helvarg">{{cite book | last =Helvarg | first =David | author-link =David Helvarg | title =The War Against the Greens| publisher =Johnson Books | year =2004 | page =211 | isbn = 978-1-55566-328-5}}</ref><ref name="hatch">{{cite news | last = Hatch | first = Walter | title = Big names lend luster to group's causes – Church leader gains legitimacy among U.S. conservatives | newspaper = [[The Seattle Times]] | page = A1 | publisher = Seattle Times Company | date = February 13, 1989 }}</ref>

Many Unification Church members consider the word "Moonie" derogatory, despite originally being received neutrally.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eileen |first=Barker |date=2018 |title=The unification church: a kaleidoscopic introduction |url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/62323# |journal=Society Register |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=19–62 |doi=10.14746/sr.2018.2.2.03 |issn=2544-5502|doi-access=free }}</ref> In other contexts, it is not always considered pejorative,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shupe |first1=Anson D. |first2=Bronislaw |last2=Misztal |date=1998 |title=Religion, Mobilization, and Social Action |publisher=Praeger |pages=197, 213, 215 |isbn=978-0-275-95625-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Philip |date=2000 |title=Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=28, 200 |isbn=0-19-512744-7}}</ref> as Unification Church members have used the word – including the president of the [[Unification Theological Seminary]] David Kim,<ref name="shupe">{{cite book |last1= Shupe |first1= Anson D. |author-link= Anson Shupe |first2=Bronislaw |last2=Misztal |title= Religion, Mobilization, and Social Action |publisher= Praeger |year= 1998 |pages= 197, 213, 215 |isbn=978-0-275-95625-7}}</ref> [[Bo Hi Pak]], Moon's aide and president of [[Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea]],<ref name="ofcom">{{cite journal |title= Complaint by Mr Robin Marsh on behalf of The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification – UK (formerly known as the Unification Church) |journal= Broadcast Bulletin |issue= 54 |publisher= www.ofcom.org.uk |date= February 20, 2006 |url= http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/pcb41/ |access-date= September 28, 2009 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100330095313/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/pcb41/ |archive-date= March 30, 2010 }}</ref> and Moon himself.<ref name="enroth">{{cite book |last= Enroth |first= Ronald M. |title= A Guide To New Religious Movements |publisher= InterVarsity Press |year= 2005 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780739454954/page/69 69, 72] |isbn= 978-0-8308-2381-9 |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780739454954/page/69 }}</ref>

Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, are regarded by Unificationists as "True Father" and "True Mother," respectively, and as "True Parents" collectively.

== History ==
[[File:Unification Church symbol.svg|thumb|left|200px|Emblem of the HSA-UWC]]

=== Background and origins ===

On February 25, 1920, Moon was born Mun Yong-myeong in Sangsa-ri ({{Korean|labels=no|상사리|上思里}}), Deogun-myon ({{Korean|hangul=덕언면|labels=no}}), [[Chongju|Jeongju-gun]], [[North Pyongan|North P'yŏng'an]] [[Provinces of Korea|Province]], at a time when [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea was under Japanese rule]]. His birthday was recorded as January 6 by the traditional [[Chinese calendar|lunar calendar]] (February 25, 1920, according to the [[Gregorian Calendar]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=529997&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 |title=Moon is mourned by sister in N Korea. Agence France Press |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426045225/http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Around 1930, his family, who followed traditional [[Confucianist]] beliefs, converted to [[Christianity]] and joined a [[Presbyterian Church]], where he later taught [[Sunday school]].<ref name="massmarr">{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} Unification Church {{!}} Mass Moonie Marriage in the US |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1997/unification_church/34821.stm |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=BBC News |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229234340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1997/unification_church/34821.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1945, Moon attended the Israel Monastery (Israel Jesus Church near Seoul) with his wife, Choi Sun-Kil ({{Korean|hangul=최선길|hanja=崔先吉|labels=no}}; ''Choe Seon-gil''), to learn the teachings of {{ill|Kim Baek-moon|ko|김백문}}, including his book ''The Fundamental Principles of Christianity'' (基督敎根本原理 drafted March 2, 1946, published March 2, 1958).<ref name="kkg">{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2021 |script-title=ko:김백문의 기독교근본원리 연재 1 – 국역 서론 |url=http://www.kportalnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=20749 |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=기독교포털뉴스 |language=ko |archive-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702150253/http://www.kportalnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=20749 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:교회와신앙 |url=http://www.amennews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=8687 |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=www.amennews.com | date=July 7, 2008 |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625144848/http://www.amennews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=8687 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000001449787-00 |title="淫教のメシア・文鮮明伝" 萩原遼編 |access-date=June 11, 2023 |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930174058/https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000001449787-00 |url-status=live }}</ref> After [[World War II]] and the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese rule]] ended in 1945, Moon began preaching.<ref name="massmarr" /> In 1946, Moon traveled alone to [[Pyongyang]] in [[Communist]]-ruled North Korea.<ref name="CNN OBIT">{{cite news|title=Rev. Moon, religious and political figure, dies in South Korea at 92|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/world/asia/south-korea-reverend-moon-dead|access-date=June 16, 2013|publisher=CNN|date=September 3, 2013|first1=Richard|last1=Greene|first2=K.J.|last2=Kwon|first3=Greg|last3=Botelho}}</ref> He was arrested on allegations of spying for South Korea and given a five-year sentence to the [[Hŭngnam]] [[labor camp]].<ref name="WP Obit">{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Emma|title=Sun Myung Moon dies at 92; Washington Times owner led the Unification Church|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/sun-myung-moon-dies-at-92-washington-times-owner-led-the-unification-church/2012/09/02/001b747a-f531-11e1-aab7-f199a16396cf_story.html|access-date=June 12, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|issn=0740-5421|date=September 2, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928012629/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-02/world/35496666_1_sun-myung-moon-unification-church-tyndale-university-college|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref>

=== Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (1954–1994) ===

Moon founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) in [[Seoul]] on May 1, 1954. It expanded rapidly in South Korea and, by the end of 1955, had 30 centers nationwide.<ref name="Barker2012">{{Cite web |last=Barker |first=Eileen |date=September 3, 2012 |title=My Take: Moon's death marks end of an era |url=https://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/03/my-take-moons-death-marks-end-of-an-era/ |access-date=August 10, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=August 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829065856/http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/03/my-take-moons-death-marks-end-of-an-era/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The HSA-UWC expanded throughout the world, with most members living in South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and other nations in [[East Asia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0903/breaking1.html |title='Moonies' founder dies, aged 92 |date=September 3, 2012 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904082501/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0903/breaking1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name= Barker2012/> In the 1970s, American HSA-UWC members were noted for raising money for Unification Church projects.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081214080032/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910836,00.html Moon-struck], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', October 15, 1973.</ref>

In 1955 the HSA-UWC founded The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles ('''CARP'''; {{Korean|hangul=대학원리연구회|labels=no}}). According to CARP's website, its goal is to promote "intercultural, interracial, and international cooperation through the Unification world view".<ref>"In 1955, Reverend Moon established the Collegiate Association for the Research of the Principle (CARP). CARP is now active on many campuses in the United States and has expanded to over eighty nations. This association of students promotes intercultural, interracial, and international cooperation through the Unification world view." [http://www.unification.org/global_outreach.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105230509/http://www.unification.org/global_outreach.html|date=January 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Storey | first1 = John Woodrow | first2 = Glenn H. | last2 = Utter | title = Religion and Politics | publisher = ABC-CLIO | location = Santa Barbara | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-57607-218-9 | page = [https://archive.org/details/religionpolitics00stor/page/99 99] | url = https://archive.org/details/religionpolitics00stor/page/99 }}</ref> J. Isamu Yamamoto states in ''Unification Church'': "At times, CARP has been very subtle about its association with the Unification Church; however, the link between the two has always been strong since the purpose of both is to spread Moon's teachings."<ref>{{cite book | last = Yamamoto | first = J. |author2=Alan W Gomes |title = Unification Church | publisher = Zondervan | location = Grand Rapids | year = 1995 | isbn = 978-0-310-70381-5 |page=19}}</ref>

The HSA-UWC also sent missionaries to Europe. They entered [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1968 and remained underground until the 1990s.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/14/news/14iht-czech.t.html "Czechs, Now "Naively" Seeking Direction, See Dangers in Cults"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305175556/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/14/news/14iht-czech.t.html |date=March 5, 2016 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 14, 1996</ref> Unification movement activity in South America began in the 1970s with missionary work. Later, the HSA-UWC made large investments in civic organizations and business projects, including an international newspaper.<ref name="NYT1996">[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/24/world/unification-church-gains-respect-in-latin-america.html "Unification Church Gains Respect in Latin America"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 24, 1996</ref>

Starting in the 1990s, the HSA-UWC expanded in Russia and other former communist nations. [[Hak Ja Han]], Moon's wife, made a radio broadcast to the nation from the [[State Kremlin Palace]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120909181622/http://www.greenleft.org.au/1997/276/16821 The Moonies in Moscow: a second coming?], ''[[Green Left Weekly]]'', May 28, 1997.</ref> As of 1994, the HSA-UWC had about 5,000 members in Russia.<ref name="A Less Secular Approach">[http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=7351 A Less Secular Approach] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229180016/http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=7351 |date=February 29, 2012 }}, ''The Saint Petersburg Times'', June 7, 2002</ref> About 500 Russian students had been sent to the US to participate in 40-day workshops.<ref name="schmemann1993">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/28/world/religion-returns-to-russia-with-a-vengeance.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Serge |last=Schmemann |title=Religion Returns to Russia, With a Vengeance |date=July 28, 1993 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106210755/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/28/world/religion-returns-to-russia-with-a-vengeance.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Moon moved to the United States in 1971, although he remained a citizen of the Republic of Korea. In the 1970s, he gave a series of public speeches in the United States, including one in [[Madison Square Garden]] in New York City in 1974; two in 1976 in [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] in New York City; and one on the grounds of the [[Washington Monument]] in Washington, D.C., where he spoke on "God's Hope for America" to 300,000 people. In 1975, the HSA-UWC held one of the [[list of largest peaceful gatherings in history|largest peaceful gatherings in history]], with 1.2 million people in [[Yeouido]], South Korea.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8t-9yx3oG4kC&q=yoido+rally |title=Lifestyle: Conversations with Members of Unification Church&nbsp;– "Quebedeaux, Richard"&nbsp;– Google Книги |access-date=May 23, 2012|isbn=9780932894182 |last1=Quebedeaux |first1=Richard |year=1982 |publisher=Erick Rodriguez }}</ref>

In the 1970s, the Unification Church, along with some other new religious movements, became a target of the [[anti-cult movement]]. Activists have accused the movement of having [[brainwashing|"brainwashed"]] its members.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|last=Reed|first=Christoper|title=The Rev Sun Myung Moon obituary Korean founder of the Unification Church – the Moonies|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/02/rev-sun-myung-moon|access-date=September 10, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=September 2, 2012|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148871.htm|title=Japan|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025120720/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148871.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1976, American Unification Church president [[Neil Albert Salonen]] met with Senator [[Bob Dole]] to defend the HSA-UWC against charges made by its critics, including the parents of some members.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7hIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cOUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3636,2969007&hl=en Dole meeting with Moon aide called cordial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225071844/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7hIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cOUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3636,2969007&hl=en |date=February 25, 2021 }}, ''Lawrence Journal-World'', February 24, 1976</ref>

The Unification Church's involvement in the seafood industry began at the direction of Moon, who ordered an expansion into "the oceanic providence". In 1976 and 1977 the Church invested nearly a million dollars into the United States seafood industry.<ref name="Tribune 2006" >[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-story,0,3736876.story Sushi and Rev. Moon: How Americans' growing appetite for sushi is helping to support his controversial church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520165215/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-story,0,3736876.story |date=May 20, 2009 }} [[Chicago Tribune]], April 11, 2006</ref> Moon delivered a speech in 1980 entitled "The Way of Tuna," in which he claimed that "After we build the boats, we catch the fish and process them for the market, and then have a distribution network. This is not just on the drawing board; I have already done it." and declared himself the "king of the ocean." He also suggested that they could get around the recently imposed 200 nautical miles [[exclusive economic zone]] by marrying American and Japanese members, allowing the Japanese ones to become American citizens, because once married, "we are not foreigners; therefore Japanese brothers, particularly those matched to Americans, are becoming ..... leaders for fishing and distribution." He also declared that "[[Gloucester, Massachusetts|Gloucester]] is almost a Moonie town now!"<ref name="Tribune 2006" />

In 1976 UC members founded [[News World Communications]], an international [[news media]] [[corporation]].<ref name="Columbia Journalism Review">{{cite web |url=https://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=newsworld |title=Who Owns What: News World Communications |access-date=February 2, 2008 |date=November 24, 2003 |work=The Columbia Journalism Review |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728094939/http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=newsworld |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its first two newspapers, ''The News World'' (later renamed the ''[[New York City Tribune]]'') and the Spanish-language ''Noticias del Mundo,'' were published in New York from 1976 until the early 1990s. In 1982 ''[[The New York Times]]'' described ''News World'' as "the newspaper unit of the Unification Church".<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E5DA1238F93BA25756C0A964948260 rSun Myung Moon Paper Appears in Washington] from ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> Moon's son, [[Hyun Jin Moon]], is its chairman of the board.<ref>[http://www.upiasia.com/Society_Culture/2008/11/17/global_peace_festival_stirs_japan/1944/ Global Peace Festival stirs Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502000742/http://www.upiasia.com/Society_Culture/2008/11/17/global_peace_festival_stirs_japan/1944/ |date=May 2, 2014 }} [[United Press International]] November 17, 2008</ref> News World Communications owns [[United Press International]], ''The World and I'', ''Tiempos del Mundo'' (Latin America), ''The Segye Ilbo'' (South Korea), ''The Sekai Nippo'' (Japan), the ''Zambezi Times'' (South Africa), ''The Middle East Times'' (Egypt).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/|title=Yahoo Finance – Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News|website=finance.yahoo.com|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715173305/https://finance.yahoo.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Until 2008 it published the Washington, D.C.–based newsmagazine ''[[Insight on the News]]''.<ref name="Columbia Journalism Review"/> Until 2010, it owned ''[[The Washington Times]]''. On November 2, 2010, Sun Myung Moon and a group of former ''Times'' editors purchased the paper from News World.<ref>{{cite news|title=Moon group buys back Washington Times|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 3, 2010|page=C1|first=Ian|last=Shapira}}</ref>

Starting in the 1980s, Moon instructed HSA-UWC members to take part in a program called "Home Church" in which they reached out to neighbors and community members through public service.<ref>[[Patrick Hickey (politician)|Patrick Hickey]] ''Tahoe Boy: A journey back home'' John, Maryland, Seven Locks Press (2009) {{ISBN|978-0-9822293-6-1}} pp. 163–168</ref>

In April 1990, Moon visited the [[Soviet Union]] and met with President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]. Moon expressed support for the political and economic transformations underway in the Soviet Union. At the same time, the movement was expanding into formerly communist nations.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D61F39F937A25752C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 EVOLUTION IN EUROPE; New Flock for Moon Church: The Changing Soviet Student] from ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

The [[Women's Federation for World Peace]](세계평화여성연합, WFWP) was founded in 1992 by Hak Ja Han. Its stated purpose is to encourage women to work more actively to promote peace in their communities and society. It has members in 143 countries.<ref name="kansas">{{cite news | title =Moon's wife to speak in Lawrence | work=[[The Kansas City Star]] | page=E10 | publisher =The Kansas City Star Co. | date =June 19, 1993}}</ref><ref name="eventworks">{{cite news | last =Cuda | first =Amanda | title =Event works for understanding through friendships | work =[[Connecticut Post]] | page =Section: Womanwise | date =December 28, 2004}}</ref><ref name="wifetospeak">{{cite news | last =Peterson | first =Thair | title =Bridging the Interracial Gap | work =[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]] | page =A3 | date =March 21, 1998}}</ref>

=== Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (1994–present) ===

On May 1, 1994 (the 40th anniversary of the founding of the HSA-UWC), Moon declared that the era of the HSA-UWC had ended and inaugurated a new organization: the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) would include HSA-UWC 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. The FFWPU co-sponsored Blessing ceremonies in which thousands of couples from other churches and religions were given the marriage blessing previously given only to HSA-UWC members.<ref name="Fisher">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/part2.htm Stymied in U.S., Moon's Church Sounds a Retreat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008185409/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/part2.htm |date=October 8, 2018 }}, Marc Fisher and Jeff Leen, [[The Washington Post]], November 24, 1997</ref>

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Church's businesses expanded greatly and encountered significant success, leading to it becoming wealthy despite its declining number of members.<ref name= "Washington Post 1997" /> In 1991 Moon announced that members should return to their hometowns, to undertake apostolic work there. [[Massimo Introvigne]], who has studied the Unification Church and other [[new religious movement]]s, said that this confirmed that full-time membership was no longer considered crucial to church members.<ref>Introvigne, 2000, page 19</ref>

In 1994, ''[[The New York Times]]'' recognized the movement's political influence, saying it was "a theocratic powerhouse that is pouring foreign fortunes into conservative causes in the United States".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=January 21, 1992 |title=Review/Television; Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes |periodical=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDB1F3FF932A15752C0A964958260&sec=&spon=}}</ref> In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' criticized Moon's "ultra-right leanings" and suggested a personal relationship with conservative Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm The same old game] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm |date=February 15, 2009}}, ''[[Al-Ahram]]'', November 12–18, 1998, "''The Washington Times'' is a mouthpiece for the ultra-conservative Republican right, unquestioning supporters of Israel's [[Likud]] government. The newspaper is owned by Sun Myung Moon, originally a native of North Korea and head of the Unification Church, whose ultra-right leanings make him a ready ally for Netanyahu. Whether or not Netanyahu is personally acquainted with Moon is unclear, though there is no doubt that he has established close friendships with several staff members of ''The Washington Times'', whose editorial policy is rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and pro-Israel."</ref>

In 1995, former U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] and his wife, [[Barbara Bush]], spoke at an FFWPU event in the [[Tokyo Dome]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/15/world/bushes-speak-at-tokyo-rally-of-group-linked-to-moon-church.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Andrew |last=Pollack |title=Bushes Speak at Tokyo Rally of Group Linked to Moon Church |date=September 15, 1995 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904003403/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/15/world/bushes-speak-at-tokyo-rally-of-group-linked-to-moon-church.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush told the gathering: "If as president I could have done one thing to have helped the country more, it would have been to do a better job in finding a way, either through speaking out or through raising a moral standard, to strengthen the American family."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/15/style/chronicle-770195.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Nadine |last=Brozan |title=Chronicle |date=July 15, 1995 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903232414/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/15/style/chronicle-770195.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hak Ja Han]], the main speaker, credited her husband with bringing about the [[Fall of Communism]] and declared that he must save America from "the destruction of the family and moral decay."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/17/weekinreview/sept-10-16-mr-bush-s-asian-tour.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=David E. |last=Sanger |title=Sept. 10–16; Mr. Bush's Asian Tour |date=September 17, 1995 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105190230/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/17/weekinreview/sept-10-16-mr-bush-s-asian-tour.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2000, Moon founded the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO), which describes itself as "a global organization whose mission is to serve its member organizations, strengthen and encourage the non-governmental sector as a whole, increase public understanding of the non-governmental community, and provide the mechanism and support needed for [[NGOs]] to connect, partner and multiply their contributions to solve humanity's basic problems." It has been criticized for promoting conservatism in contrast to some of the ideals of the [[United Nations]].<ref name="globalpolicy.org">[http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/credib/2001/1101moon.htm Rev. Moon and the United Nations: A Challenge for the NGO Community] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421213330/http://www.globalpolicy.org///ngos/credib/2001/1101moon.htm |date=April 21, 2009 }}, Harold Paine and Birgit Gratzer, Global Policy Forum</ref><ref name="WANGO">{{cite web|url=https://www.wango.org/|title=Welcome to WANGO, World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations|website=www.wango.org|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011103043447/https://www.wango.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="innercitypress.com">[http://www.innercitypress.com/unsmmoon060507.html In Ban's UN, Sun Myung Moon's Paper is Praised, While Gambari Raises Him Funds, WFP Demurs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225130907/http://www.innercitypress.com/unsmmoon060507.html |date=February 25, 2021 }} Inner City Press, June 5, 2007</ref>

In 2003, Korean FFWPU members started a [[political party]] in South Korea, "The Party for God, Peace, Unification, and Home" ({{Korean|hangul=천주평화통일가정당|labels=no}}). An inauguration declaration stated the new party would focus on preparing for [[Korean reunification]] by educating the public about God and peace. An FFWPU official said that similar political parties would be started in Japan and the United States.<ref name="iol.co.za">[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=126&art_id=qw1047283022536B265&set_id=1 "Moonies" launch a political party in S Korea], ''The Independent'' (South Africa), March 10, 2003</ref> Since 2003, the FFWPU-related Universal Peace Federation's Middle East Peace Initiative has been organizing group tours of Israel and [[Palestine]] to promote understanding, respect and reconciliation among Jews, Muslims and Christians.<ref>Universal peace federation, [http://www.upf.org/peace-and-security/mepi Middle east peace initiative] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117072927/http://www.upf.org/peace-and-security/mepi |date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref><ref>Andrea Noble, The Gazette, [http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/01082009/bowinew114509_32470.shtml Bowie resident pushes for peace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023803/http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/01082009/bowinew114509_32470.shtml |date=March 4, 2016 }}, Gazette.net, Jan 8,</ref>

===Moon's death and divisions within the Unification Church===

On August 15, 2012, Moon was reported to be gravely ill and was put on a respirator at the intensive care unit of St. Mary's Hospital at [[The Catholic University of Korea]] in Seoul. He was admitted on August 14, 2012, after suffering from [[pneumonia]] earlier in the month.<ref>{{cite news|title=Unification Church Says Leader Moon Is 'Gravely Ill'|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-16/unification-church-says-leader-moon-is-gravely-ill-.html|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=August 16, 2012|first=Sangwon|last=Yoon|date=August 15, 2012|archive-date=August 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819015630/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-16/unification-church-says-leader-moon-is-gravely-ill-.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He died there on September 3.<ref name="kherald201293">[http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120903000933&cpv=0 Unification Church founder dies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916081841/http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120903000933&cpv=0 |date=September 16, 2012 }}, ''[[The Korea Herald]]'', September 3, 2012</ref>

Soon after Moon's death the [[Global Peace Foundation]], which had been founded in 2009 by Moon and Han's son [[Hyun Jin Moon]] and church leader [[Chung Hwan Kwak]], distanced itself from the FFWPU, which is led by Han. In 2017 they also founded the [[Family Peace Association]].

In 2014 Moon and Han's younger sons [[Hyung Jin Moon]] and [[Kook-jin Moon]] founded the [[Rod of Iron Ministries]] (also known as the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church). It has been controversial for its advocacy of private ownership of firearms and for its support of the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|January 6 United States Capitol protest]].<ref name="WaPo2018">{{cite news |last1=Dunkel |first1=Tom |date=May 21, 2018 |title=Locked and Loaded for the Lord |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/21/feature/two-sons-of-rev-moon-have-split-from-his-church-and-their-followers-are-armed/ |access-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522072231/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/21/feature/two-sons-of-rev-moon-have-split-from-his-church-and-their-followers-are-armed/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2, 2017 |title=Leaders call for moral and innovative leadership at Global Peace Convention |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/129075/leaders-call-for-moral-and-innovative-leadership-at-global-peace-convention |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=SUNSTAR |language=English |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630172006/https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/129075/leaders-call-for-moral-and-innovative-leadership-at-global-peace-convention |url-status=live }}</ref> The Unification Church has been struggling with severe financial difficulties following the death of Sun Myung Moon.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=ko:통일교 한학자 총재 긴급 지시, "일괄 사직서 내라!"|trans-title=Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han issued an urgent directive, stating, "Submit your resignations!"|language=ko|url=http://m.amennews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=20590|access-date=October 2, 2024|newspaper=Amen News|date=September 30, 2024}}</ref>

== Beliefs {{anchor|Divine Principle}} ==

Moon's book, '''''The Divine Principle''''', was, he claimed, revealed to him over a period of nine years after he claimed Jesus appeared to him on Easter Sunday 1936 on the mountainside and asked him to continue the work that he could not finish while he was on earth, due to the "tragedy" of his crucifixion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sun Myung Moon {{!}} Founder of Unification Church {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sun-Myung-Moon |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514234345/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sun-Myung-Moon |url-status=live }}</ref> It was first published as {{transliteration|ko|Wolli Wonbon}} ({{Korean|labels=no|hangul=원리 원본|hanja=原理原本}}, {{gloss|Original Text of the Divine Principle}}) in 1945. The earliest manuscript was lost in North Korea during the [[Korean War]]. A second, expanded version, {{transliteration|ko|Wonli Hesol}} ({{korean|hangul=원리 해설|hanja=原理解說|labels=no}}), or ''Explanation of the Divine Principle'', was published in 1957. The {{ill|Divine Principle|ko|원리강론||preserve=y|italics=y}} or ''Exposition of the Divine Principle'' ({{korean|hangul=원리강론|hanja=原理講論|rr=Wolli Gangnon|labels=no}}) is the main theological textbook of the movement. It was co-written by 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.<ref>[[John Bowker (theologian)|John Bowker]], 2011, ''The Message and the Book'', UK, [[Atlantic Books]], pp. 13–14</ref> The ''Divine Principle'' lays out the core of Unification Church theology and is held by its believers to have the status of holy scripture. Following the format of [[systematic theology]], it includes [[God]]'s purpose in creating human beings, the [[fall of man]] and restoration{{snd}}the process through history by which God is working to remove the ill effects of the fall and restore humanity back to the relationship and position that God originally intended.<ref name="Sandon" /> David Václavík and Dušan Lužný described the details of those three points as follows:

# Principle of Creation: This first principle states that God created the world in his image. All of reality is then composed of bipolarities. The basic bipolarity is expressed by the terms {{transliteration|ko|sung-sang}} ({{Korean|labels=no|hangul=성상|hanja=性相}}, {{gloss|inner character}} – the inner, invisible aspect of the created world) and {{transliteration|ko|hyung-sang}} ({{Korean|labels=no|hangul=형상|hanja=形相}}, {{gloss|outer form}} – the outer, visible aspect of the created world). In addition to this, there is another bipolarity, denoted by the terms ''yin'' and ''yang''. The first-mentioned bipolarity of {{transliteration|ko|sung-sang}} and {{transliteration|ko|hyung-sang}} reflects the relationship between soul (mind) and matter (body), while yin-yang reflects the relationship between femininity and masculinity. Hierarchy, described by the first principle (the basis of the four positions) then guarantees order in the world – God or higher purpose is placed highest, in the middle are man and woman, and finally, children are placed as the result. As Václavík and Lužný further characterize the doctrine, "God is an absolute reality transcending time and space. The fundamental energy of God's being is also eternal. By the action of this energy, entities enter into a relationship with each other, the basis of which is the activity of giving and receiving. The goal is to achieve a balanced and harmonious relationship of giving and receiving, i.e., love." According to the teachings of the Church, the highest level of relationship is the relationship with God. By properly developing the relationship of giving and receiving, it should be possible to achieve union with God. The goal of creation is then the realization of the kingdom of heaven, which can be achieved by fulfilling the three biblical blessings. Principle describes three blessings as follows. The first blessing concerns the nature of man: God created man in his own image. The second blessing was to be fulfilled through Adam and Eve by establishing an ideal family that was pure and loving, but they failed to do so. The third blessing concerns man's position as a mediator between God and nature. Man is to master nature in order to perfect himself and nature itself and thus create the kingdom of heaven. Principle then describes three stages of growth of everything including man, namely, origin (formation), growth, and completion.<ref name="Luzny-Vaclavik">{{Cite web |last1=Lužný |first1=Dušan |last2=Václavík |first2=David |date=1997 |title=Církev sjednocení |trans-title=Unification Church |url=http://www.oleweb.net/nnh/moon |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820154651/http://www.oleweb.net/nnh/moon |archive-date=August 20, 2007 |access-date=October 14, 2022 |language=cs}}</ref>
# The Fall of Man: according to the teaching of the Church, there was no fulfillment of God's plan. God endowed man with free will and responsibility. Like everything in the universe, Adam and Eve went through three phases of development (origin, growth, and completion). This part describes that, before completion could occur, the orientation of the give-and-take relationship was reversed when Eve established a [[serpent seed|sexual relationship with Satan]]. Thus occurred the fall of man and the creation of a world "with Satan at the center, and all men have become children of Satan." According to this belief, the world is from that time dominated by Satan's lineage through the human race, and men with evil natures transmit evil. Through their children, they then create evil families and thus an evil world.<ref name="Luzny-Vaclavik" />
# The principle of restoration: According to the teaching of the Church, the primary purpose of creation was to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This means that God will eventually save this sinful world and restore it to its original, sinless state. This is the basis of the principle of restoration. This is the perspective through which the Unification Church views the entire history of humanity. For the church, history is the history of restoration and of God's efforts to save fallen men. At the end of this history, the Last Days are to come. Restoration teaches, that God has tried to end the sinful world and restore the original good world several times in human history. However, men have failed in their responsibility and thwarted God's will. Doctrine claims that God made several such attempts: in the case of Noah, God first destroyed the sinful world with a flood, yet Noah's second-born son Ham sinned again. Another attempt to restore the original sinless world was the coming of Jesus Christ when God sent the Messiah to establish the perfect family and thus create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Jesus did not fulfill this mission because he was crucified. Václavík and Lužný summarize: "According to the doctrine of the Unification Church, we are currently living in the period of the Last Days, that is, the period of the Second Coming of Christ. However, today's situation is very different from previous ones. For Christ will be successful at His Second Coming – God will send the 'True Parents of humanity' and through them fulfill the purpose of creation. During the previous two thousand years, God has prepared, according to the principle of restoration, a suitable democratic, social, and legal environment that will protect Christ at the Second Coming."<ref name="Luzny-Vaclavik" />

Followers take as a starting point the truth of the Christian Old and New Testaments, with the ''Divine Principle'' an additional text that intends to interpret and "fulfill" the purpose of those older texts.<ref name="Sandon">[http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1978/v35-2-article3.htm Korean Moon: Waxing of Waning?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216091211/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1978/v35-2-article3.htm |date=February 16, 2012 }}, Leo Sandon Jr., ''Theology Today'', Vol 35, No 2, July 1978.</ref> Moon was intent on replacing worldwide forms of Christianity with his new unified vision of it,<ref name="WP Obit" /> Moon being a self-declared [[messiah]]. Moon's followers regard him as a separate person from Jesus but with a mission to basically continue and complete Jesus's work in a new way, according to the ''Principle''.<ref name="maass">[http://www.petermaass.com/articles/moon_at_twilight/ Moon At Twilight: Amid scandal, the Unification Church has a strange new mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216214217/http://www.petermaass.com/articles/moon_at_twilight/ |date=February 16, 2020 }}, [[Peter Maass]] ''[[New Yorker Magazine]]'', September 14, 1998.</ref> The Unification Church regards a person's destination after death as being dependent on how much one's work during this life corresponds to its teachings. Moon's followers believe in [[Apocatastasis]], that everyone will eventually receive [[salvation]].<ref>Freddy Davis: [http://www.marketfaith.org/2014/11/the-unification-churchmoonies/ ''The Unification Church/Moonies''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017150601/http://www.marketfaith.org/2014/11/the-unification-churchmoonies/ |date=October 17, 2022 }}, Marketfaith.org, November 25, 2014.</ref>

In 1977, Frederick Sontag analyzed the teachings of the Divine Principle and summarized it in 12 concise points:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sontag |first1=Frederick |url=https://archive.org/details/sunmyungmoonunif00sont |title=Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church |year=1977 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=0-687-40622-6 |location=Nashville |publication-date=1977 |pages=102–105}}</ref>

# God: Divine Principle teaches, that there is one living, eternal, and true God, a person beyond space and time, who has a perfect reason, emotion, and will, whose deepest heart essence is love, which includes both masculinity and femininity, a person who is the source of all truth, beauty, and goodness, and who is the creator and sustainer of man, the universe and all things visible and invisible. Man and the universe reflect his personality, character, and purpose.
# Man: Man was then created by God as a unique creature, made in his image as his children, like him in personality and character, and created with the capacity to respond to his love, to be a source of his joy, and to share his creativity.
# God's desire for man and creation: To the relationship between God and Man, teaching states that God's desire for man and creation is eternal and unchanging, God wants men and women to fulfill three things: First, each should grow to perfection so as to become one with God in heart, will, and action, so that their mind and body are united in perfect harmony centered on God's love; second, to be united with God as husband and wife and give birth to God's sinless children, thereby establishing a sinless family and ultimately a sinless world; third, to become masters of the created world, establishing loving dominion with him in a mutual relationship of giving and receiving. None of this happened because of human sin. Therefore, God's present desire is to solve the sin problem and restore all these things, which will bring about the earthly and heavenly kingdom of God.
# Sin: The ''Divine Principle'' describes the origin of sin and the process of the fall of man. The first man and woman (Adam and Eve), before they became perfect, were tempted by the archangel Lucifer to illicit love. Because of this, Adam and Eve willfully turned away from God's will and purpose, bringing spiritual death to themselves and the human race. As a result of this Fall, Satan usurped the position of the true father of mankind, so that all humans since then have been born in sin both physically and spiritually and have sinful tendencies. Therefore, human beings tend to resist God and his will and live in ignorance as to their true nature and parentage and all that they have lost thereby. Thus God suffers for lost children and a lost world and has had to constantly struggle to restore them to himself. Creation groans to give birth while waiting to be reunited through the true children of God.
# Christology: According to the ''Divine Principle'', fallen humanity can only be restored to God through Christ (the Messiah) who comes as the new Adam to become the new head of the human race through whom humanity can be reborn into the family of God. In order for God to send the Messiah, mankind must fulfill certain conditions that restore, what was lost because of the Fall.
# History: The ''Divine Principle'' describes, that restoration is accomplished through the payment of the indemnity for a sin. Human history is then a record of God's and man's efforts to make this indemnity over time so that the conditions can be met and God can send the Messiah who comes to begin the final process of restoration. If some efforts fail in fulfilling the conditions of indemnity, they must be repeated, usually by another person after a period of time. This, according to the ''Divine Principle'', is why history shows cyclical patterns. History culminates with the coming of the Messiah, which ends the old age and begins a new age.
# Resurrection: The ''Divine Principle'' explains resurrection as the process of restoration to spiritual life and spiritual maturity, ultimately uniting a person with God. It is the transition from spiritual death to spiritual life. This should be accomplished in part by human effort (through prayer, good works, etc.) with the help of the saints in the spirit world and completed by God's effort to bring man to new birth through Christ (the Messiah).
# Predestination: According to the ''Divine Principle'', God has predestined absolutely that all men will be restored to him and has chosen all men for salvation, but he has also given man a portion of responsibility (to be fulfilled by man's free will) for the fulfillment of his original will and his will to bring about restoration. This responsibility remains permanently with man. God has predestined and called certain persons and groups of people to certain responsibilities. If these fail, others must fill their role and greater compensation must be made.
# Jesus: The ''Divine Principle'' teaches that Jesus of Nazareth came as the Christ, the second Adam, the only begotten Son of God. He became one with God, spoke God's words, and did God's works, thus showing God to men. However, people eventually rejected and crucified him, preventing him from building God's kingdom on earth. The ''Divine Principle'' teaches that Jesus overcame Satan in the crucifixion and resurrection, making spiritual salvation possible for those who are born again through him and the Holy Spirit. The restoration of the Kingdom of God on earth awaits the Second Coming of Christ.
# The Bible: The ''Divine Principle'' offers an explanation of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Both should be the record of God's progressive revelation to mankind. The purpose of the Bible, according to the Divine Principle, is to bring humanity to Christ and reveal to mankind the heart of God. The ''Divine Principle'' supports the Bible, as the truth is unique, eternal, and unchanging, so any new messages from God will be consistent with the Bible and will contain deeper explanations. The ''Divine Principle'' describes the current time as the last days when the new truth must be communicated by God (in the book 'God's Principle') so that mankind will be able to finish what is still unfinished.
# The ultimate renewal: According to the ''Divine Principle'', a proper understanding of theology focuses simultaneously on man's relationship with God (vertical) and man's relationship with his neighbor (horizontal). Man's sin has disrupted both of these relationships and thus caused all the problems in the world. These problems will be solved through the restoration of man to God through Christ, as well as through such measures as establishing appropriate moral standards and practices, forming true families uniting all peoples and races (Oriental, Western, and African), resolving the tension between science and religion, correcting economic, racial, political, and educational injustices, and overcoming God-denying ideologies such as Communism.
# The Second Coming (Eschatology): The ''Divine Principle'' teaches that Christ's Second Coming will occur in this age, which would be similar to the time of his First Coming. Christ should come as before, that is, as a man in the flesh. By marrying his bride in the flesh, he will establish a family and thus become the True Parents of all mankind. Through accepting the 'True Parents' ({{Korean|hangul=참부모|labels=no}}) (the Second Coming of Christ), obeying them, and following them, the original sin of mankind would be removed and people can eventually become perfect. In this way, true families fulfilling God's ideal will begin, and the Kingdom of God's will should be established both on earth and in heaven. According to the Divine Principle, this day is now at hand in the person of Sun Myung Moon.

== Traditions ==

=== Blessing ceremony ===
{{Main|Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church}}

[[File:Bodacolectivasectamoon.jpg|thumb|250px|The first Blessing ceremony outside of Korea was a mass wedding in Madison Square Garden, New York City, on July 1, 1982.]]
The Unification Church is well known for its Blessing tradition: a [[mass wedding|mass wedding ceremony]] ({{Korean|hangul=합동결혼식|labels=no}}) and [[wedding vow renewal ceremony]]. It is given to engaged or married couples. According to the Church's belief in a [[serpent seed]] interpretation of [[original sin]] and the [[Fall of Man]], [[Eve]] was sexually seduced by [[Satan]] (the serpent) and thus the human [[bloodline]] is sinful due to being directly descended from Satan.<ref>Chryssides, 1991. p. 99</ref><ref>Yamamoto, J. ISamu (2016). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DEiyDAAAQBAJ&q=%22all%20descendants%20of%20eve%20are%20said%22 Unification Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406063649/https://books.google.com/books?id=DEiyDAAAQBAJ&q=%22all%20descendants%20of%20eve%20are%20said%22 |date=April 6, 2023 }}''. Zondervan.</ref> Through the Blessing, members believe, the couple is removed from the lineage of sinful humanity and restored back into God's sinless lineage.

The first Blessing ceremony was held in 1961 for 36 couples in Seoul, South Korea by the Moons shortly after their own marriage in 1960. All the couples were members of the church. Moon matched all of the couples except 12 who were already married to each other before joining the church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=388 |title=Duddy, Neil ''Interview: Dr. Mose Durst'' |access-date=June 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015615/http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=388 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This was Moon's second marriage. In 1945 he married [[Sun Kil Choi]]. They had a son in 1946 and divorced in 1954.<ref name="Wakin">{{Cite news|issn=0362-4331|last=Wakin|first=Daniel J.|title=Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 92, Unification Church Founder, Dies|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 2, 2013|date=September 2, 2012|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/world/asia/rev-sun-myung-moon-founder-of-unification-church-dies-at-92.html
|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180710171112/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/world/asia/rev-sun-myung-moon-founder-of-unification-church-dies-at-92.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

Later Blessing ceremonies were larger in scale but followed the same pattern. All participants were HSA-UWC members and Moon matched most of the couples. In 1982 the first large-scale Blessing (of 2,000 couples) outside of Korea took place in Madison Square Garden, New York City.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/01/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-wedding-day-for-4000.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Wedding Day for 4,000 |date=July 1, 1982 |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205183759/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/01/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-wedding-day-for-4000.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1988, Moon matched 2,500 Korean members with Japanese members for a Blessing ceremony held in Korea, partly in order to promote unity between the two nations.<ref>[http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=3&news=2&newspaper=39 Marriage by the numbers; Moon presides as 6,500 couples wed in S. Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008053003/http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=3&news=2&newspaper=39 |date=October 8, 2008 }} [[Peter Maass]] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' October 31, 1988</ref>

Moon's practice of matching couples was very unusual in both Christian tradition and modern Western culture and attracted much attention and controversy.<ref>The men and women entered a large room, where Moon began matching couples by pointing at them."[http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/sides-moon-marriages-article-1.267920 NY Daily News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108031127/https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/sides-moon-marriages-article-1.267920 |date=8 November 2020 }} "In the Unification tradition, romantic liaisons are forbidden until the members are deemed by Mr. Moon to be spiritually ready to be matched at a huge gathering where he points future spouses out to one another. His followers believe that his decisions are based on his ability to discern their suitability and see their future descendants. Many are matched with people of other races and nationalities, in keeping with Mr. Moon's ideal of unifying all races and nations in the Unification Church. Though some couples are matched immediately before the mass wedding ceremonies, which are held every two or three years, most have long engagements during which they are typically posted in different cities or even continents, and get to know one another through letters."[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/22/nyregion/look-life-after-mass-marriage-for-2075-couples-give-take-200-10-years-together.html?pagewanted=all The New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112221130/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/22/nyregion/look-life-after-mass-marriage-for-2075-couples-give-take-200-10-years-together.html?pagewanted=all |date=12 November 2020 }} "Many were personally matched by Moon, who taught that romantic love led to sexual promiscuity, mismatched couples and dysfunctional societies. Moon's preference for cross-cultural marriages also meant that couples often shared no common language."[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/moonies-mass-wedding-south-korea-unification-church-hak-ja-han-sun-myung-moon Manchester Guardian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108120553/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/moonies-mass-wedding-south-korea-unification-church-hak-ja-han-sun-myung-moon |date=8 November 2020 }} "Moon's death Sep 2 and funeral Saturday signaled the end of the random pairings that helped make Moon's Unification Church famous – and infamous – a generation ago." [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/though-united-in-a-crowd-by-rev-sun-myung-moon-couples-say-marriages-succeeded-on-failed-on-their-own/2012/09/15/b0bfa176-fe77-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html Washington Post] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210234427/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/though-united-in-a-crowd-by-rev-sun-myung-moon-couples-say-marriages-succeeded-on-failed-on-their-own/2012/09/15/b0bfa176-fe77-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html |date=10 February 2021 }} "Many of the couples who married at mass weddings were hand-picked by Moon from photos. It led to some strange pairs such as a 71-year-old African Catholic archbishop who wed a 43-year-old Korean acupuncturist. In 1988 Moon entered the Guinness Book of Records when he married 6,516 identically dressed couples at Seoul's Olympic Stadium. Moonie newly-weds were forbidden to sleep together for 40 days to prove their marriage was on a higher plane. They then had to consummate their marriage in a three-day ritual with the sexual positions stipulated by their leader."[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inside-the-sinister-moonie-cult-how-1301689 Daily Mirror] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231020415/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inside-the-sinister-moonie-cult-how-1301689 |date=31 December 2020 }}</ref> The Blessing ceremonies have attracted a lot of attention in the press and in the public imagination, often being labeled "mass weddings."<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-sidebar,0,6972307.htmlstory Despite controversy, Moon and his church moving into mainstream] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725201717/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-sidebar,0,6972307.htmlstory |date=2008-07-25 }} [[Chicago Tribune]], April 11, 2006. 'The church's most spectacular rite remains mass weddings, which the church calls the way "fallen men and women can be engrafted into the true lineage of God."'</ref> However, in most cases, the Blessing ceremony is not a legal [[wedding]] ceremony. Some couples are already married and those that are engaged are later legally married according to the laws of their own countries.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/wedd97.htm At RFK, Moon Presides Over Mass Wedding] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119050727/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/wedd97.htm |date=19 January 2019 }}, ''The Washington Post'', November 3, 1997.</ref> ''The New York Times'' referred to a 1997 ceremony for 28,000 couples as a "marriage affirmation ceremony," adding: "The real weddings were held later in separate legal ceremonies."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/30/us/28000-couples-gather-for-rev-moon-rites.html 28,000 Couples Gather for Rev. Moon Rites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907223925/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/30/us/28000-couples-gather-for-rev-moon-rites.html |date=September 7, 2020 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 30, 1997</ref>

Mary Farrell Bednarowski says that marriage is "really the only [[sacrament]]" in the Unification movement. Unificationists therefore view singleness as "not a state to be sought or cultivated" but as preparation for marriage. Pre-marital celibacy and marital faithfulness are emphasized.<ref name="nrti">{{cite book|last=Bednarowski|first=Mary Farrell|title=New Religions and the Theological Imagination in America|isbn=978-0-253-20952-8|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=1995|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gx42u7cGkYQC&q=%22unification+church%22+sexuality&pg=PA103|access-date=December 28, 2008}}</ref> Adherents may be taught to "abstain from intimate relations for a specified time after marriage."<ref>{{cite book|title=New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century|page=320|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW-XcDe-IMEC&q=%22unification+church%22+sexuality&pg=PA320|access-date=December 28, 2008|last1=Lucas|first1=Phillip Charles|first2=Thomas |last2=Robbins |year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-96577-4|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> The church does not give its marriage blessing to same-sex couples.<ref>[http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/asia/Unification_Church_pres_sees_smaller_mass_weddings_77510.shtml Unification Church pres sees smaller mass weddings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322013906/http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/asia/Unification_Church_pres_sees_smaller_mass_weddings_77510.shtml |date=March 22, 2009 }}, [[The Monitor (Uganda)]], December 30, 2008, "Moon said the church does not give its wedding blessing to same sex couples."</ref>
Moon has emphasized the similarity between Unification views of sexuality and evangelical Christianity, "reaching out to conservative Christians in this country in the last few years by emphasizing shared goals like support for sexual abstinence outside of marriage, and opposition to homosexuality."<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=35,000 Couples Are Invited To a Blessing by Rev. Moon|work=[[The New York Times]]|last=Goodstein|first=Laurie|date=November 28, 1997|access-date=December 28, 2008|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E5DE133AF93BA15752C1A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print}}</ref> Since 2001 couples Blessed by Moon have been able to arrange marriages for their own children, without his direct guidance. Also, some Unification Church members have married partners who are not church members.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/02/AR2010010200621.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2010010201386 Children of Moon church's mass-wedding age face a crossroads] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825193649/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/02/AR2010010200621.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2010010201386 |date=August 25, 2017 }}, ''The Washington Post'', January 3, 2009</ref>

=== Holy days ===
Holy Days of the Unification Church:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unification Church Calendar 2012 |url=http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Topics/Calendar/UC-Calendar-2012a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518192200/http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Topics/Calendar/UC-Calendar-2012a.pdf |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=tparents.org }}</ref>

* True God's Day (하나님의 날, established January 1, 1968) – always January 1 until 2009, then according to the lunar calendar – January 23, 2012
* True Parents' Birthday (참부모성탄 or 기원절, January 6, 1920 – January 6, 1943) – Anniversary of the Coronation Ceremony for the Kingship of God (2001), January 6, until 2009, then according to the lunar calendar – January 28, 2012
* True Parents' Day (참부모의 날, established March 1, 1960, according to the lunar calendar) – January 28, 2012
* Day of All True Things (참만물의날, established May 1, 1963, according to the lunar calendar) – June 20, 2012
* Chil Il Jeol ({{Korean|hangul=칠일절|labels=no}}) – Declaration Day of God's Eternal Blessing(하나님 축복영원 선포일, Founded July 1, 1991) – always July 1 until 2009, then according to the lunar calendar – August 18, 2012
* Chil Pal Cheol ({{Korean|hangul=칠팔절|labels=no}}) or Declaration of the Realm of the Cosmic Sabbath for the Parents of Heaven and Earth ({{Korean|hangul=천지부모 천주안식권 선포일|labels=no}}) – founded July 7, 1997, according to the lunar calendar – August 24, 2012
* True Children's Day (참자녀의 날, established on October 1, 1960, according to the lunar calendar) – November 14, 2012
* Foundation Day for the Nation of Heaven and Earth (천주통일국 개천일, founded October 3, 1988) – always October 3 until 2009, then November 16, 2012, according to the lunar calendar

== Scholarly studies ==

In the early 1960s, [[John Lofland (sociologist)|John Lofland]] lived with HSA-UWC [[missionary]] [[Young Oon Kim]] and a small group of American members and studied their promotional and [[Proselytism|proselytization]] activities. Lofland noted that most of their efforts were ineffective and that most of the people who joined did so because of personal relationships with other members{{em dash}}often family relationships. Lofland published his findings in 1964 as a doctoral thesis entitled "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes," and in a 1966 book by [[Prentice-Hall]], ''[[Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith]].''<ref>''Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: African diaspora traditions and other American innovations'', Volume 5 of Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, W. Michael Ashcraft, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, {{ISBN|0-275-98717-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-275-98717-6}}, page 180</ref><ref>''Exploring New Religions'', Issues in contemporary religion, George D. Chryssides, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001{{ISBN|0-8264-5959-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-5959-6}} p. 1</ref><ref>[http://kingsvillerecord.our-hometown.com/news/2009-12-16/Editorial/Exploring_the_climate_of_doom.html Exploring the climate of doom]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423123818/http://kingsvillerecord.our-hometown.com/news/2009-12-16/Editorial/Exploring_the_climate_of_doom.html |date=April 23, 2012 }}, Rich Lowry, December 19, 2009 'The phrase "doomsday cult" entered our collective vocabulary after John Lofland published his 1966 study, "Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith." Lofland wrote about the Unification Church.'</ref><ref>[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/conversion.htm Conversion] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121122133/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/conversion.htm |date=January 21, 2012}}, [http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm Unification Church] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113080905/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm |date=January 13, 2012 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Society'', Hartford Institute for Religion Research, [[Hartford Seminary]]</ref>

In 1977, [[Frederick Sontag]], a professor of philosophy at [[Pomona College]] and a minister in the [[United Church of Christ]],<ref name="latimes.com">[https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-frederick-sontag20-2009jun20,0,6245632.story Frederick E. Sontag dies at 84; Pomona College philosophy professor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215170818/http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-frederick-sontag20-2009jun20,0,6245632.story |date=February 15, 2014 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', June 20, 2009</ref> spent 10 months visiting HSA-UWC members in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as interviewing Moon at his home in [[New York State]]. He reported his findings and observations in ''[[Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church]]'', published by [[Abingdon Press]]. The book also provides an overview of the ''Divine Principle''.<ref name="Who is this Pied Piper of Religion">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YvILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mlkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5598,2647477&dq=frederick-sontag Who is this Pied Piper of Religion?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301162733/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YvILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mlkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5598,2647477&dq=frederick-sontag |date=March 1, 2021 }}, ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'', February 4, 1978</ref> In an interview with [[UPI]], Sontag compared the HSA-UWC with the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] and said that he expects its practices to conform more to mainstream American society as its members become more mature. He added that he did not want to be considered an [[apologist]] but that a close look at HSA-UWC's [[theology]] is important: "They raise some incredibly interesting issues."<ref name="Moon: an objective look at his theology">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Se4PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OI0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7264,3898196&dq=frederick-sontag Moon: an objective look at his theology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224163023/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Se4PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OI0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7264,3898196&dq=frederick-sontag |date=February 24, 2021 }}, ''[[Boca Raton News]]'', November 25, 1977</ref>

In 1984, [[Eileen Barker]] published ''[[The Making of a Moonie]]'' based on her seven-year study of HSA-UWC members in the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="Rusher">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050415093632/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_v38/ai_4580948 Review], [[William Rusher]], ''[[National Review]]'', December 19, 1986.</ref> In 2006, [[Laurence Iannaccone]] of [[George Mason University]], a specialist in [[Theory of religious economy|the economics of religion]], wrote that ''The Making of a Moonie'' was "one of the most comprehensive and influential studies" of the process of conversion to [[new religious movement]]s.<ref>[http://faculty.arec.umd.edu/cmcausland/RALi/The%20Market%20for%20Martyrs.pdf The Market for Martyrs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111212356/http://faculty.arec.umd.edu/cmcausland/RALi/The%20Market%20for%20Martyrs.pdf |date=January 11, 2012 }}, [[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 be Moonie'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!"</ref> Australian psychologist Len Oakes and British psychiatry professor [[Anthony Storr]], who have written rather critically about [[cult]]s, [[guru]]s, [[new religious movement]]s, and their leaders have praised ''The Making of a Moonie''.<ref>Oakes, Len "By far the best study of the conversion process is Eileen Barker's The Making of a Moonie [...]" from ''Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities'', 1997, {{ISBN|0-8156-0398-3}}</ref><ref>Storr, Anthony Dr. ''Feet of clay: a study of gurus'' 1996 {{ISBN|0-684-83495-2}}</ref> It was given the Distinguished Book Award in 1985 by the [[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sssrweb.org/PastWinners.cfm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206081124/http://www.sssrweb.org/PastWinners.cfm|url-status=dead|title=Past Winners|archivedate=February 6, 2010}}</ref> In 1997 Barker reported that Unificationists had mostly undergone a transformation in their [[worldview]] from [[millennialism]] to [[utopianism]].<ref>''The Coming Deliverer: Millennial Themes in World Religions'', 
Editors:	Fiona Bowie, Christopher Deacy
Publisher:	University of Wales Press, 1997
Original from	the University of Virginia
Digitized	June 24, 2008
{{ISBN|0708313388}}, 9780708313381</ref>

In 1998, [[Irving Louis Horowitz]], a sociologist, questioned the relationship between the HSA-UWC and scholars whom it paid to conduct research on its behalf.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kent|first1=Stephen|first2=Theresa |last2=Krebs |title=Academic Compromise in the Social Scientific Study of Alternative Religions|journal=Nova Religio|year=1998|volume=2|issue=1|pages=44–54|doi=10.1525/nr.1998.2.1.44|issn=1092-6690 }}</ref>

== Relations with other religions ==

=== Judaism ===

Unificationism holds that the Jewish people as a whole were prepared by God to receive the Messiah in the person of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], with [[John the Baptist]] tasked from birth with the mission to lead the Jewish people to Jesus, but failed in his mission. According to the ''[[Divine Principle]]'', the Jews went through a "course of indemnity" due to the failure of John the Baptist to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, in spite of publicly testifying to him at the Jordan River, whilst receiving the baptism.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Exposition of the Divine Principle |publisher=Sung Hwa Publishing Co., LTD |year=2005 |isbn=897132127X |edition=2nd |pages=266–270}}</ref>

In 1976, the [[American Jewish Committee]] released a report by Rabbi A. James Rudin which stated that the ''Divine Principle'' contained "pejorative language, [[Stereotypes of Jews|stereotyped]] imagery, and accusations of [[collective guilt|collective sin and guilt]]".<ref name="Rudin">Rudin, A. James, 1978 [http://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/7A46.PDF A View of the Unification Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015064949/https://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/7A46.PDF |date=October 15, 2022 }}, [[American Jewish Committee]] Archives</ref> In a news conference that was presented by the AJC and representatives of Catholic and Protestant churches, panelists stated that the text "contained over 125 [[Anti-Judaism|anti-Jewish]] references". They also cited Moon's recent and public condemnation of "[[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] and anti-Christian attitudes," and called upon him to make a "comprehensive and systematic removal" of antisemitic and anti-Christian references in the ''Divine Principle'' as a demonstration of good faith.<ref name="ajcarchives.org">[http://www.ajcarchives.org/ajc_data/files/7a37.pdf Sun Myung Moon Is Criticized by Religious Leaders; Jewish Patrons Enraged] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715231018/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/7A37.PDF |date=July 15, 2020 }}, David F. White, ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 29, 1976</ref>

In 1977, the HSA-UWC issued a rebuttal to the report, stating that it was neither comprehensive nor reconciliatory, instead, it had a "hateful tone" and it was filled with "sweeping denunciations". It denied that the ''Divine Principle'' teaches antisemitism and gave detailed responses to 17 specific allegations which were contained in the AJC's report, stating that the allegations were distortions of teachings and obscurations of the real content of passages or the passages were accurate summaries of Jewish scriptures or New Testament passages.<ref name="Response to A. James Rudin's Report">[http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/7A44.PDF Response to A. James Rudin's Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228223031/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/7A44.PDF |date=February 28, 2021 }}, Unification Church Department of Public Affairs, Daniel C. Holdgeiwe, Johnny Sonneborn, March 1977.</ref>

In 1984, [[Mose Durst]], then the president of the [[Unification Church of the United States]] as well as a convert from [[Judaism]],<ref name="Time Magazine">{{cite news | title =Religion: Sun Myung Moon's Goodwill Blitz | work =[[Time Magazine]] | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966889,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080907024311/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966889,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 7, 2008 | date =April 22, 1985 }}</ref> said that the Jewish community had been "hateful" in its response to the growth of the Unification movement and he also placed blame on the community's "insecurity" and Unification Church members' "youthful zeal and ignorance". Rudin, then the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee, said that Durst's remarks were inaccurate and unfair and he also said that "hateful is a harsh word to use."<ref name="ReferenceB">"Unification Church seen as persecuted", ''[[The Milwaukee Sentinel]]'', September 15, 1984, p. 4</ref> In the same year, Durst wrote in his [[autobiography]]: "Our relations with the Jewish community have been the most painful to me personally. I say this with a heavy heart since I was raised in the Jewish faith and am proud of my heritage."<ref>[http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/books/tbns/TBNS-09.htm To Bigotry, No Sanction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219092717/https://www.tparents.org/library/unification/books/tbns/TBNS-09.htm |date=February 19, 2018 }}, Mose Durst, 1984</ref>

In 1989, Unification Church leaders Peter Ross and [[Andrew Wilson (academic)|Andrew Wilson]] issued "Guidelines for Members of The Unification Church in Relations with the Jewish People" which stated: "In the past there have been serious misunderstandings between [[Judaism]] and the Unification Church. In order to clarify these difficulties and guide Unification Church members in their relations with Jews, the Unification Church suggests the following guidelines."<ref name="tparents.org">[http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/Other-Pub/Uc-jewsh.htm Guidelines for Members of The Unification Church in Relations with the Jewish People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120111754/https://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/Other-Pub/Uc-jewsh.htm |date=November 20, 2018 }}, Peter Ross and Andrew Wilson, March 15, 1989.</ref> In 2008, the ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'' described the statements and guidelines arising from mutual contacts as "excellent".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish-Christian Relations, Encyclopedia Judaica |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-christian-relations-encyclopedia-judaica |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730041347/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-christian-relations-encyclopedia-judaica |archive-date=July 30, 2022 |access-date=April 26, 2023 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>

=== Christianity ===

Protestant commentators have criticized Unification Church teachings as being contrary to the Protestant doctrine of [[Sola fide|salvation by faith alone]].<ref>Yamamoto, J. 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Press, {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} p. 40</ref> In their influential book ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (first published in 1965), [[Walter Ralston Martin]] and [[Ravi K. Zacharias]] disagreed with the ''Divine Principle'' on the issues of [[Christology]], the [[virgin birth of Jesus]], the movement's belief that [[Jesus bloodline|Jesus should have married]], the necessity of the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], and a literal [[resurrection of Jesus]], as well as a literal [[Second Coming]].<ref>Walter Ralston Martin, Ravi K. Zacharias, ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', Bethany House, 2003, {{ISBN|0764228218}} pp. 368–370</ref>

In 1974 Moon founded the [[Unification Theological Seminary]], in [[Barrytown, New York]], in part to improve relations of the movement with other churches. Professors from other denominations, including a [[Methodist]] minister, a [[Presbyterian]] and a [[Catholic priest|Roman Catholic priest]], as well as a [[rabbi]], were hired to teach religious studies to the students, who were being trained as leaders in the movement.<ref>Yamamoto, J. I., 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} ([http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf Excerpt:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210024144/http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf |date=February 10, 2012 }})<br />"1. The Unification Theological Seminary

:a. The Unification Church has a seminary in Barrytown, New York called The Unification Theological Seminary.
:b. It is used as a theological training center, where members are prepared to be leaders and theologians in the church.
:c. Since many people regard Moon as a cult leader, there is a false impression that this seminary is academically weak.
:d. Moon's seminary, however, has not only attracted a respectable faculty (many of whom are not members of his church), but it also has graduated many students (who are members of his church) who have been accepted into doctoral programs at institutions such as Harvard and Yale."</ref><ref name="LeoSandonJr">[http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1978/v35-2-article3.htm Korean Moon: Waxing or Waning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216091211/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jul1978/v35-2-article3.htm |date=16 February 2012 }} Leo Sandon Jr. ''Theology Today'', July 1978, "The Unification Church purchased the estate and now administers a growing seminary where approximately 110 Moonies engage in a two-year curriculum which includes biblical studies, church history, philosophy, theology, religious education, and which leads to a Master of Religious Education degree."</ref><ref name="RodneySawatsky">[http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm Dialogue with the Moonies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211184615/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm |date=11 December 2008 }} Rodney Sawatsky, ''Theology Today'', April 1978. "Only a minority of their teachers are Unification devotees; a Jew teaches Old Testament, a Christian instructs in church history and a Presbyterian lectures in theology, and so on. Typical sectarian fears of the outsider are not found among Moonies; truth is one or at least must become one, and understanding can be delivered even by the uninitiated."</ref><ref>[http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/02/002-where-have-all-the-moonies-gone-45 Where have all the Moonies gone?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120730213926/http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/02/002-where-have-all-the-moonies-gone-45 |date=2012-07-30 }} K. Gordon Neufeld, ''First Things'', March 2008, "While I was studying theology, church history, and the Bible—taught by an eclectic faculty that included a rabbi, a Jesuit priest, and a Methodist minister—most of my young coreligionists were standing on street corners in San Francisco, Boston, and Miami urging strangers to attend a vaguely described dinner."</ref><ref>Helm, S. [http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1163 Divine Principle and the Second Advent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921143920/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1163 |date=2008-09-21 }} ''[[Christian Century]]'' May 11, 1977 "In fact Moon's adherents differ from previous fringe groups in their quite early and expensive pursuit of respectability, as evidenced by the scientific conventions they have sponsored in England and the U.S. and the seminary they have established in Barrytown, New York, whose faculty is composed not of their own group members but rather of respected Christian scholars."</ref>

In 1977, Unification member [[Jonathan Wells (intelligent design advocate)|Jonathan Wells]], who later became well known as the author of the popular [[Intelligent Design]] book ''[[Icons of Evolution]]'', defended Unification theology against what he said were unfair criticisms by the [[National Council of Churches]].<ref>[http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Antal/Antal_nccc.htm New Hope for Dialogue with National Council of Churches of Christ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226212900/http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Antal/Antal_nccc.htm |date=February 26, 2021 }}, Chris Antal, February 2000</ref> That same year [[Frederick Sontag]], a professor of philosophy at [[Pomona College]] and a minister in the [[United Church of Christ]],<ref name="latimes.com" /> published ''[[Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church]]'' which gave an overview of the movement and urged Christians to take it more seriously.<ref name="Who is this Pied Piper of Religion" /><ref name="Moon: an objective look at his theology" /><ref>Sontag, Frederick, ''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'', ([[Abingdon Press]], 1977; Korean translation, Pacific Publishing Company, 1981; Japanese translation, Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., 1977; German translation, SINUS-Verlag, Krefeld, 1981) {{ISBN|0-687-40622-6}}"</ref>

In the 1980s the Unification Church sent thousands of American ministers from other churches on trips to Japan and South Korea to inform them about Unification teachings. At least one minister was dismissed by his congregation for taking part.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/25/us/clear-lake-journal-congregation-dismisses-its-minister-over-trip.html Clear Lake Journal; Congregation Dismisses Its Minister Over Trip] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106102023/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/25/us/clear-lake-journal-congregation-dismisses-its-minister-over-trip.html |date=November 6, 2020 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 25, 1988</ref> In 1994 the church had about 5,000 members in Russia and came under criticism from the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].<ref name="A Less Secular Approach" /> In 1997, the Russian government passed a law requiring the movement and other non-Russian religions to register their congregations and submit to tight controls.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080208.wsects08/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080208.wsects08 Russian unorthodox] [[The Globe and Mail]] February 8, 2008.</ref>

In 1982, Moon was imprisoned in the United States after being found guilty by a jury of willfully filing false Federal [[income tax]] returns and [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]]. (See: ''[[United States v. Sun Myung Moon]]'') HSA-UWC members launched a public relations campaign. Booklets, letters and videotapes were mailed to approximately 300,000 Christian leaders in the United States. Many of them signed petitions protesting the government's case.<ref name="ReferenceJ">[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-35.0.html The Unification Church Aims a Major Public Relations Effort at Christian Leaders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211232650/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-35.0.html |date=February 11, 2021 }} [[Christianity Today]] April 19, 1985.</ref> The [[American Baptist Church|American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.]], the [[National Council of Churches]], the [[National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus]] and the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] filed briefs in support of Moon.<ref name="ReferenceK">Raspberry, William, "Did Unpopular Moonie Get a Fair Trial?", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', April 19, 1984</ref>

In 1995 the Unification Movement related organization the [[Women's Federation for World Peace]] indirectly contributed {{USD|3.5 million|long=no}} to help Baptist [[Liberty University]] which at that time was in financial difficulty. This was reported in the United States news media as an example of closer relationships between the movement and conservative Christian congregations.<ref name="Washington Post-flux">{{cite news |last=Fisher |first=Marc |date=November 23, 1997 |title=A Church in Flux Is Flush With Cash |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/main.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007140615/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/main.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |access-date=November 14, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}} "Also in 1995, the Women's Federation made another donation that illustrates how Moon supports fellow conservatives. It gave a $3.5 million grant to the [[Christian Heritage Foundation]], which later bought a large portion of Liberty University's debt, rescuing the Rev. Jerry Falwell's Lynchburg, Va., religious school from the brink of bankruptcy."</ref>

=== Islam ===

The ''Divine Principle'' lists the [[Muslim world]] as one of the world's four major divisions (the others being [[East Asia]], [[Hinduism|Hindu]] and [[Christendom]]).<ref>[http://www.unification.net/dp96/dp96-1-3.html#Chap3 Exposition of the Divine Principle 1996 Translation Chapter 3 Eschatology and Human History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225093952/http://www.unification.net/dp96/dp96-1-3.html#Chap3 |date=February 25, 2020 }}, accessed September 3, 2010</ref> Unification movement support for [[Islamist]] [[anti-communists]] came to public attention in 1987 when church member [[Lee Shapiro]] was killed in [[Afghanistan]] during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] while filming a documentary.<ref name="findarticles.com">[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_n2132_v88/ai_6536321/pg_29 Afghanistan: eight years of Soviet occupation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618042729/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_n2132_v88/ai_6536321/pg_29 |date=June 18, 2008 }}, [[United States Department of State]], March 1988, The campaign to target foreign journalists had more tragic results. Two American filmmakers, Lee Shapiro and Jim Lindelof, were apparently killed by a regime attack while traveling with the mujahidin. In 1986, Lindelof had been named paramedic of the year for his efforts training Afghan medical workers. In response to protests, Kabul stated it could not "guarantee the security of foreign subjects" who enter illegally, whose presence it views as "evidence" of "external interference".</ref><ref name="2 Americans killed in ambush">[http://www.newspaperarchive.com/LandingPage.aspx?type=glp&search=lee%20shapiro%20afghanistan&img=\\na0041\6800035\56050638_clean.html 2 Americans killed in ambush], ''Pacific Stars and Stripes'', October 29, 1987</ref> The resistance group they were traveling with reported that they had been ambushed by military forces of the [[Soviet Union]] or the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan government]]. However, the details have been questioned, partly because of the poor reputation of the group's leader, [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]].<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/1987/1028/oed.html Two US journalists reported killed in Afghanistan; details murky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807054104/http://www.csmonitor.com/1987/1028/oed.html |date=August 7, 2016 }}, ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'', October 28, 1987 "Two American journalists are believed dead in northwest Afghanistan, diplomatic and resistance forces say here. Filmmaker Lee Shapiro and his soundman, Jim Lindalos, both of New York, were killed Oct. 11, reportedly in a Soviet or Afghan government ambush, according to United States consular officials. However, the resistance group that accompanied the film team has a poor reputation among most informed observers, and doubts have arisen over whether the two Americans did indeed die in an Afghan government or Soviet attack."</ref><ref>Kaplan, Robert, ''Soldiers of God : With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan,'' New York : Vintage Departures, 2001, p. 170</ref>

The Muslim advocacy group [[Council on American–Islamic Relations]] listed ''The Washington Times'' among media outlets it said "regularly demonstrates or supports Islamophobic themes."<ref name="deseretnews.com">{{Cite news|last=Winston|first=Kimberly|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656561/Report-says-list-of-6Islamophobic-groups7-reaches-new-high.html|title=Report says list of 'Islamophobic groups' reaches new high|date=June 20, 2016|work=[[Deseret News]]|access-date=December 25, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418035701/https://www.deseret.com/2016/6/20/20590586/report-says-list-of-islamophobic-groups-reaches-new-high|archive-date=April 18, 2020|agency=[[Religion News Service]]}}</ref> In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' wrote that its editorial policy was "rabidly anti-[[Arab people|Arab]], anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nafie|first=Ibrahim|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm|title=The same old game|date=November 12–18, 1998|work=[[Al-Ahram]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm|archive-date=February 15, 2009|issue=403|author-link=Ebrahim Nafae}}</ref> In 1997, the ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'' (which is critical of United States and Israeli policies), praised ''The Washington Times'' and the ''Times''{{'}} sister publication ''[[News World Communications|The Middle East Times]]'' (along with ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' owned by the [[Church of Christ, Scientist]]) for their objective and informative coverage of Islam and the Middle East, while criticizing the ''Times'' generally pro-Israel editorial policy. The ''Report'' suggested that these newspapers, being owned by religious organizations, were less influenced by pro-Israel pressure groups in the United States.<ref name="wrmea.com" />

In 2000 the FFWPU co-sponsored the [[Million Family March]], a rally in [[Washington, D.C.]], to celebrate [[family]] unity and [[Race (classification of human beings)|racial]] and [[Religion|religious]] harmony, along with the [[Nation of Islam]].<ref name="archives.cnn.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/|title=CNN – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos|website=CNN|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620092939/https://www.cnn.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Louis Farrakhan]], the leader of the Nation of Islam, was the main speaker at the event which was held on October 16, 2000; the fifth anniversary of the [[Million Man March]], which was also organized by Farrakhan.<ref name="ReferenceC">[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/16/us/families-arrive-in-washington-for-march-called-by-farrakhan.html Families Arrive in Washington For March Called by Farrakhan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912234859/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/16/us/families-arrive-in-washington-for-march-called-by-farrakhan.html |date=September 12, 2020 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 16, 2000</ref> Unification Church leader [[Dan Fefferman]] wrote to his colleagues acknowledging that Farrakhan's and Moon's views differed on multiple issues but shared a view of a "God-centered family."<ref name="clarkson">{{cite news | last =Clarkson | first =Frederick | title =Million Moon March | work =[[Salon.com|Salon]] | date =October 9, 2000 | url =http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/10/09/march/print.html | access-date =November 5, 2009 | archive-date =May 1, 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110501125529/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/10/09/march/print.html | url-status =live }}</ref> In 2007 Rev and Mrs Moon sent greetings to Farrakhan while he was recovering from cancer, saying: "We send love and greetings to Minister Farrakhan and Mother Khadijah."<ref>[http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=443&current_edition=2007-01-31 Prayers for Minister Farrakhan health, recovery continue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711045256/http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=443&current_edition=2007-01-31 |date=July 11, 2011 }}, ''Frost Illustrated'', January 31, 2007</ref>

In the 1990s and 2000s, the Unification Movement made public statements claiming communications with the spirits of religious leaders including [[Muhammad]] and also [[Confucius]], the [[Buddha]], [[Jesus]] and [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], as well as political leaders such as [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]], [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Leon Trotsky]], [[Mao Zedong]] and many more. This was reported to have distanced the movement from Islam as well as from mainstream Christianity.<ref>[http://www.uc-history.us/ Unification Church of America History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402220533/http://www.uc-history.us/ |date=April 2, 2009 }} by Lloyd Pumphrey</ref>

From 2001 to 2009 the Unification movement owned the [[American Life TV Network]] (now known as Youtoo TV),<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2007/tv/features/american-life-tv-targets-baby-boomers-1117966145/|title=American Life TV targets baby boomers|first=John|last=Dempsey|magazine=Variety|date=June 1, 2007|access-date=October 9, 2007|archive-date=November 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105234028/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966145.html?categoryid=2522&cs=1|url-status=live}}</ref> which in 2007 broadcast [[George Clooney]]'s documentary ''[[A Journey to Darfur]]'', which was harshly critical of Islamists in [[Darfur]], the [[Republic of Sudan]].<ref name="variety.com">[https://variety.com/2007/tv/features/american-life-tv-targets-baby-boomers-1117966145/ American Life TV targets baby boomers: Channel airing Clooney's Darfur docu]  [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]], June 1, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754_1615880,00.html|title=The 2007 Time 100|first=Ishmael|last=Beah|magazine=Time|date=May 3, 2007|access-date=January 19, 2019|via=content.time.com|archive-date=December 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211183119/http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754_1615880,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/ap/entertainment/mainD8MJ771O0.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101030249/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/ap/entertainment/mainD8MJ771O0.shtml|url-status=dead|title=Clooney's Docu on Darfur to Air Monday|website=[[CBS News]] |archivedate=November 1, 2008}}</ref> It released the film on [[DVD]] in 2008 and announced that proceeds from its sale would be donated to the [[International Rescue Committee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Americanlife-Tv-838350.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113181149/http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Americanlife-Tv-838350.html|url-status=dead|title=AmericanLife TV Network (ALN) Donates Proceeds From "A Journey to Darfur" DVD to the International Rescue Committee|archivedate=January 13, 2009}}</ref>

In his 2009 autobiography, Moon praised Islam and expressed the hope that there would be more understanding between different religious communities.<ref name="moon-peace" /> In 2011, representatives of the Unification Church took part in an international seminar which was held in [[Taiwan]] by the [[Muslim World League]]. The stated purpose of the seminar was to encourage interfaith dialogue and discourage people from resorting to [[terrorism]].<ref>[http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=151185&ctNode=445 World Muslim League plans seminar for Taiwan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233504/http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=151185&ctNode=445 |date=March 3, 2016 }}, ''Taiwan Today'', February 16, 2011</ref>

=== Interfaith activities ===

In 2009 the FFWPU held an interfaith event in the [[Congress of the Republic of Peru]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmp.gob.pe/FMP/Html/2009-09-22/presidente_del_tsmp_es_designado_embajador_para_la_paz.html |title=Fuero Militar Policial |publisher=[[Military Police Court|Fmp.gob.pe]] |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821142214/http://www.fmp.gob.pe/FMP/Html/2009-09-22/presidente_del_tsmp_es_designado_embajador_para_la_paz.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Former president of the Congress [[Marcial Ayaipoma]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/fotografia/2005/051214.htm |title=Portal Peruano Sociedad y Parlamento |publisher=Congreso.gob.pe |access-date=November 7, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905011528/http://www.congreso.gob.pe/fotografia/2005/051214.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and other notable politicians were called "Ambassadors for Peace" of the Unification Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/index_fotoh1.asp?fecha=20070921 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730211043/http://www.congreso.gob.pe/index_fotoh1.asp?fecha=20070921 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 30, 2012 |access-date=May 4, 2012 |title=Centro de Noticias el Heraldo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Escrito por Imagen Institucional |url=http://www.municportillo.gob.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5889:david-yamashiro-es-nombrado-embajador-para-la-paz&catid=66:notas&Itemid=30 |title=David Yamashiro Es Nombrado Embajador Para La Paz |publisher=Municportillo.gob.pe |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=February 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203031707/http://www.municportillo.gob.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5889:david-yamashiro-es-nombrado-embajador-para-la-paz&catid=66:notas&Itemid=30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/index_fotoh1.asp?fecha=20060126 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723051237/http://www.congreso.gob.pe/index_fotoh1.asp?fecha=20060126 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 23, 2012 |access-date=May 4, 2012 |title=Centro de Noticias el Heraldo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mimdes.gob.pe/files/DIRECCIONES/DGDCP/concentracion/instituciones.htm |title=Espacio de Concertación&nbsp;– Dirección General de Desplazados y Cultura de Paz |publisher=Mimdes.gob.pe |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220004147/http://www.mimdes.gob.pe/files/DIRECCIONES/DGDCP/concentracion/instituciones.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2010, the church built a large interfaith temple in [[Seoul]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?sc=50500012&cm=%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%C2%B7%EB%A0%88%EC%A0%B8&year=2010&no=86380&selFlag=&relatedcode=&wonNo=&sID=505 |title=mk 'ş˝ş ĹëŔĎął źź°čşťşÎąłČ¸ ťő źşŔü, żëťężĄ żĎ°ř |publisher=News.mk.co.kr |date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=May 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101201025/http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?sc=50500012&cm=%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%C2%B7%EB%A0%88%EC%A0%B8&year=2010&no=86380&selFlag=&relatedcode=&wonNo=&sID=505 }}</ref> Author [[Deepak Chopra]] was the [[keynote]] speaker at an interfaith event of the Unification Church co-hosted with the United Nations at the [[headquarters of the United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dipity.com/timeline/International-Day-Of-Peace-2009/ |title=International Day Of Peace 2009 Timeline |publisher=Dipity.com |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903005926/http://www.dipity.com/timeline/International-Day-Of-Peace-2009/ |archive-date=September 3, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2011, an interfaith event was held at the [[National Assembly of Thailand]], the [[President of the National Assembly of Thailand]] attended the event.<ref name="parliament1">http://web.parliament.go.th/php4/radio/temp/news8688.doc {{dead link|date=November 2015}}</ref>

In 2012, the Unification movement affiliated-Universal Peace Federation held an interfaith dialogue in Italy that was co-sponsored by the United Nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.torinotoday.it/eventi/incontro-settimana-mondiale-armonia-interreligiosa-torino.html |title=Incontro per la settimana mondiale per l'armonia interreligiosa a Torino il 4 febbraio |publisher=Torinotoday.it |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719105644/http://www.torinotoday.it/eventi/incontro-settimana-mondiale-armonia-interreligiosa-torino.html |url-status=live }}</ref> That year, the Universal Peace Federation held an interfaith program for representatives of 12 various religions and confessions in the hall of the [[United Nations General Assembly]]. The [[President of the United Nations General Assembly]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/02/common-ground-for-the-common-good-on-the-occasion-of-the-world-interfaith-harmony-week.html# |title=United Nations Webcast&nbsp;– "Common ground for the common good" on the occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week |publisher=Unmultimedia.org |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514224724/http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/02/common-ground-for-the-common-good-on-the-occasion-of-the-world-interfaith-harmony-week.html |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/dsgsm601.doc.htm |title=Deputy Secretary-General, at Interfaith Harmony Week Event, Says Common Cause in Mutual Respect for Shared Values Is Only Way to Unite Nations, Peoples |publisher=Un.org |date=February 7, 2012 |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208034933/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/dsgsm601.doc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41168&Cr=al-nasser&Cr1 |title=UN officials underline religions' role in promoting global harmony |publisher=Un.org |date=February 7, 2012 |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144200/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41168&Cr=al-nasser&Cr1 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/Letters/PDF/Your%20Holiness.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728035648/https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/Letters/PDF/Your%20Holiness.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |title=Letter to Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI |access-date=May 23, 2012 |date=January 24, 2012}}</ref> and other UN officials spoke.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/pdf/english/2011/01022011.pdf |title=UN launches first World Interfaith Harmony Week |access-date=March 30, 2019 |page=9 |work=UN Daily News |date=February 1, 2011 |archive-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330171429/https://www.un.org/News/dh/pdf/english/2011/01022011.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Science ==

The ''Divine Principle'' calls for the unification of science and religion: "Religion and science, each in their own spheres, have been the methods of searching for truth in order to conquer ignorance and attain knowledge. Eventually, the way of religion and the way of science should be integrated and their problems resolved in one united undertaking; the two aspects of truth, internal and external, should develop in full consonance."

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Unification Movement sponsored the [[International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences]] (ICUS),<ref name="crimson">[http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=270162 Kety Quits Moon-Linked ICF Conference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220035929/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=270162 |date=February 20, 2006 }} [[Harvard Crimson]], August 10, 1976.</ref> in order to promote the concept of the unity of science and religion.<ref name="Tingle, D 1979">Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, ''Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and its Principles'', Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press {{ISBN|0-682-49264-7}} pp. 86–87</ref><ref name="Biermans, J 1986">Biermans, J. 1986, ''The Odyssey of New Religious Movements, Persecution, Struggle, Legitimation: A Case Study of the Unification Church'' Lewiston, New York and Queenston, Ontario: The Edwin Melton Press {{ISBN|0-88946-710-2}} p. 173</ref> American news media have suggested that the conferences were also an attempt to improve the often controversial public image of the church.<ref name="ReferenceH">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm Church Spends Millions On Its Image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901180715/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm |date=September 1, 2019 }} [[The Washington Post]]. September 17, 1984</ref><ref name="news.google.com">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BhgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E1oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3911,2642602&dq=international-conference-on-the-unity-of-the-sciences Rev. Moon is sponsor of scholarly conference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225155154/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BhgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E1oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3911,2642602&dq=international-conference-on-the-unity-of-the-sciences |date=February 25, 2021 }}, ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'', November 12, 1977</ref> The first conference, held in 1972, had 20 participants; while the largest conference, in [[Seoul]], South Korea in 1982, had 808 participants from over 100 countries.<ref name="ICUS Statement of Purpose">{{cite web|url=https://icus.org/?cat=info&top=purpose|title=ICUS|date=March 9, 2016|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=January 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120093545/https://icus.org/?cat=info&top=purpose|url-status=live}}</ref> Participants in one or more of the conferences included Nobel laureates [[John Carew Eccles|John Eccles]] (Physiology or Medicine 1963, who chaired the 1976 conference)<ref name="crimson" /> and [[Eugene Wigner]] (Physics 1963).<ref>[http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/wigner.html Eugene Paul Wigner Papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224080317/http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/wigner.html |date=February 24, 2008 }} Princeton University Library</ref>

The relationship between the Unification Movement and science again came to public attention in 2002 with the publication of ''[[Icons of Evolution]]'', a popular book critical of the teaching of [[evolution]] written by member [[Jonathan Wells (intelligent design advocate)|Jonathan Wells]]. Wells is a graduate of the [[Unification Theological Seminary]] and has been active with the [[Discovery Institute]] as an advocate for [[intelligent design]].<ref>{{Cite book| title = Library journal, Volume 131, Issues 12–15| year = 2006| page = 45| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SpfhAAAAMAAJ&q=%22icons+of+evolution%22+pseudoscience|quote=Libraries with larger budgets may want to purchase books that represent viewpoints at the extremes of this struggle, including such intelligent design tracts as ... Jonathan Wells's ''Icons of Evolution'' ... For example we may be obligated to our patrons to make available works that embody ideas fundamental to significant cultural undercurrents such as "intelligent design" but not to burden budgets and minds with every other form of pseudoscience.}}</ref><ref name="Gishlick">{{cite web|url=https://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/icons-evolution|title=Icons of Evolution?|date=October 19, 2008|website=NCSE|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=November 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105023940/https://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/icons-evolution|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf Survival of the Fakest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205192713/http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf |date=December 5, 2006 }}, Jonathan Wells, 2000 (A reprint from the ''[[American Spectator]]'')</ref>

== Political activism ==
{{Conservatism in South Korea|Organizations}}
{{Liberal Democratic Party of Japan sidebar|organization}}
{{Korean nationalism|Organizations}}
{{Main|The Unification Church and politics}}
{{Anti-communism|Organisations}}

===Anti-communism===
In the 1940s, Moon cooperated with [[Communist Party of Korea|Communist Party]] members in support of the [[Korean independence movement]] against [[Imperial Japan]]. After the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953), he became an outspoken [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]].<ref name="moon-peace">{{cite book |last=Moon |first=Sun Myung |title=As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen |publisher=Gimm-Young Publishers |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7166-0299-6}}</ref> Moon viewed the [[Cold War]] between liberal democracy and communism as the final conflict between [[God]] and [[Satan]], with divided Korea as its primary [[front line]].<ref>''Christianity: A Global History'', David Chidester, HarperCollins, 2001, {{ISBN|0062517708}}, 9780062517708, pages 514 to 515</ref> Soon after its founding, the Unification movement began supporting anti-communist organizations, including the [[World League for Freedom and Democracy]] founded in 1966 in [[Taipei]], [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan), by [[Chiang Kai-shek]],<ref>''The World's Religions: Continuities and Transformations'', Peter B Clarke, Peter Beyer, Taylor & Francis, 2008 {{ISBN|1135211000}}, 9781135211004</ref> and the [[Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation]], an international [[public diplomacy]] organization which also sponsored Radio Free Asia.<ref name="Korean denies influence peddling">{{cite news|title=Korean denies influence peddling|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19761102&id=y6kzAAAAIBAJ&pg=3422,903462|newspaper=Bangor Daily News|access-date=March 21, 2012|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616141813/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19761102&id=y6kzAAAAIBAJ&pg=3422,903462|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Unification movement was criticized for its anti-communist activism by the [[mainstream media]] and the [[Alternative media|alternative press]], many of whose members said that it could lead to [[World War III]] and a [[nuclear holocaust]]. The movement's anti-communist activities received financial support from Japanese millionaire and activist [[Ryōichi Sasakawa]].<ref name="Give and Forget">{{Cite web |title=CAUSA/The Downfall of Communism |url=http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/SMM-Communism-060300/giveforget.html#chap2a |access-date=August 10, 2022 |website=www.tparents.org |archive-date=March 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307144555/http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/SMM-Communism-060300/giveforget.html#chap2a |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The Resurrection of Reverend Moon">{{cite web |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript2.shtml |title=The Resurrection of Reverend Moon |date=January 21, 1992 |work=Frontline |publisher=PBS | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107084418/http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript2.shtml|archive-date=January 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes" />

In 1972, Moon predicted the decline of [[communism]], based on the teachings of the ''[[Divine Principle]]'': "After 7,000 biblical years – 6,000 years of restoration history plus the millennium, the time of completion – communism will fall in its 70th year. Here is the meaning of the year 1978. Communism, begun in 1917, could maintain itself for approximately 60 years and reach its peak. So 1978 is the borderline and afterward, communism will decline; in the 70th year, it will be altogether ruined. This is true. Therefore, now is the time for people who are studying communism to abandon it."<ref>[http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/sm-gww/GWW-07.htm The Way of Restoration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302233955/http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/sm-gww/GWW-07.htm |date=March 2, 2021 }}, (April 1972)</ref>

In 1973, Moon called for an "automatic [[theocracy]]" to replace communism and solve "every political and economic situation in every field."<ref name="Unification Church 1977, page 122">''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'', [[Frederick Sontag]], [[Abingdon Press]], January 1, 1977, page 122</ref> In 1975, Moon spoke at a government-sponsored rally against potential North Korean military aggression on the island [[Yeouido]] in Seoul to an audience of around 1 million.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8t-9yx3oG4kC&q=yoido+rally |title=Richard Quebedeaux, Lifestyle: Conversations with Members of Unification Church |access-date=October 9, 2012|isbn=9780932894182 |last1=Quebedeaux |first1=Richard |year=1982 |publisher=Erick Rodriguez }}</ref>

In 1976, Moon established [[News World Communications]], an international news media conglomerate that publishes ''[[The Washington Times]]'' newspaper in [[Washington, D.C.]], and newspapers in South Korea, Japan and South America, partly in order to promote political [[conservatism]]. According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', "the ''Times'' was established by Moon to combat communism and be a conservative alternative to what he perceived as the liberal bias of ''The Washington Post''."<ref name="Washington Post-ghosts">{{cite news|first= Frank|last= Ahrens|title= Moon Speech Raises Old Ghosts as the Times Turns 20|date= May 23, 2002|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A60061-2002May22|access-date= August 16, 2009|archive-date= May 25, 2012|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120525215536/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A60061-2002May22|url-status= live}}</ref> [[Bo Hi Pak]], called Moon's "right-hand man," was the founding president and the founding chairman of the board.<ref name="Washington Times Corporation 1992">Pak was founding president of the Washington Times Corporation (1982–1992), and founding chairman of the board. [[Bo Hi Pak]], Appendix B: Brief Chronology of the Life of Dr. Bo Hi Pak, in ''Messiah: My Testimony to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Vol I'' by Bo Hi Pak (2000), Lanham, MD: University Press of America.</ref> Moon asked [[Richard L. Rubenstein]], a rabbi and college professor, to join its board of directors.<ref name="ReferenceD">"Rabbi Joins the Board of Moonie Newspaper", ''[[The Palm Beach Post]]'', May 21, 1978</ref> ''The Washington Times'' has often been noted for its generally pro-Israel editorial policies.<ref name="wrmea.com">[http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1297/9712060.html As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?] {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050421165328/http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1297/9712060.html |date=April 21, 2005 }}, ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'', December 1997</ref> In 2002, during the 20th anniversary party for the ''Times'', Moon said: "The ''Washington Times'' will become the instrument in spreading the truth about [[God]] to the world."<ref name="Washington Post-ghosts" />

In 1980, members founded [[CAUSA International]], an anti-communist educational organization based in [[New York City]].<ref name="ReferenceE">"Moon's "Cause" Takes Aim At Communism in Americas." ''[[The Washington Post]]''. August 28, 1983</ref> In the 1980s, it was active in 21 countries. In the United States, it sponsored educational conferences for [[Evangelical Christianity|evangelical]] and [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] Christian leaders<ref name="christianitytoday37">[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-37.0.html Sun Myung Moon's Followers Recruit Christians to Assist in Battle Against Communism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116213303/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-37.0.html |date=January 16, 2021 }} ''[[Christianity Today]]'', June 15, 1985</ref> as well as seminars and conferences for [[United States Senate|Senate]] staffers, [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic Americans]] and conservative activists.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm Church Spends Millions On Its Image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901180715/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm |date=September 1, 2019 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 17, 1984. "Another church political arm, Causa International, which preaches a philosophy it calls "God-ism," has been spending millions of dollars on expense-paid seminars and conferences for Senate staffers, Hispanic Americans and conservative activists. It also has contributed $500,000 to finance an anticommunist lobbying campaign headed by John T. (Terry) Dolan, chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC)."</ref> In 1986, CAUSA International sponsored the documentary film ''[[Nicaragua Was Our Home]]'', about the [[Miskito people|Miskito]] Indians of [[Nicaragua]] and their persecution at the hands of the Nicaraguan government. It was filmed and produced by USA-UWC member [[Lee Shapiro]], who later died while filming with anti-Soviet forces during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/29/movies/on-13-sandinistas-vs-miskitos.html|title=On 13, Sandinistas Vs. Miskitos|first=John|last=Corry|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 29, 1986|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=October 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006170341/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/29/movies/on-13-sandinistas-vs-miskitos.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3245|title=Revista Envío – How to Read the Reagan Administration: The Miskito Case|website=www.envio.org.ni|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=October 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007070045/http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3245|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fair.org/|title=FAIR|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980111075010/https://fair.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40717F738590C7B8EDDA90994DF484D81 2 Americans Reported Killed In an Ambush in Afghanistan] ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 28, 1987</ref> At this time CAUSA International also directly assisted the [[Central Intelligence Agency|United States Central Intelligence Agency]] in supplying [[Contras|the Contras]], in addition to paying for flights by rebel leaders. CAUSA's aid to the Contras escalated after Congress cut off CIA funding for them. According to contemporary CIA reports, supplies for the anti-Sandinista forces and their families came from a variety of sources in the US ranging from Moon's Unification Church to U.S. politicians, evangelical groups and former military officers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 8, 1985 |title=Private Groups Report Surge in Aid to Contras |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000606200008-1 |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=cia.gov |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104074426/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000606200008-1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 22, 2016 |title='Covert' War on Sandinistas Changing Hands |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000100130050-5 |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=cia.gov |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104074426/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000100130050-5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jack |date=August 16, 1984 |title=CIA, Moonies Cooperate in Sandinista War |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00806R000100200028-8.pdf |access-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104071347/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00806R000100200028-8.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McGill |first=Peter |date=October 15, 2022 |title=The Dark Shadow Cast by Moon Sun Myung's Unification Church and Abe Shinzo |url=https://apjjf.org/2022/17/McGill.html |access-date=November 26, 2022 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127040829/https://apjjf.org/2022/17/McGill.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1980, members in Washington, D.C., disrupted a protest rally against the United States [[military draft]].<ref>[http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1980/03/24&EntityId=Ar01600 30,000 participate in anti-draft rally in Washington] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916022431/http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG%2F1980%2F03%2F24&EntityId=Ar01600 |date=September 16, 2016 }}, ''Daily Collegian'', March 24, 1980</ref> In 1981, the [[Appellate court|Appellate Division]] of [[New York State]] [[New York Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] ruled that the HSA–UWC was not entitled to [[property tax]] [[Tax exemption|exemptions]] on its [[New York City]] properties since its primary purpose was political, not [[Religion|religious]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/07/nyregion/moon-s-sect-is-taxable-court-rules.html Moon's Sect Is Taxable, Court Rules] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718205721/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/07/nyregion/moon-s-sect-is-taxable-court-rules.html |date=July 18, 2018 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 7, 1981</ref> In 1982, this ruling was overturned by the New York State Supreme Court itself, which ruled that it should be considered a religious organization for tax purposes.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130131154150/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/664337582.html?dids=664337582:664337582&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+06,+1982&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=N.Y.+Upholds+Tax+Exemption+for+'Moonies'&pqatl=google N.Y. Upholds Tax Exemption for 'Moonies'], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', May 6, 1982</ref>

In 1983, some American members joined a public protest against the [[Soviet Union]] in response to its shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/29/PK2812ETF2.DTL |title=Police chief dies at ballgame |last=Miller |first=Johnny |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=September 3, 1983 |quote=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 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. |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112022354/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F08%2F29%2FPK2812ETF2.DTL |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1984, the HSA–UWC founded the Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy, a Washington, D.C. [[think tank]] that underwrites conservative-oriented research and seminars at [[Stanford University]], the [[University of Chicago]] and other institutions.<ref name="Church Spends Millions On Its Image">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm |title=Church Spends Millions On Its Image |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |date=September 17, 1984 |access-date=September 14, 2022 |archive-date=September 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901180715/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year, member [[Dan Fefferman]] founded the [[International Coalition for Religious Freedom]] ([[International Coalition for Religious Freedom|ICRF]] Japanese name: 国際宗教自由連合<ref name="国際宗教自由連合">{{Cite web|url=https://icrfjapan.org/|title=ICRF-JAPAN 国際宗教自由連合|date=December 13, 2024|website=ICRF-JAPAN 国際宗教自由連合}}</ref>) in [[Virginia]], which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to [[religious freedom]] by governmental agencies.<ref name="Ribadeneira-ire">{{cite news |last=Ribadeneira |first=Diego |title=Ire at school Star of David ruling unites ACLU, Pat Robertson |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=B2 |date=August 21, 1999}}</ref>

In August 1985, the [[Professors World Peace Academy]], an organization founded by Moon, sponsored a conference in [[Geneva]] to debate the theme "The situation in the world after the fall of the communist empire."<ref name="goliath.ecnext.com">[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-14440148/Projections-about-a-post-Soviet.html Projections about a post-Soviet world-twenty-five years later.] // Goliath Business News</ref> After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 the Unification movement promoted extensive missionary work in Russia and other former Soviet nations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carden |first1=Paul |title=Cults and New Religious Movements in the Former Soviet Union |date=Summer 1998 |url=http://eastwestreport.org/articles/ew06301.htm |website=eastwestreport.org |access-date=October 23, 2022 |archive-date=October 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023001502/http://eastwestreport.org/articles/ew06301.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Korean unification ===

In 1991, Moon met with [[Kim Il Sung]], the North Korean president, to discuss ways to achieve peace on the [[Korean Peninsula]], as well as on [[international relations]], tourism and other topics.<ref name="ReferenceF">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/world/asia/15moon.html At Time of Change for Rev. Moon Church, a Return to Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112013238/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/world/asia/15moon.html |date=January 12, 2021 }} // The New York Times, October 14, 2009</ref> In 1992, Kim gave his first and only interview with the Western news media to ''Washington Times'' reporter [[Josette Sheeran]], who later became executive director of the [[United Nations World Food Programme]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/americas/11sheeran.html?pagewanted=all A Desire to Feed the World and Inspire Self-Sufficiency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124090602/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/americas/11sheeran.html?pagewanted=all |date=November 24, 2020 }}, ''The New York Times'', August 11, 2007</ref> In 1994, Moon was officially invited to Kim's funeral, in spite of the absence of [[diplomatic relations]] between North Korea and South Korea.<ref name="mk 뉴스 — 金장례식에 日여자마술사 초청한 까닭">{{cite web|url=http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?year=2011&no=822668|title=金장례식에 日여자마술사 초청한 까닭|last=임 |first=상균 |last2=김 |first2=규식|website=[[Maeil Business Newspaper]]|date=December 21, 2011|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106202715/http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?year=2011&no=822668|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1998, Unification movement-related businesses launched operations in North Korea with the approval of the government of South Korea, which had prohibited business relationships between North and South before.<ref name="nyt1998">{{cite news | last =Kirk | first =Don | title =Reverend Moon's Group Wants to Talk Investment : Seoul Nods At Church's Foray North | work =[[The New York Times]] | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/02/business/worldbusiness/02iht-unite.t.html | date =May 2, 1998 | access-date =April 26, 2018 | archive-date =March 6, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160306174800/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/02/business/worldbusiness/02iht-unite.t.html | url-status =live }}</ref> In 2000, the church-associated business group [[Tongil Group]] founded [[Pyeonghwa Motors]] in the North Korean port of [[Nampo]], in cooperation with the North Korean government.<ref name="Kirk">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-moon.2.t.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | first=Don | last=Kirk | title=Church Reaches Across Border in Korea Car Venture : Moon's Northward Push | date=February 16, 2000 | access-date=April 26, 2018 | archive-date=March 23, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323014840/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-moon.2.t.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

During the presidency of [[George W. Bush]], [[Dong Moon Joo]], a Unification movement member and then president of ''The Washington Times'', undertook unofficial diplomatic missions to North Korea in an effort to improve its relationship with the United States.<ref name="beast2712">[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/07/the-bush-administration-s-secret-link-to-north-korea.html The Bush Administration's Secret Link to North Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909054856/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/07/the-bush-administration-s-secret-link-to-north-korea.html |date=September 9, 2016 }}, Aram Roston, ''[[The Daily Beast]]'', February 7, 2012</ref> Joo was born in North Korea and is a citizen of the United States.<ref name="yonhap122611">[http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2011/12/26/79/0401000000AEN20111226008351315F.HTML Unification Church president on condolence visit to N. Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305023157/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2011/12/26/79/0401000000AEN20111226008351315F.HTML |date=March 5, 2016 }}, ''[[Yonhap News Agency]]'', December 26, 2011</ref>

In 2003, Korean Unification Movement members started a [[political party]] in South Korea. It was named The Party for God, Peace, Unification and Home. In its inauguration declaration, the new party said it would focus on preparing for [[Korean reunification]] by educating the public about God and peace.<ref name="iol.co.za" /> Moon was a member of the Honorary Committee of the [[Ministry of Unification|Unification Ministry]] of the Republic of Korea.<ref name="ìžìœ ê²Œì‹œíŒ" /> Church member Jae-jung Lee was a Unification Minister of South Korea.<ref name="News.mk.co.kr" />

In 2010, in Pyongyang, to mark the 20th anniversary of Moon's visit to Kim Il Sung, ''[[de jure]]'' [[List of heads of state of North Korea|head of state]] [[Kim Yong-nam]] hosted Moon's son [[Hyung Jin Moon]], then the president of the Unification Church, in his [[official residence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://well.hani.co.kr/72907|script-title=ko:문선명은 김정일 사망 알았나|website=well.hani.co.kr|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=February 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203100705/http://well.hani.co.kr/72907|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sonofuni">{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-son-of-unification-church-founder-visits-nkorea-2011dec15-story.html |title=Son of Unification Church founder meets with senior North Korean official in Pyongyang |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |via=[[The Associated Press]] |date=December 15, 2011 |access-date=August 6, 2018}}</ref> At that time, Hyung Jin Moon donated 600 tons of flour to the children of [[Jeongju]], the birthplace of Sun Myung Moon.<ref name="english.yonhapnews.co.kr">{{cite web|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20111130005000315|title=S. Korea says food aid reached intended beneficiaries in N. Korea|last=김|first=광태|date=November 30, 2011|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=January 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120043149/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20111130005000315|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sports.kbs.co.kr/culture/2011/12/16/2405386.html |title=Kbs News |publisher=Sports.kbs.co.kr |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525154632/http://sports.kbs.co.kr/culture/2011/12/16/2405386.html |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2012, Moon was posthumously awarded North Korea's [[National Reunification Prize]].<ref name="kcna.co.jp">{{citation|title=Moon Sun Myung Awarded National Reunification Prize|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201209/news07/20120907-10ee.html|date=September 7, 2012|access-date=September 13, 2012|periodical=Korean Central News Agency|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729213236/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201209/news07/20120907-10ee.html|archive-date=July 29, 2014}}</ref> On the first anniversary of Moon's death, [[Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea|North Korean chairman]] [[Kim Jong Un]] expressed condolences to Han and the family, saying: "Kim Jong Un prayed for the repose of Moon, who worked hard for national concord, prosperity and reunification and world peace."<ref name="globalpost.com">[http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130820/n-korean-leader-extends-condolences-over-1-yr-anniversary-un North Korean leader extends condolences over 1 yr anniversary of Unification Church founder death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825010223/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130820/n-korean-leader-extends-condolences-over-1-yr-anniversary-un |date=August 25, 2013 }}, ''Yonhap News'', August 20, 2013</ref>

In 2017, the Unification Church sponsored the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) – headed by former prime minister of [[Nepal]] [[Madhav Kumar Nepal]] and former minister of peace and reconstruction [[Ek Nath Dhakal]] – visited Pyongyang and had constructive talks with the [[Korean Workers' Party]].<ref name="tehrantimes.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20171114142853/http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/418259/A-Proposal-for-a-joint-mission-to-North-Korea A Proposal for a Joint Mission to North Korea], [[Tehran Times]], November 6, 2017</ref> In 2020 the movement held an in-person and virtual rally for Korean unification which drew about one million attendees.<ref name="ReferenceI" />

===Other political positions===
{{Main|The Unification Church and politics}}

Moon was a member of the Honorary Committee of the [[Unification Ministry]] of the Republic of Korea.<ref name="ìžìœ ê²Œì‹œíŒ">{{cite web |url=http://www.unikorea.go.kr/CmsWeb/viewPage.req?idx=PG0000000117&boardDataId=BD0000204685&CP0000000002_BO0000000041_Action=boardView&CP0000000002_BO0000000041_ViewName=board/BoardView&curNum=350 |script-title=ko:자유게시판 |publisher=[[Ministry of Unification]] |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=September 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914171040/http://www.unikorea.go.kr/CmsWeb/viewPage.req?idx=PG0000000117&boardDataId=BD0000204685&CP0000000002_BO0000000041_Action=boardView&CP0000000002_BO0000000041_ViewName=board/BoardView&curNum=350 |url-status=live }}</ref> The church member Jae-jung Lee had been once a unification minister of South Korea.<ref name="News.mk.co.kr">{{cite web|url=http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?sc=30000004&cm=%EC%A0%95%EC%B9%98%C2%B7%EC%82%AC%ED%9A%8C%20%EB%A9%94%EC%9D%B8&year=2006&no=565503&selFlag=&relatedcode=&wonNo=&sID=302 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224050855/http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?sc=30000004&cm=%EC%A0%95%EC%B9%98%C2%B7%EC%82%AC%ED%9A%8C%20%EB%A9%94%EC%9D%B8&year=2006&no=565503&selFlag=&relatedcode=&wonNo=&sID=302 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2014 |script-title=ko:정치·사회 메인 |publisher=News.mk.co.kr |date=December 28, 2006 |access-date=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Another, [[Ek Nath Dhakal]], is a member of the [[Nepalese Constituent Assembly]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.can.gov.np/en/ca_members/view/48|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302151043/http://www.can.gov.np/en/ca_members/view/48|url-status=dead|title=Nepalese Constituent Assembly|archivedate=March 2, 2012}}</ref> and the first Minister for Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation Ministry of the Government of Nepal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=35256 |title=News in Nepal: Fast, Full & Factual |publisher=Myrepublica.Com |date=May 19, 2012 |access-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-date=March 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325060436/http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=35256 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, a study sponsored by the [[Unification Theological Seminary]] found that American members were divided in their choices in the [[2016 United States presidential election]], with the largest bloc supporting Senator [[Bernie Sanders]].<ref name="Unificationists in the Voting Booth">{{Cite web |url=https://appliedunificationism.com/2016/09/26/unificationists-in-the-voting-booth/ |title=Unificationists in the Voting Booth |date=September 26, 2016 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125100551/https://appliedunificationism.com/2016/09/26/unificationists-in-the-voting-booth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Hak Ja Han]] has been acting as a leader and public spokesperson for the movement. In 2019, she spoke at a rally in Japan and called for greater understanding and cooperation between the [[Pacific Rim]] nations.<ref>{{cite news | title = Hak Ja Han Moon calls for South Korea Japan Solidarity | work = [[The Washington Times]] | date = October 6, 2019 | url = https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/6/hak-ja-han-moon-calls-south-korea-japan-unity-univ/ | access-date = December 18, 2020 | archive-date = July 27, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200727092829/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/6/hak-ja-han-moon-calls-south-korea-japan-unity-univ/ | url-status = live }}</ref> In 2020, she spoke at a UPF-sponsored in-person and virtual rally for Korean unification, which drew about one million attendees.<ref name="ReferenceI">''[[The Washington Times]]'', Nov 22, 2020, [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/22/rally-hope-draws-million-attendees-seeking-korean-/ Rally for Hoope Draws Million Attendees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129052355/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/22/rally-hope-draws-million-attendees-seeking-korean-/ |date=November 29, 2020 }}</ref> In 2020 former [[Secretary General of the United Nations]] [[Ban Ki-moon]] received the [[Sunhak Peace Prize]], which is sponsored by the Unification Church and an award of {{USD|1,000,000|long=no}}.<ref>''[[Khmer Times]]'': [https://www.khmertimeskh.com/648786/three-leaders-chosen-to-receive-sunhak-peace-prize-awards/ "Three leaders chosen to receive Peace Prize"]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bankimooncentre.org/co-chair-ban-ki-moons-acceptance-speech-sunhak-peace-prize |title=Ban Ki-Moon Centre : "Co-chair Ban Ki-moon's acceptance speech for Sunhak Peace Prize" |access-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914124114/https://bankimooncentre.org/co-chair-ban-ki-moons-acceptance-speech-sunhak-peace-prize |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2021, [[Donald Trump]] and [[Shinzo Abe]] gave speeches at the Rally of Hope event hosted by an affiliate of the Unification Church.<ref>[[Yeonhap]] News â€" [https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20210912043000005 Trump: "My greatest achievement during my presidency was contributing to the construction of a new path between the two Koreas."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914110158/https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20210912043000005|date=September 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-moonies-unification-church-hak-ja-han-moon-christofascist_n_613ec306e4b0640100a6884c |title=Huffington Post: "Trump hails Unification Church" |date=September 13, 2021 |access-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914083824/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-moonies-unification-church-hak-ja-han-moon-christofascist_n_613ec306e4b0640100a6884c |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-moonies-speech-unifaction-church-b1918750.html|work=The Independent|title=Trump gives virtual speech to event linked to controversial religious "cult" on 9/11 anniversary|first=Alex|last=Woodward|date=September 21, 2021|access-date=July 18, 2022|archive-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708092238/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-moonies-speech-unifaction-church-b1918750.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newsday.co.tt/2021/09/13/carmona-trump-call-for-korean-reunification/ |title=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday: "Carmona, Trump call for Korean reunification" |date=September 13, 2021 |access-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-date=September 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918061218/http://newsday.co.tt/2021/09/13/carmona-trump-call-for-korean-reunification/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Akahata |date=October 14, 2006 |title=Prime Minister Abe sent congratulatory telegrams to Unification Church |url=https://www.japan-press.co.jp/2006/2499/cult.html |website=[[Japan Press Weekly]] |access-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407060631/https://www.japan-press.co.jp/2006/2499/cult.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2022|08}}, five ministers of the [[Cabinet of Japan]] had relationships with the Unification Church, including the [[Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare]] and the head of the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/japan-pm-fumio-kishida-popularity-dives-unification-church|title=Japan PM's popularity dives over party links to Unification church|first=Justin|last=McCurry|date=August 23, 2022|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
=== Criticisms of Moon ===

Moon's claim to be the [[Messiah]] and the [[Second Coming of Christ]] has been rejected by both Jewish and Christian scholars.<ref name="Dialogue with the Moonies">Rodney Sawatsky, 1978, [http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm Dialogue with the Moonies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211184615/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm |date=December 11, 2008 }} ''Theology Today.''</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100323061342/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913685-2,00.html Mad About Moon], ''[[Time Magazine]]'', November 10, 1975</ref> Protestant commentators have criticized Moon's teachings as being contrary to the Protestant doctrine of [[Sola fide|salvation by faith alone]].<ref name="Daske, D 2005, p142">Daske, D. and Ashcraft, W. 2005, ''New Religious Movements'', New York: New York University Press, {{ISBN|0-8147-0702-5}} p142</ref><ref name="Yamamoto, J 1995, p40">Yamamoto, J. 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Press, {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} p40</ref> In their influential book ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (first published in 1965), [[Walter Ralston Martin]] and [[Ravi K. Zacharias]] disagreed with the ''Divine Principle'' on the issues of the [[divinity of Christ]], the [[virgin birth of Jesus]], Moon's belief that [[Jesus bloodline|Jesus should have married]], the necessity of the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], a literal [[resurrection of Jesus]], as well as a literal [[second coming of Jesus]].<ref name="Walter Ralston Martin 2003, pages 368-370">Walter Ralston Martin, Ravi K. Zacharias, ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', Bethany House, 2003, {{ISBN|0764228218}} pages 368–370</ref>

Commentators have criticized the ''Divine Principle'' for saying that the [[First World War]], the [[Second World War]], the [[Holocaust]], and the [[Cold War]] served as [[Indemnity in the Unification Church|indemnity conditions]] to prepare the world for the establishment of the [[Kingdom of God]].<ref>Helm, S. [https://www.religion-online.org/article/divine-principle-and-the-second-advent/ Divine Principle and the Second Advent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921143920/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1163 |date=September 21, 2008 }} ''[[Christian Century]]'' May 11, 1977.</ref>

In 1998, journalist [[Peter Maass]], writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', reported that some Unification members complained about Blessing being given to non-members who had not gone through the same course that members had.<ref>[http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=1&mag=48&magtype=1 Moon at Twilight] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411094005/http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=1&mag=48&magtype=1 |date=April 11, 2001 }}, [[Peter Maass]], ''[[The New Yorker]]'' "The campaign has dismayed some church members, because a blessing from Moon used to be a hard-won privilege, typically attained only after a person had joined the church, worked in it for several years, and agreed to marry someone—usually a stranger—selected by Moon. But grumblings about the blessing campaign are just the beginning of Moon's current troubles."</ref> In 2000, Moon was criticized, including by some members of his church, for his support of [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]]'s [[Million Family March]].<ref name="clarkson" />

Moon was also criticized for his relationship with Jewish scholar [[Richard L. Rubenstein]], an advocate of the "[[death of God theology]]" of the 1960s.<ref>John Warwick Montgomery and Thomas J. J. Altizer, ''The Altizer-Montgomery Dialogue: A Chapter in the God is Dead Controversy'' (InterVarsity Press, Chicago, 1967), p.7</ref> Rubenstein was a defender of the Unification Church and served on its advisory council,<ref name="AJA">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/RichardRubenstein.htm|title=Richard L. Rubenstein Papers|website=www.americanjewisharchives.org|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-date=July 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729145441/http://americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/RichardRubenstein.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as on the board of directors of the church-owned ''[[Washington Times]]'' newspaper.<ref name="ReferenceD"/> In the 1990s, he served as president of the [[University of Bridgeport]], which was then affiliated with the church.<ref>[https://archive.today/20121208134740/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60616FA3D550C7B8CDDA00894DD494D81 U. of Bridgeport Honors Rev. Moon, Fiscal Savior], ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 8, 1995</ref>

In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' criticized Moon's possible relationship with Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and wrote that the ''Washington Times'' editorial policy was "rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm The same old game] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm |date=February 15, 2009 }}, ''[[Al-Ahram]]'', November 12–18, 1998, "The Washington Times is a mouthpiece for the ultra conservative right, unquestioning supporters of Israel's [[Likud]] government. The newspaper is owned by Sun Myung Moon, originally a native of North Korea and head of the Unification Church, whose ultra-right leanings make him a ready ally for Netanyahu. Whether or not Netanyahu is personally acquainted with Moon is unclear, though there is no doubt that he has established close friendships with several staff members on ''The Washington Times'', whose editorial policy is rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."</ref><ref name="wrmea.com" />

Moon has been accused of advocating a worldwide "[[automatic theocracy]]",<ref name="Unification Church 1977, page 122"/> based on a poorly translated speech.<ref>[[Dan Fefferman]] said:
He never used words even resembling "automatic theocracy" but rather described "heaven on earth" as naturally emerging from a succession of democratically elected honest politicians. [https://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/feffermn/Fefferman-030730.htm]</ref>

He has also been criticized for advising his followers to become "[[crazy for God]]."<ref name="Unification.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/WofGW/wogw1-03.htm |title=''The Way of God's Will'' Chapter 3. Leaders |publisher=Unification.org |access-date=January 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716085154/http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/WofGW/wogw1-03.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Crazy for God">{{cite web |url=http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1979/v36-3-booknotes20.htm |title=Crazy for God |publisher=Theologytoday.ptsem.edu |access-date=January 4, 2012 |archive-date=February 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216091315/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1979/v36-3-booknotes20.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Theological disputes with Christianity===
====Fall of Man and view of Jesus====

Central to Unification teachings is the concept that the [[Fall of Man]] was caused by the literal [[serpent seed|mating of Eve and Satan]] in the [[Garden of Eden]], which contaminated the whole human race with sin. According to the religion, humanity can only be restored to [[God]] through a messiah who comes as a new [[Adam]]: a new head of the human race, replacing the sinful parents and siring new children free from Satanic influence. In the Unification Church, Jesus is this messiah, just as he is a messianic figure in more mainstream Christianity;<ref name="Sontag102">{{cite book |last=Sontag |first=Frederick |url=https://archive.org/details/sunmyungmoonunif00sont/page/102/mode/2up |pages=102–105 |title=Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church |date=1977 |publisher=Abingdon Press |others=Abingdon Press |isbn=0-687-40622-6 |location=Nashville, Tenn. |oclc=3071834}}</ref> however, since Jesus was prematurely killed before he could start a new sinless family, Moon claims he himself was called upon by God to fulfill Jesus' unresolved mission.<ref name="maass" />

In 1980, Unification theologian [[Young Oon Kim]] wrote:
{{blockquote|Unification theology teaches that Jesus came to establish the [[Kingship and kingdom of God|kingdom of Heaven on Earth]]. As [[St. Paul]] wrote, Jesus was to be the new Adam restoring the lost garden of Eden. For this purpose he chose twelve apostles, symbolizing the original twelve tribes of Israel, and sent out seventy disciples, symbolizing all the nations of the world. Like John the Baptist, Jesus proclaimed that the long-awaited kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matt. 4:17). Jesus was appointed God's earthly representative in order to subjugate Satan, cleanse men of original sin, and free them from the power of evil. Christ's mission involved liberation from sin and raising mankind to the perfection stage. His purpose was to bring about the kingdom of heaven in our world with the help of men filled with divine truth and love. Jesus' goal was to restore the Garden of Eden, a place of joy and beauty in which true families of perfected parents would dwell with God in a full relationship of reciprocal love.<ref>Kim, Young Oon, 1980, [http://www.religious.org/ucbooks/UTheol/toc.htm Unification Theology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727210956/http://www.religious.org/ucbooks/UTheol/toc.htm |date=27 July 2018 }}, Barrytown, NY: [[Unification Theological Seminary]], {{LCCN|8052872}}</ref>}}

The Unification view of Jesus has been criticized by mainstream Christian authors and theologians. In their influential book ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (first published in 1965), Walter Ralston Martin and Ravi K. Zacharias disagreed with the ''Divine Principle'' on the issues of the [[divinity of Christ]], the [[virgin birth of Jesus]], the Unification Church's belief that Jesus should have married and a literal [[resurrection of Jesus]] as well as a literal [[Second Coming]]. They add: "Moon makes all men equal in "divinity" to Jesus, thereby striking a blow at the uniqueness of Christ."<ref>Walter Ralston Martin, Ravi K. Zacharias, ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', Bethany House, 2003, {{ISBN|0764228218}} pp. 368–370.</ref>

The ''Divine Principle'' states on this point:
{{blockquote|There is no greater value than that of a person who has realized the ideal of creation. This is the value of Jesus, who surely attained the highest imaginable value. The conventional Christian belief in Jesus' divinity is well founded because, as a perfect human being, Jesus is totally one with God. To assert that Jesus is none other than a man who has completed the purpose of creation does not degrade the value of Jesus in the least.<ref>[http://www.unification.net/dp96/dp96-1-7.html#Chap7 Divine Principle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806212943/http://www.unification.net/dp96/dp96-1-7.html#Chap7 |date=6 August 2018 }}, Chapter 7, Section 2.2</ref>}}

Unificationist theologian Young Oon Kim wrote, and some members of the Unification movement believe, that [[Zechariah (New Testament figure)|Zechariah]] was the father of Jesus, based on the work of [[Leslie Weatherhead]], an English Christian theologian in the [[Liberal Christianity|liberal Protestant]] tradition.<ref name="USArmy">{{cite book|author=United States Department of the Army|author-link=United States Department of the Army|title=Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gDQfnMUI6gC|year=2001|publisher=The Minerva Group, Inc.|isbn=978-0-89875-607-4|pages=1–42}}</ref><ref name="Sontag102" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Weatherhead, L.D.|title=The Christian Agnostic|pages=59–63|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|location=England|year=1965|url=http://DLMcN.com/weatherhead.html|access-date=February 8, 2021|archive-date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406073356/http://www.dlmcn.com/weatherhead.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>''Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement'' by Ruth A. Tucker 1989 {{ISBN|0-310-25937-1}} pp. 250–251</ref>

==== Indemnity ====
Indemnity, in the context of Unification theology, is a part of the process by which human beings and the world are restored to God's ideal.<ref>Daske, D. and Ashcraft, W. 2005, ''New Religious Movements'', New York: New York University Press, {{ISBN|0-8147-0702-5}} "To restart the process toward perfection, God has sent messiahs to earth who could restore the true state of humanity's relationship with God. Before that can happen, however, humans must perform good deeds that cancel the bad effects of sin. Unificationists call this "indemnity". Showing love and devotion to one's fellow humans, especially within families, helps pay this indemnity." p. 142.</ref><ref>Yamamoto, J. 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Press, {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} "The doctrine of indemnity. Indemnity is that which people do to restore themselves to God's kingdom. [[Young Oon Kim]] describes it this way: 'We atone for our sins through specific acts of penance.' Kwang-Yol Yoo, a Unification teacher, even goes so far as to say that by following the ''Divine Principle'', "man's perfection must be accomplished by his own effort without God's help." God does most of the work, but people must still do their part in order to achieve God's plan of salvation: 'Five percent is only to say that man's responsibility is extremely small compared to God's.' "p35 "The doctrine of indemnity is not biblical. 'In simple language.' states Ruth Tucker, 'indemnity is salvation by works.' Bob Larson makes a distinction between Moon's doctrine and biblical theology, saying, 'Moon's doctrine of sinless perfection by "indemnity [forgiveness of sin by works on Moon's behalf], which can apply even to deceased ancestors, is a denial of the salvation by grace offering through Jesus Christ.' 'Farewell,' said John Calvin. 'to the dream of those who think up a righteousness flowing together out of faith and works.'" p40</ref><ref>[http://www.unification.net/misc/powerdp.html The Power of the Principle: When It Came; Where It Went] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228224840/http://www.unification.net/misc/powerdp.html |date=28 February 2021 }} Richard Quebedeaux, "Rev. Moon calls such a mode of living, such a lifestyle, "restoration through indemnity." With indemnity viewed as a persistent pattern of behavior, not as a mere doctrine to be affirmed or a rational list of rules, God's ideal for human relationships is "restored" through restitution. Restitution-in the sense of a "natural law"-assuages resentment, because it is the means by which the powerful and enfranchised give the people who feel downtrodden and powerless what they believe is rightly theirs. Indemnity means that 'I'm here for you.'"</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://geocities.com/unificationism/edp-restoration.html|title=Divine Principle – Restoration|date=29 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829115416/http://geocities.com/unificationism/edp-restoration.html |archive-date=29 August 2009 }}</ref> The concept of indemnity is explained at the start of the second half of the ''Divine Principle'', "Introduction to Restoration":

{{blockquote|What, then, is the meaning of restoration through indemnity? When someone has lost his original position or state, he must make some condition to be restored to it. The making of such conditions of restitution is called indemnity... God's work to restore people to their true, unfallen state by having them fulfill indemnity conditions is called the providence of restoration through indemnity.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Exposition of the Divine Principle''</ref>{{efn|{{korean|hangul=그 러면 '탕감복귀'란 무엇을 말하는 것인가? 무엇이든지 그 본연의 위치와 상태 등을 잃어버리게 되었을 때, 그것들을 본래의 위치와 상태에로 복귀하려면 반드시 거기에 필요한 어떠한 조건을 세워야 한다. 이러한 조건을 세우는 것을 탕감 (tanggam) 이라고 하는 것이다....그리고 이처럼 탕감조건을 세워서 창조본연의 인간으로 복귀해 나아가는 섭리를 탕감복귀섭리라고 말한다|labels=no}}<ref>''[http://www.tongil.org/ucbooks/Divine_Principle-Korean/D_P_Korean-Pt2.html#DPA Exposition of the Divine Principle Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331091840/http://www.tongil.org/ucbooks/Divine_Principle-Korean/D_P_Korean-Pt2.html#DPA |date=31 March 2022 }}''</ref>}}}}

The ''Divine Principle'' goes on to explain three types of indemnity conditions. Equal conditions of indemnity pay back the full value of what was lost. The [[Bible|biblical]] verse "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Exod.21:23–24) is quoted as an example of an equal indemnity condition. Lesser conditions of indemnity provide a benefit greater than the price that is paid. [[Faith]], [[baptism]], and the [[eucharist]] are mentioned as examples of lesser indemnity conditions. Greater conditions of indemnity come about when a person fails in a lesser condition. In that case, a greater price must be paid to make up for the earlier failure. [[Abraham]]'s attempted sacrifice of his son [[Isaac]] (Gen. 22:1–18) and the [[Israelites]]' 40 years of wandering in the wilderness under [[Moses]] (Num.14:34) are mentioned as examples of greater indemnity conditions.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

The ''Divine Principle'' then explains that an indemnity condition must reverse the course by which the mistake or loss came about. Indemnity, at its core, is required of humans because God is pure, and purity cannot relate directly with impurity. Indemnification is the vehicle that allows a "just and righteous" God to work through mankind. [[Jesus]]' statement that God had forsaken him (Matt.27:46) and [[Christianity]]'s history of [[martyr]]dom are mentioned as examples of this.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The ''Divine Principle'' then states that human beings, not God or the [[angel]]s, are the ones responsible for making indemnity conditions.<ref>Yamamoto, J. I., 1995, Unification Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="Daske and Ashcraft">Daske and Ashcraft{{Nonspecific|date=September 2022}}</ref>

In 2005 scholars Daske and Ashcraft explained the concept of indemnity:
{{blockquote|To restart the process toward perfection, God has sent messiahs to Earth who could restore the true state of humanity's relationship with God. Before that can happen, however, humans must perform good deeds that cancel the bad effects of sin. Unificationists call this 'indemnity'. Showing love and devotion to one's fellow humans, especially within families, helps pay this indemnity.<ref>Daske, D. and Ashcraft, W. 2005, New Religious Movements, New York: New York University Press, {{ISBN|0814707025}} p142.</ref>}}

Other [[Protestant Christian]] commentators have criticized the concept of indemnity as being contrary to the doctrine of ''[[sola fide]]''. Christian historian Ruth Tucker said: "In simple language, indemnity is salvation by works."<ref name="Yamamoto">Yamamoto, J. I., 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} ([http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf Excerpt:] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210024144/http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310703816_samptxt.pdf |date=February 10, 2012 }})<br />"1. The Unification Theological Seminary
:a. The Unification Church has a seminary in Barrytown, New York called The Unification Theological Seminary.
:b. It is used as a theological training center, where members are prepared to be leaders and theologians in the UC.
:c. Moon's seminary, however, has not only attracted a respectable faculty (many of whom are not members of the UC), but it also has graduated many students (who are members of the UC) who have been accepted into doctoral programs at institutions such as Harvard and Yale."</ref><ref name="Daske and Ashcraft" /> Rev. Keiko Kawasaki wrote: "The indemnity condition (of the Unification Church) is an oriental way of thinking, meaning a condition for atonement for sins (unlike Christianity)."<ref>Rev.Keiko Kawasaki, "Concerned about the Principle Movement"</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.koreaworldtimes.com/topics/news/11823/ |title="Unification Church" doctrine and money collection that forces Japanese to "indemnity" for "colonial rule"Korean World Times 2022/7/31 |date=31 July 2022 |access-date=12 August 2023 |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812132747/https://www.koreaworldtimes.com/topics/news/11823/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>''"The Neverending Story – indemnity! indemnity! indemnity !('Anti-Japan Tribalism 반일종족주의, 反日種族主義'edited by Lee Younghoon, p.188)"''</ref> Donald Tingle and Richard Fordyce, ministers with the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]] who debated two Unification Church theologians in 1977, wrote: "In short, indemnity is anything you want to make it, since you establish the conditions. The zeal and enthusiasm of the Unification Church members is not so much based on love for God as it is compulsion to indemnify one's own sins."<ref>Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, The Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and Its Principles, Hicksville, New York: Exposition Press p53-55</ref>

===Ideal family===

A doctrine of Rev. Moon's teachings and the Unification movement is that the messiah will part complete Jesus' work by marrying and raising the "ideal" and "sinless" family as an example for others to follow and so restore God's original plan for humanity.<ref name="EB-UC" />
However, according to journalist [[Robert F. Worth]], since the death of Sun Myung Moon, "his children have struggled to live up to their 'sinless' billing." They

{{blockquote|have spent much of the past decade fighting in court over his assets and legacy, ... One son was accused by his wife of cocaine addiction and domestic abuse. (He denied both claims and has since died.) Another son leaped to his death from a balcony at a Nevada casino. A third son, [[Hyung Jin Moon|Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon]], founded a separate, gun-centered church in Pennsylvania known as Rod of Iron Ministries, where followers do target practice with AR-15s and bring guns to church to be blessed. Hyung Jin wears a golden crown made of rifle shells and delivers hate-filled sermons against the Democratic Party. He also expects to become the king of America. He reviles his mother—who runs the international church in South Korea—as the "whore of Babylon."<ref name="Worth-Moonies-Atlantic"/>}}

===Spending church funds in casinos===
In Moon and Han's teachings, [[Las Vegas]] was described as a "city of Satan," and they aimed to amass believers to transform that hell into heaven. However, in 2022, reports from [[Shukan Bunshun]] and [[TBS News]] revealed that according to transaction records compiled between 2008 and 2011 by [[MGM Resorts International]], Hak Ja Han, and 11 church executives lost approximately {{USD|6.52 million|long=no}} in Las Vegas casinos. According to a former domestic helper of Hak Ja Han, the religious president's favorite casino game was the [[slot machine]].<ref>{{Citation|url=https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/58504|script-title=ja:〈機密文書入手〉韓鶴子総裁と統一教会幹部がラスベガスのカジノで64億円"豪遊" 9億円の損失を出していた|trans-title=|work=[[Shukan Bunshun]]|date=November 10, 2022|access-date=October 9, 2023|language=ja|archive-date=October 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013020653/https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/58504|url-status=live}}</ref>

A senior believer claims that the funds squandered in the casino were donations from Japanese believers. Internal church records specify that donations, totaling {{USD|9.51 million|long=no}} between 2009 and 2011, were intended for Las Vegas. A former Japanese chief of the church who participated in the church's Las Vegas tour testified that the church specifically instructed participants to carry {{USD|7,500|long=no}} in cash as a donation, which was below the upper limit for customs declaration. Upon arrival in the U.S., they would hand over their donations and be given a tour of tourist attractions, such as the [[Grand Canyon]], while only being able to meet Moon and Han once, unaware of their gambling activities in the casino.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/239150?display=1|script-title=ja:検証15弾 教団幹部がラスベガスで"カジノ遊興"疑惑 旧統一教会の内部資料を独自入手【報道特集】|trans-title=|work=[[TBS News]]|date=December 17, 2022|access-date=October 9, 2023|language=ja|archive-date=October 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013015338/https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/239150?display=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Investigation by the United States House of Representatives===
In 1977, the [[Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations]] of the [[United States House of Representatives]], reported that the Unification Church was established by the director of the [[Korean Central Intelligence Agency]] (KCIA), [[Kim Chong Pil]].<ref name="Halloran">{{Cite news |last=Halloran |first=Richard |date=March 16, 1978 |title=Unification Church Called Seoul Tool |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/16/archives/unification-church-called-seoul-tool-house-panel-releases-documents.html |access-date=July 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714153237/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/16/archives/unification-church-called-seoul-tool-house-panel-releases-documents.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The committee also reported that the KCIA had used the movement to gain political influence with the United States, and some of its members had worked as volunteers in Congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Cultural Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization that acted as a [[public diplomacy]] campaign for South Korea.<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |last=Diamond |first=Sara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AabywLOknbsC&dq=fraser+kcia&pg=PA59 |title=Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right |date=1989 |publisher=South End Press |isbn=978-0-89608-361-5 |language=en |access-date=August 14, 2022 |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924184411/https://books.google.com/books?id=AabywLOknbsC&pg=PA59&dq=fraser+kcia |url-status=live }}</ref> The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the Unification Church's campaign in support of Nixon.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f7ITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,979096&dq=fraser+korea Ex-aide of Moon Faces Citation for Contempt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301201259/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f7ITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,979096&dq=fraser+korea |date=March 1, 2021 }}, [[Associated Press]], ''[[Eugene Register-Guard]]'', August 5, 1977</ref>

Unification Church official [[Dan Fefferman]] testified in August 1977 before the Fraser Committee.<ref name="reid">{{cite news | last =Reid | first =T.R. | title =House Subcommittee's Report Links Rev. Moon to the KCIA | newspaper =[[The Washington Post]] | page =A7 | date =August 5, 1977 | url =https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/120059729.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Aug+5%2C+1977&author=By+T.R.+ReidWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++%281974-Current+file%29&edition=&startpage=A7&desc=House+Subcommittee%27s+Report+Links+Rev.+Moon+to+the+KCIA | archive-url =https://archive.today/20130131175359/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/120059729.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Aug+5,+1977&author=By+T.R.+ReidWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=A7&desc=House+Subcommittee's+Report+Links+Rev.+Moon+to+the+KCIA | url-status =dead | archive-date =January 31, 2013 }}</ref> Testimony from Fefferman confirmed that he had social ties to officials within the South Korean embassy.<ref name="babcock">{{cite news | last =Babcock |first =Charles R. | title =Moon Sect Support of Nixon Detailed | newspaper =[[The Washington Post]] | page =A1 | date =November 10, 197 | url =https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/138203752.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Nov+10%2C+1977&author=By+Charles+R.+BabcockWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++%281974-Current+file%29&edition=&startpage=A1&desc=Moon+Sect+Support+of+Nixon+Detailed | access-date =July 27, 2023 | archive-date =October 23, 2012 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121023144523/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/138203752.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Nov+10,+1977&author=By+Charles+R.+BabcockWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=A1&desc=Moon+Sect+Support+of+Nixon+Detailed | url-status =dead}}</ref> Fefferman testified that he had arranged a meeting in 1975 between [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] aide [[Edwin Feulner]] of [[the Heritage Foundation]] and South Korean Minister Kim Yung Hwan, to potentially put together a group of congressional aides who would travel to South Korea.<ref name="bellant">{{cite book | last =Bellant | author-link =Russ Bellant | first =Russ | title =The Coors Connection | publisher =South End Press | year =1999 | pages =[https://archive.org/details/coorsconnectionh00bell/page/5 5–6] | isbn =0-89608-416-7 | url =https://archive.org/details/coorsconnectionh00bell/page/5}}</ref><ref name="babcock" /> Hwan was the then-station chief for the KCIA.<ref name="babcock" />

During his testimony, Fefferman refused to answer nine questions from the subcommittee, saying that they violated his constitutional rights to freedom of religion and association.<ref name="balks" /> The subcommittee recommended that Fefferman be cited for [[contempt of Congress]].<ref name="babcock" /><ref name="balks">{{cite news | last =The Associated Press | author-link =Associated Press | title =Moon official balks at probe, faces House contempt action | work =[[Eugene Register-Guard]] | date =November 5, 1977 | url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rRMRAAAAIBAJ&pg=5054,1158886&dq=moon-official-balks-at-probe-faces&hl=en}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title =New York Times Abstracts |work =[[The New York Times]] | page =9 | date =August 5, 1977}}</ref> Fefferman, speaking to ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' in 1980, said the subcommittee's recommendations were never taken up and no charges were pressed.<ref name="Moondenies">{{cite news | last =Hirschel | first =Alison | title =Rev. Moon's CARP recruits on campus | work =[[The Michigan Daily]] | date =April 20, 1980 | url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uUZKAAAAIBAJ&pg=1894,5213859& | access-date =July 26, 2023 | archive-date =July 26, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230726162649/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uUZKAAAAIBAJ&pg=1894,5213859& | url-status =live }}</ref>

===Defamation lawsuit against the ''Daily Mail''===

In 1978, the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', a British [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] newspaper, published an article with the headline: "The Church That Breaks Up Families."<ref name=":10">{{Citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/01/world/moon-s-sect-loses-libel-suit-in-london.html|first=William|last=Borders|title=Moon's Sect Loses Libel Suit in London|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 1, 1981|access-date=November 9, 2023|archive-date=January 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105231914/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/01/world/moon-s-sect-loses-libel-suit-in-london.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"The Church That Breaks Up Families," ''Daily Mail'' (London), May 29, 1978.</ref> The article accused the Unification Church of [[brainwashing]] and separating families. The British Unification Church's director [[Dennis Orme]] filed a [[Defamation|libel]] suit against the ''Daily Mail'' and [[Associated Newspapers]], its parent company, resulting in one of the longest civil actions in British legal history{{snd}}lasting six months.<ref name=":10" /><ref>Hilary Devries, ed., "Unification Church loses suit against British paper," ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', April 1, 1981.</ref><ref name=":0">[[James T. Richardson]] and Barend van Driel, "New Religious Movements in Europe: Developments and Reactions" in ''Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective'', edited by Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley, 129–170 [144], (New York: Garland, 1994), {{ISBN|9780815314288}}.</ref> Orme and the Unification Church lost the libel case, the appeal case, and were refused permission to take their case to the [[Judicial functions of the House of Lords|House of Lords]].<ref name=":0" />

The original case heard 117 witnesses, including American [[Anti-cult movement|anti-cult]] psychiatrist [[Margaret Singer|Margaret Thaler Singer]].<ref name=":10" /> In the original case, the Unification Church was ordered to pay Associated Newspapers [[Pound sterling|GB£]]750,000 in costs which was maintained after appeal.<ref>Eileen Barker, ''[[The Making of a Moonie|The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing?]]'' (1984; repr., Oxford: [[Basil Blackwell]], 1989), 2. {{ISBN?}}</ref> The jury of the original case not only awarded Associated Newspapers costs, but it and the judge requested that the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] re-examine the Unification Church's charitable status, which after a lengthy investigation from 1986 to 1988 was not removed.<ref name=":11">Eileen Barker, "General Overview of the "Cult Scene" in Great Britain," ''[[Nova Religio|Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions]]'' 4, no. 2 (2001): 235–240, [236].{{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>George D. Chryssides, ''Exploring New Religions'' (London and New York: Cassell, 1999), 358. {{ISBN|9780304336517}}</ref>

According to [[George Chryssides]], about half of the Unification Church's 500 full-time members in Britain moved to the United States.<ref>George D. Chryssides, "Britain's Anti-cult movement," in ''New Religious Movements: Changes and Responses'', edited by Jamie Cresswell and Bryan Wilson, 257–273 [268], (London and New York: Routledge, 1999), {{ISBN|9780415200509}}.</ref> The Unification Church sold seven of its twelve principal church centers after the ruling.<ref>George D. Chryssides, "Britain's Changing Faiths: Adaptation in a New Environment," in ''The Growth of Religious Diversity: Britain from 1945, Volume II: Issues'', edited by G. Parson, 55–84 [79], London: Routledge, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0415083287}}</ref> Other anti-cultists in countries like Germany sought to incorporate the [[High Court of Justice|London High Court]]'s decision into law.<ref name=":0" /> The Unification Church has won other libel and [[defamation]] cases in the United Kingdom, including a similar case against ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref name=":11" />

===''United States v. Sun Myung Moon''===
{{Main|United States v. Sun Myung Moon}}

In 1982, Moon was imprisoned in the United States after being found guilty by a jury of willfully filing false federal [[income tax]] returns and conspiracy. The Unification Church of the United States members launched a public-relations campaign. Booklets, letters, and videotapes were mailed to approximately 300,000 Christian leaders in the United States. Many of them signed petitions protesting the government's case.<ref name="ReferenceJ" /> The [[American Baptist Church|American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.]], the [[National Council of Churches]], the [[National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus]], and the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] filed briefs in support of Moon.<ref name="ReferenceK" />

Moon served 13 months of the sentence at the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury]] in [[Danbury, Connecticut]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/profit.htm Moon's Japanese Profits Bolster Efforts in U.S.] ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 16, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-35.0.html The Unification Church Aims a Major Public Relations Effort at Christian Leaders] ''[[Christianity Today]]'', April 19, 1985.</ref> The case was protested as a case of [[selective prosecution]] and a threat to [[religious freedom]] by, among others, [[Jerry Falwell]], head of [[Moral Majority]], [[Joseph Lowery]], head of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]], [[Harvey Cox]], a professor of [[Divinity (academic discipline)|Divinity]] at [[Harvard]], and [[Eugene McCarthy]], United States Senator and former Democratic Party presidential candidate.<ref>[http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1984/10/11/moons-financial-rise-and-fall-pbab/?dsq=48682316#comment-48682316 Moon's financial rise and fall],''[[Harvard Crimson]]'', October 11, 1984</ref>

===Crown of Peace event in Washington DC===

On March 23, 2004, at a ceremony in the [[Dirksen Senate Office Building]], in [[Washington, D.C.]], Moon crowned himself with what was called the "Crown of Peace."<ref name="babington">{{Cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61932-2004Jun22.html| title=The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception – Lawmakers Say They Were Misled| first1=Charles| last1=Babington|first2=Alan |last2=Cooperman | newspaper=Washington Post| date=June 23, 2004| pages=A01}}</ref><ref name="NYT" /> Lawmakers who attended included Senator [[Mark Dayton]] ([[U.S. Democratic Party|D]]-[[Minnesota|Minn.]]), Representatives [[Roscoe Bartlett]] ([[U.S. Republican Party|R]]-[[Maryland|Md.]]) and [[Elijah Cummings]] (D-Md.), as well as former Representative [[Walter Fauntroy]] (D-D.C.). Key organizers of the event included [[George Augustus Stallings Jr.]], a former [[Roman Catholic]] priest who had been married by Moon and Michael Jenkins, the president of the [[Unification Church of the United States]] at that time.<ref name="babington" /> Rep. [[Danny K. Davis]] (D-[[Illinois|Ill.]]) played an active role in the ceremony. ''[[The New York Times]]'', in 2008, suggested that the participation of federal elected officials in this event was a possible violation of the principle of [[separation of church and state]] in United States law.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E0D81638F934A15755C0A9629C8B63&scp=9&sq=moon+caligula&st=nyt |title=Lawmakers Scurry From the Light |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 27, 2004 |access-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513100839/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E0D81638F934A15755C0A9629C8B63 |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===In Japan (1970–2025)===
{{Main|Criticism of Unification Church in Japan}}
The Unification Church in Japan has faced several controversies:
* Rebranding – In 1997, the Japanese Unification Church's request to change its name was rejected due to ongoing lawsuits. In 2015, the name change to "Family Federation for World Peace and Unification" was approved, though the approval process reportedly involved unusual reports.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2022 |title=Name change by Unification Church a baffling issue years later |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14686350 |website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]}}</ref>
* Spiritual sales – The Unification Church in Japan faced accusations of pressuring members into financial ruin through "spiritual sales." This led to 35,000 compensation claims and {{USD|206 million|long=no}} recovered. The church claims it has emphasized legal compliance and stopped these practices since 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Worth |first=Robert F. |date=September 18, 2023 |title=The Bizarre Story Behind Shinzo Abe's Assassination |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/10/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-unification-church-moonies/675114/ |access-date=July 25, 2024 |work=The Atlantic |language=en |issn=2151-9463}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript: Unification Church news conference on Abe shooting |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Shinzo-Abe/Transcript-Unification-Church-news-conference-on-Abe-shooting |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=[[Nikkei Asia]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* The [[assassination of Shinzo Abe]] – Shinzo Abe's assassination by [[Tetsuya Yamagami]], who blamed Abe for his family's bankruptcy due to the Unification Church, led Japan's ruling party (the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democrats]]) to cut ties with the church in August 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 13, 2022 |title=【独自】関係者「母親は旧統一教会に献金１億円」、土地・自宅売却で破産 : 読売新聞オンライン |url=https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20220713-OYT1T50136/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713085752/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20220713-OYT1T50136/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2022 |access-date=July 25, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2022 |title=【速報】旧統一教会と関係絶てない議員「同じ党で活動できない」 自民党・茂木幹事長（TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN） |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/bfb8dca4cd50160f6c93177b57e9808aa850d110 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831073533/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/bfb8dca4cd50160f6c93177b57e9808aa850d110 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 31, 2022 |access-date=July 25, 2024 }}</ref> On 25 March 2025, a court in Tokyo ordered the Japanese branch of the Unification Church to disband, three years after it had come under scrutiny following Abe's assassination.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-05 |title=Japanese Court Disbands Unification Church in Wake of Abe Killing - The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/world/asia/japanese-court-church-disband.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405111851/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/world/asia/japanese-court-church-disband.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-04-05 |access-date=2025-04-05 }}</ref>
* Revocation of religious corporation status and subsequent order of disbandment by the Japanese government – On October 12, 2023, Japan's Ministry of Education announced plans to dissolve the Unification Church under Article 81 of the Religious Juridical Person Law, citing deviations from legitimate religious practices. This marked the first such action against a religious organization without a criminal conviction. The church stated its intention to contest the order legally. As of March 7, 2024, the government increased monitoring of the church's assets under a new law aimed at addressing unfair solicitation practices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Tim |date=October 12, 2023 |title=Japan to ask court to strip Unification Church of religious status |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-ask-court-strip-unification-church-religious-status-2023-10-12/ |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Press |first=Jiji |date=March 7, 2024 |title=Japan Puts Unification Church under Stricter Monitoring (Update 1) |url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20240307-173028/ |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=japannews.yomiuri.co.jp |language=en}}</ref> Subsequently, on March 25, 2025, the [[Tokyo District Court]] ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church's Japanese branch.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khalil |first=Shaimaa |last2=Ng |first2=Kelly |date=2025-03-25 |title=Japan court orders controversial 'Moonies' church to disband |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge1lr7225yo |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> The ruling revoked the church's legal religious [[judicial person]] status, removing its tax-exempt privileges and requiring the liquidation of its assets. However, the church is still permitted to operate in Japan and has declared its intention to appeal the decision to the Tokyo High Court,<ref>{{cite news |date=March 25, 2025 |script-title=ja:旧統一教会に解散命令 東京地裁 経緯は 今後の手続きは |trans-title="Tokyo District Court Orders Former Unification Church to Dissolve" |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20250325/k10014759591000.html |access-date=March 25, 2025 |newspaper=NHK |language=ja}}</ref> citing the request to dissolve was a "serious threat to the human rights and religious freedom of its followers".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-25 |title=A court orders the dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/25/asia/court-dissolution-unification-church-japan-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325075551/https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/25/asia/court-dissolution-unification-church-japan-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-03-25 |access-date=2025-04-12 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-25 |title=A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved {{!}} AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/japan-unification-church-dissolution-d5e1fdf3cb671d6ffeb45d75620ef8b2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325085836/https://apnews.com/article/japan-unification-church-dissolution-d5e1fdf3cb671d6ffeb45d75620ef8b2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-03-25 |access-date=2025-04-12 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-26 |title=Court orders dissolution of Unification Church in Japan - Japan Today |url=https://japantoday.com/category/national/Japanese-court-orders-dissolution-of-Unification-Church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250326003035/https://japantoday.com/category/national/Japanese-court-orders-dissolution-of-Unification-Church |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-03-26 |access-date=2025-04-12 }}</ref>
* Civil lawsuits against Japanese critics and government – The Unification Church and its affiliates filed lawsuits against Japanese media, lawyers, journalists, and ex-members discussing its fundraising and recruitment. Legal actions increased after ties with Japanese politicians were revealed post-Abe's assassination. Critics allege these lawsuits are to silence opposition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MatsumotoTakahiro |date=July 28, 2023 |title=統一教会がスラップ連発～問われる日本の民主主義 |url=https://sdp.or.jp/sdp-paper/slapp-2/ |access-date=July 25, 2024 |website=社民党 SDP Japan |language=ja}}</ref>
* Child adoption – The Unification Church in Japan was investigated for unauthorized child transfers between members' families since 2018. They reported 31 adoptions but denied acting as intermediaries. Following scrutiny, the church removed references to child adoption from its handbook in February 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 1, 2023 |title=Editorial: Japan gov't needs to uncover Unification Church's murky adoption practice |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230201/p2a/00m/0op/017000c |access-date=July 25, 2024 |work=Mainichi Daily News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Support for North Korea's development of nuclear weapons===
{{See also|List of North Korean missile tests|List of nuclear weapons tests of North Korea}}

According to [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) reports in August and September 1994, Moon donated 450 billion yen to [[Kim Il Sung]] during his stay in North Korea from November 30, 1991, to December 7, 1992. Those same DIA reports explained an "economic cooperation" for the reconstruction of North Korea's economy was in place. This included establishing a joint venture developing tourism at Kimkangsan, investing in the development of the Tumangang River, in addition to investing in the construction of the "light industry" base located in Wonsan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parry |first=Robert |date=October 13, 2006 |title=Robert Parry: Moon, North Korea & the Bushes |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0610/S00187.htm |access-date=April 20, 2023 |website=Scoop}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Consortium |url=https://www.consortiumnews.com/2000/101100c.html |access-date=April 20, 2023 |website=Consortium News}}</ref> Most of the money was said to have been donated to the Unification Church by Japanese believers.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 14, 2022 |script-title=ja:旧統一教会関連会社が北朝鮮に潜水艦を仲介 日本人信者の献金が北の兵器開発に使われていないか 1/2 |url=https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/178451?display=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124161610/https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/178451?display=1 |archive-date=November 24, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |publisher=[[TBS Television (Japan)|TBS Television]] |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 8, 2022 |script-title=ja:ペンタゴン文書入手〉北朝鮮ミサイル開発を支える統一教会マネー4500億円 1/3 |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c21b79a7405b7b44c0363a1797a517659e3401ee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209045007/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c21b79a7405b7b44c0363a1797a517659e3401ee |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |publisher=Yahoo Japan News |language=ja}}</ref> According to the former chief executive of [[Pyeonghwa Motors]], a Unification Church auto company, the money collected from Japanese devotees was first transferred to South Korea and [[Money laundering|money laundered]], then transferred to [[Hong Kong]] and finally to North Korea. He said he had a close relationship with [[Ju Kyu-chang]], a senior member of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] and its weapons development chief.<ref name="yjn081222">{{cite web |date=December 8, 2022 |script-title=ja::ペンタゴン文書入手〉北朝鮮ミサイル開発を支える統一教会マネー4500億円 3/3 |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c21b79a7405b7b44c0363a1797a517659e3401ee?page=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209052041/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c21b79a7405b7b44c0363a1797a517659e3401ee?page=3 |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |publisher=Yahoo Japan News |language=ja}}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=March 2023}}

According to Baek Seung-joo, a former South Korean vice defense minister, has analyzed that money donated by Japanese followers of the Unification Church was diverted to North Korea's nuclear development and development of [[intercontinental ballistic missiles]].<ref name="yjn081222" />{{Request quotation|date=March 2023}} According to Masuo Oe, who was the public relations director of the Unification Church, when Moon said to Kim Il Sung in a meeting, "Please be my brother," Kim Il Sung replied, "Sure, why not?" According to him, believers heard this anecdote and admired that the Messiah had brought Satan to his knees with the power of love. This was a symbolic event that marked a major shift in the anti-communist policies of the Unification Church.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 15, 2022 |script-title=ja:統一教会が北朝鮮に献上した5000億円 文鮮明が金日成に「お兄さんになって」 |url=https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/57334?page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010221246/https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/57334?page=2 |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |publisher=[[Bungeishunju]] |language=ja}}</ref>

According to a 2016 South Korean Defense Ministry parliamentary report, a Tokyo-run company{{Vague|reason=Which company? What's it called? Where are they?|date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} operated by members of the Unification Church sold a Russian [[Golf-class submarine|Golf II-class submarine]] still loaded with missile launchers to North Korea in 1994, disguised as scrap metal, and the technology was then diverted to North Korea's development of [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]]s. The Unification Church has denied having any relationship with the company.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 14, 2022 |script-title=ja:旧統一教会関連会社が北朝鮮に潜水艦を仲介 日本人信者の献金が北の兵器開発に使われていないか 2/2 |url=https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/178451?page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124161050/https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/178451?page=2 |archive-date=November 24, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022 |publisher=TBS Television |language=ja}}</ref>

===Controversy in South Korea===
{{See also|Tochak Waegu#Sin-chinilpa}}
In South Korea, the Unification Church has been criticized for supporting the interests of Japan over those of South Korea. South Korean media reported links between the UC and Japanese conservatives, referring to them as ''[[Chinilpa|Chinil]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=친일|labels=no}}) or [[Tochak Waegu#Sin-chinilpa|''Sin-chinil'']] ({{Korean|hangul=신친일|labels=no}}). Some South Korean media reported a connection between [[Yoon Suk-yeol]]'s pro-Japanese foreign policy and the UC.<ref name="유착">{{cite web | url=https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/4842460 |title='新친일' 통일교와 日자민당 정권 40년 유착.."자민당 의원 180명과 관계" |trans-title='New Chinil[pa]' Unification Church and the Japanese LDP have been in collusion for 40 years. It is even "linked to 180 LDP lawmakers".
 |website=[[No Cut News]] | date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=March 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.goodmorningcc.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=286769 |script-title=ko:대일 굴욕 외교의 배후는 통일교? |trans-title=Is Unification Church behind [Yoon Suk-yeol government's] pro-Japanese submissive diplomacy? |website=굿모닝충청 | date=April 3, 2023 |access-date=April 22, 2023}}</ref>

Since late July 2024, protests at Cheonjeonggung Palace in [[Gapyeong County|Gapyeong]] began with demands for Vice President Jung Won-joo's resignation, following corruption allegations involving aides close to Hak Ja Han. By late September, the Unification Church Members' Emergency Response Committee joined the demonstrations, which spread by October to major church sites like Cheongshim Peace World Center in Gapyeong and Cheonwon Temple in Seoul, continuing calls for Jung's resignation.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 7, 2024 |script-title=ko:'통일교' 부패간부 퇴진하라! 집회 이어져... 헌금유용 도박·횡령·기관로비 의혹까지 |trans-title="Calls for the Resignation of Corrupt 'Unification Church' Officials Continue as Allegations of Embezzlement, Gambling, and Lobbying Surface" |url=http://www.churchheresy.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1481 |access-date=October 8, 2024 |newspaper=Church and Heresy |language=ko}}</ref>

=== Secrecy and esoteric ===
The Unification Church is sometimes said to be a [[secret society]] in that it keeps some of its doctrines secret from non-members,<ref>Evangelical-Unification Dialogue (Conference series – Unification Theological Seminary; no. 3) Richard Quebedeaux, Rodney Sawatsky, Paragon House, 1979, {{ISBN|093289402X}}, pp. 77–99.</ref><ref>[[Frederick Sontag]],1977, ''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'', [[Abingdon Press]], {{ISBN|0687406226}}, p. 185.</ref><ref>[[Irving Louis Horowitz]], 1978, ''Science, Sin, and Scholarship: The Politics of Reverend Moon and the Unification Church'', MIT Press, {{ISBN|0262081008}}, p. 114</ref> a practice that is sometimes called "heavenly deception."<ref>''The A to Z of New Religious Movements'', George D. Chryssides
Scarecrow Press, 2006, p. 155</ref> In 1979, critics D. Tingle and R. Fordyce commented: "How different the openness of Christianity is to the attitude of Reverend Moon and his followers who are often reluctant to reveal to the public many of their basic doctrines."<ref>Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, The Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and Its Principles, Hicksville, New York: Exposition Press {{ISBN|0682492647}}, pp. 20–21</ref> Since the 1990s, many Unification texts that were formerly regarded as [[esoteric]] have been posted on the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification's official websites.<ref>George D. Chryssides, "Unificationism: A study in religious syncretism", Chapter 14 in ''Religion: empirical studies'', Editor: Steven Sutcliffe, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-7546-4158-2}}, p. 232.</ref>

==="Crazy for God"===
{{main|Crazy for God}}
In ''The Way of God's Will'', a collection of sayings popular among church members, Moon is quoted as saying: "We leaders should leave the tradition that we have become crazy for God."<ref name="Unification.org"/> In 1979 Unification Church critic [[Christopher Edwards (author)|Christopher Edwards]] titled a memoir about his experiences in the six months he spent as a church member: ''Crazy for God: The Nightmare of Cult Life.''.<ref name="Crazy for God"/>

== Incidents ==

=== Germany ===
In November 1995, German authorities blacklisted the founders of the Unification Church (Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon) through the [[Schengen Information System]] and thus forbid entry to 12 European countries.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Reactions to the law by minority religions |date=2021 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group Routledge |isbn=978-0-367-69449-4 |editor-last=Barker |editor-first=Eileen |series=Routledge informs series on minority religions and spiritual movements |location=Londin New York |page=97 |editor-last2=Richardson |editor-first2=James T.}}</ref> The period of exclusion was extended several times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2002 – Germany |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2003/en/23299 |access-date=March 16, 2024 |website=UNHCR Refworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2004, Germany |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2004/35456.htm |access-date=March 16, 2024 |website=U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor}}</ref> After 12 years on October 24, 2006, the [[Federal Constitutional Court|German Federal Constitutional Court]] ruled that previous court rulings and authorities' treatment of the Unification Church in the period from November 1995 violated Article 4 paragraph 1 (Freedom of faith and conscience is inviolable) and paragraph 2 (undisturbed practice is guaranteed) of the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|German Constitution]] and is repealed must reimburse the UC for the necessary expenses (articles 2 and 3 of the ruling). It also stated that the authorities' defense was based on [[rumor]]s and assumptions (article 15 of the ruling) and the previous ruling of the Higher Administrative Court was based on weighting religious matters, which is not permitted by state authorities (article 27 of the ruling).<ref>{{Cite web |title=BVerfG, Beschluss vom 24. 10. 2006 – 2 BvR 1908/03 |url=https://lexetius.com/2006,2690 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304231539/https://lexetius.com/2006,2690 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |website=lexetius.com}}</ref> Court by this decision rejects with immediate effect the rationale of the [[Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)|German Federal Ministry of the Interior]] for the 1995 immigration exclusion and not granting an entry [[Travel visa|visa]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007 Report on International Religious Freedom – Germany |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2007/en/48847 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304134426/https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2007/en/48847 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |access-date=March 4, 2024 |website=UNHCR Refworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bundesverfassungsgericht – Presse – Erfolgreiche Verfassungsbeschwerde der deutschen Vereinigungskirche gegen Einreiseverbot für Ehepaar Mun |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg06-109.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028134706/https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg06-109.html |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=March 27, 2024 |website=www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de}}</ref>

=== France ===
In March 1982, a 21-year-old woman, Claire Château, who was on the central street of Dijon distributing brochures, was pulled into a moving car shouting for help. After a psychological examination showed that she was in good mental health with no traces of alleged "[[brainwashing]]," seven people, family members, and [[Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu]] (ADFI) "professional [[Deprogramming|deprogrammers]]" were accused by the Dijon Regional Criminal Investigation Department (Service Régional de Police Judiciaire de Dijon) of kidnapping under §341 of the [[Code pénal (France)|French Penal Code]] to the Besançon Court of Justice.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Birman |first=Patricia |date=April 1, 2005 |title=Fronteiras espirituais e fronteiras nacionais: o combate às seitas na França |journal=Mana |language=pt |volume=11 |pages=7–39 |doi=10.1590/S0104-93132005000100001 |issn=0104-9313|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1982 |title=Sept personnes sont inculpées à Besançon pour avoir séquestré une adepte de Moon La secte à l'intention de se porter partie civile Un drame en trois actes |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1982/03/09/sept-personnes-sont-inculpees-a-besancon-pour-avoir-sequestre-une-adepte-de-moon-la-secte-a-l-intention-de-se-porter-partie-civile-un-drame-en-trois-actes_3146944_1819218.html |access-date=April 6, 2024 |work=Le Monde.fr |language=fr}}</ref> The case contributed to the gradual abandonment of abductions and deprogramming attempts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Birman |first=Patricia |date=April 6, 2024 |title=Croyances et appartenances : un débat français |url=https://www.ethnographiques.org/2008/Birman |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=ethnographiques.org |language=fr}}</ref>

=== Russia ===
In 2000 Russia excluded Patrick Francis Nolan from reentry to Russia, holding him captive at the airport overnight based on FSB material on countering non-traditional religions. The visa was repeatedly canceled on reentry without an explanation, which separated him from his son, who stayed in Russia, for almost one year. [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECHR) in 2009 in the case ''Nolan and K. v. Russia'' stated, that Russia failed to comply with or violated Articles 38§1a, 9, 8, 5§1, 5§5 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 of the [[European Convention on Human Rights|Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms]] (Convention) and decided that Russia should pay a sum of 7.810 € for damages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights |url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#%7B%22tabview%22:%5B%22document%22%5D,%22itemid%22:%5B%22001-91302%22%5D%7D |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=hudoc.echr.coe.int}}</ref>

In 2005–2006 Russia forcibly expelled John Alphonsus Corley and Shuji Igarashi and separated them from their families staying in Russia. Mr. Igarashi was held in detention for 3 days in inhuman conditions. Newspaper [[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]] published an article "ComMoonism has come to the Urals" explaining the reason as "State campaign against the Unification Church." ECHR in 2022 in the case ''Corley and Others v. Russia'' stated, that Russia violated Articles 1, 2, 9, 8, 3, and 5 of the Convention and decided that Russia should pay a sum of 30.270 € for damages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights |url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#%7B%22itemid%22:%5B%22001-213717%22%5D%7D |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=hudoc.echr.coe.int}}</ref>

=== United States ===
On [[Thanksgiving]] 1979, the parents of 28-year-old Thomas Ward conspired with 31 other people to kidnap him (for the second time) and hold him captive for 35 days. He suffered verbal and physical abuse in attempts to "de-program" him of his religious beliefs. Attempts failed and 33 people heard the verdict on the crimes of [[Criminal conspiracy|conspiracy]], [[Battery (crime)|battery]], [[false imprisonment]], [[intentional infliction of emotional distress]], and [[Larceny|grand larceny]]. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on April 18, 1980, that federal civil rights laws protect against religious discrimination. The judgment contradicted the (then common) "parental immunity" principle in such cases.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ward v. Connor, 495 F. Supp. 434 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/ward-v-connor |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=casetext.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2, 2024 |title=Court Rules Rights Laws Protect Against Religious Discrimination |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/08/14/court-rules-rights-laws-protect-against-religious-discrimination/caba88e2-4477-464a-9147-b7276acbc774/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Thomas J. Ward graduated in 1981 from the [[Unification Theological Seminary]] and in 2019 became its president.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History – HJI International |url=https://hji.edu/history/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=hji.edu}}</ref>

In 1991 [[Carlton Sherwood]] in his book [[Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon]] accused Congress, courts, state agencies, and the press of "worst kind of religious prejudice and racial bigotry" against the church, its leaders and followers as determined attempt to erase the church from the United States.<ref name=":5" />

==Related organizations and groups==
{{main|Organizations related to the Unification Church}}
Moon believed in the literal [[Kingdom of God]] on earth to be brought about by human effort, motivating his establishment of numerous groups, some that are not strictly religious in their purposes.<ref>Swatos, Jr, William H. (1998). Encyclopedia of religion and society. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7619-8956-1}}.</ref><ref name="Biermans, J 1986"/> Moon was not directly involved with managing the day-to-day activities of the organizations that he indirectly oversaw, yet all of them attribute the inspiration behind their work to his leadership and teachings.<ref name="AltaMira Press"/><ref>Helm, S. Divine Principle and the Second Advent Archived September 21, 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Christian Century May 11, 1977 "In fact Moon's adherents differ from previous fringe groups in their quite early and expensive pursuit of respectability, as evidenced by the scientific conventions they have sponsored in England and the U.S. and the seminary they have established in Barrytown, New York, whose faculty is composed not of their own group members but rather of respected Christian scholars."</ref><ref>Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: African diaspora traditions and other American innovations: Introduction, Eugene V. Gallagher, W. Michael Ashcraft, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, pp. 94–95</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity}}

* [[Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church]]
* [[Cabal]]
* [[Cult]]
* [[List of Unification movement people]]
* [[Millennialism]]
* [[New Apostolic Reformation]]
* [[New religious movement]]
* [[P'ikareum]]
* [[Theocracy]]
* [[Unification Church and politics]]
* [[Unification Church of the United States]]
* [[Utopia]]nism

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* [[Frederick Sontag|Sontag, Frederick]]. 1977. ''[[Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church]]'', Abingdon Press. {{ISBN|0-687-40622-6}}
* Bryant, M. Darrol, and Herbert Warren Richardson. 1978. ''A Time for consideration: a scholarly appraisal of the Unification Church''. New York: E. Mellen Press. {{ISBN|978-0-88946-954-9}}
* Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, ''Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and its Principles'', Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press {{ISBN|0-682-49264-7}}
* [[Young Oon Kim|Kim, Young Oon]], 1980, [http://www.religious.org/ucbooks/UTheol/toc.htm Unification Theology], Barrytown, NY: [[Unification Theological Seminary]], {{LCCN|8052872}}
* Matczak, Sebastian, ''Unificationism: A New Philosophy and World View'' (Philosophical Questions Series, No 11) (1982) New York: Louvain. {{ISBN?}}
* [[Eileen Barker|Barker, Eileen]], ''[[The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing?]]'' (1984) Blackwell's, Oxford, UK {{ISBN|0-631-13246-5}}.
* Bjornstad, James. 1984. Sun Myung & the Unification Church. Rev. ed. Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers. 57 p. N.B.: Rev. ed. of The Moon Is Not the Sun, which had been published in 1976. {{ISBN|0-87123-301-0}}
* [[Mose Durst|Durst, Mose]]. 1984. [http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/books/tbns/0-Toc.htm#Copyright ''To bigotry, no sanction: Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'']. Chicago: Regnery Gateway. {{ISBN|978-0-89526-609-5}}
* {{cite journal|last=Bromley|first=David G.|author-link=David G. Bromley|title= Financing the Millennium: The Economic Structure of the Unificationist Movement|journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion|volume=24|issue=3|pages=253–274|doi=10.2307/1385816|jstor=1385816|year=1985}}
* Fichter, Joseph Henry. 1985. ''The holy family of father Moon''. Kansas City, Mo: Leaven Press. {{ISBN|978-0-934134-13-2}}
* Gullery, Jonathan. 1986. ''The Path of a pioneer: the early days of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church''. New York: HSA Publications. {{ISBN|978-0-910621-50-2}}
* Biermans, J. 1986, ''The Odyssey of New Religious Movements, Persecution, Struggle, Legitimation: A Case Study of the Unification Church'' Lewiston, New York and Queenston, Ontario: The Edwin Melton Press {{ISBN|0-88946-710-2}}
* [[Carlton Sherwood|Sherwood, Carlton]]. 1991. ''[[Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon]]''. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway. {{ISBN|978-0-89526-532-6}}
* [[George D. Chryssides|Chryssides, George D.]], ''The Advent of Sun Myung Moon: The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church'' (1991) London, Macmillan Professional and Academic Ltd. The author is professor of religious studies at the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.{{ISBN?}}
* Yamamoto, J. Isamu, 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: [[Zondervan]] {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}}
* [[Nansook Hong|Hong, Nansook]], ''[[In the Shadow of the Moons|In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family]]''. Little Brown & Company; {{ISBN|0-316-34816-3}}, 1998.
* Introvigne, M., 2000, ''The Unification Church'', Signature Books, {{ISBN|1-56085-145-7}}
* Ward, Thomas J. 2006, ''March to Moscow: the role of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon in the collapse of communism''. St. Paul, Minn: Paragon House. {{ISBN|978-1-885118-16-5}}
* [[Patrick Hickey (politician)|Hickey, Patrick]] 2009, ''Tahoe Boy: A journey back home''. John, Maryland: Seven Locks Press. {{ISBN|978-0982229361}}
* Moon, Sun Myung, 2009, ''As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen''. [[Gimm-Young Publishers]] {{ISBN|0-7166-0299-7}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikisourcecat|Unification Church}}
{{Wikiquote|Unification Church}}
{{Wikiquote|Divine Principle}}

* [http://peacefederation.org UPF website]
* [https://tparents.org/ www.Tparents.org]
* [https://upf.org Universal Peace Federation]
* [https://familyfed.org/ Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA ]

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