Who is the founder of The Unification Church religious movement?”
The Unification Church (officially named the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity) is a new religious movement founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon in Korea in 1954. The Unification Church is a unique interpretation of Christianity that regards Rev. Moon as the Messiah and believes world peace can be attained through the creation of “true families.” It is especially known for its mass weddings and seeking of converts. Both the Unification Church and Moon himself have been the source of controversy in Asia and especially the USA. The movement’s followers have been dubbed “Moonies” by critics. History Sun Myung Moon was born in 1920 in what is now North Korea. At the time, Korea was under Japanese rule. Moon was raised in the Presbyterian church, one of many faiths persecuted by the Japanese rulers. The political upheavals caused divisions and new movements in Korean Christianity, including a group known as “spiritualists” who received new revelations from God
By Christopher Landau BBC religious affairs correspondent, Seoul It is one of the most controversial religious movements of the last century. Founded in Seoul in the 1950s by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Unificationism has attracted hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. But the movement has been accused of cult-like practices, with its leader’s followers dubbed “Moonies”. As Sun Myung Moon approaches his 90th birthday, he has handed over key responsibilities to one of his sons. Hyung Jin Moon is just 30 years old and grew up in the United States, where he studied theology at Harvard University. His background means he has already been exposed to a wide range of religious traditions and seems unafraid to introduce aspects of how other faiths worship into Unification Church services. Attending a meeting for English speakers on a Saturday afternoon at the Unification Church’s Korean headquarters, the very first sounds I heard were pretty unexpected. Family values Earlier that week,
