Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts

Thursday, 8 October 2009

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | 'Moonies' mull future without founder

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, I had interviewed Hyung Jin Moon and met members of the church's choir, rehearsing for the weekend's services.
They had been singing a specially written song about true love, reflecting the traditional family values which are so important in Unificationist beliefs.
But the service I attended began not with one of the movement's own hymns, but with contemporary mainstream Christian songs written in the US.

"It's modified greatly, where now people can meet, they can date, find out about each other"

Read more ... 

Thursday, 24 September 2009

Kidnapping & Faithbreaking in Japan

Since 1966, More than 4,000 members of the Unification Church of Japan have been illegally confined by their families and “deprogrammers”  in an attempt to make them leave the religion which they, as adults, freely chose to join. Those who escaped their captors report that every case involved the use of force, prison-like conditions, deprival of the right to communicate with the outside world, and an intense effort to pressure the believer to change his or her faith. 
We therefore appeal to the leaders of the United States and the international human rights community to support the campaign for justice. A clear signal must be sent to those who perpetrate these crimes that their behavior will not be tolerated. Japan must adhere to international human-rights standards and live up to its own constitution, which affirms a commitment to protect religious freedom.
The Case of Mr. Goto