27/11/2011
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC). In 1994, Moon gave the church a new official name: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Members are found throughout the world, with the largest number living in South Korea and Japan. Church membership is estimated to be several hundred thousand to a few million. The church and its members own, operate, and subsidize organizations and projects involved in political, cultural, commercial, media, educational, and other activities. The church, its members and supporters as well as other related organizations are sometimes referred to as the "Unification Movement". In the English speaking world church members are sometimes referred to as "Moonies" (which is sometimes considered offensive); church members prefer to be called "Unificationists".
Unification Church beliefs are summarized in the textbook Divine Principle and include belief in a universal God; in striving toward the creation of a literal Kingdom of God on earth; in the universal salvation of all people, good and evil, living and dead; and that a man born in Korea in the early 20th century received from Jesus the mission to be realized as the second coming of Christ. Members of the Unification Church believe that Moon is this Messiah.
