Jeffrey K. Hadden
Department of Sociology
University of Virginia
Lecture:
Unification Church
Lecture Outline:
-
Reverend Sun Myung Moon and
His Movement
-
Unification
Beliefs
-
The Future of the
Movement
Part I
The Reverend Moon and
His Movement
Indemnity Explored
Duel meaning in English:
-
compensation for loss
-
insurance against damage
Korean meaning:
-
the wrigint off of a debt, remission,
cancellation & forgiveness
In Unification Church, Indemnity is paid
by:
-
raising money
-
winning converts
Note the tremendous significance of
linking a key theological idea with activities that are
critical to the survival of the group. Financial viability
and recruiting new members is critical to the survival of
any new religion. In Unification theology, both are made
sacred duties.
Part III
Future of the
Unification Church
The Problem of Succession
-
Rev Moon was 75 in 1995.
-
Few founding leaders have planned their
succedssion more actively than Rev Moon
-
Hak Ja Han, Rev Moon's wife, is the
successor designate.
-
The process of her succession began on Jan
1, 1993 with the declaration that the Age of Restoration is
completed
Meaning of the Declaration that the Age of
Restoration is completed
-
To this date, Moon had never declared that
he was, indeed, the Lord of the Second Advent, i.e. that he was
Christ returned
-
Unification Church members have always
believed this to be the case, but Moon has carefully avoided a
public declaration; to have done so in the early years would
almost certainly have added fuel to the flames of controversy
that surrounded the movement.
-
Moon selected Korea for the site of the
announcement. It scarcely made the news in the U.S. Thus, he
successfully avoided the media frenzy that might have followed
such an announcement in America.
-
The announcement is very significant for
two reasons:
-
First, it set the state for sustaining
the core beliefs of the movement:
-
Rev. Moon really was the massiah,
and
-
his mission of restoration was
achieved
-
Second, by declaring his divinity and
naming his successor while alive, he strategically reduces
the likelihood of a struggle for succession after his death.
Obstacles to Successful
Succession
Whether or not this careful planning will be
successful remains to be seen.
The Unification Church is a vast financial as well as spiritual
empire. Whether Mrs. Moon and her lieutenants can hold the
Church in a single organization unit remains to be seen.
Michael Mickler, a member of the Unification Church, who earned
a PhD in political science at the University of California,
Berkely, has written a paper on the "Future Prospects of the
Unification Church" which addresses the conflicts within the
church and what this may portend after Moon's death. Writen
well before Moons declaration that the Age of Restoration is
complete, Mickler seen four distinct ideological groupings
within the Unification Church:
Ideological Groups in the Unification
Church
-
Liberal
-
Prophetic
-
Theocratic
-
Cultic
The Liberal Prospect
"God is immanent in human cultural
development and revealed through it." (Mickler)
-
Religion needs to
consciously adapt its ideas to modern culture
-
To understand the "essence" of the
religious message and apply it to different
cultures.
-
Initiate programs in accordance with
the belief that human society is moving toward the
realization of the Kingdom of God
The Prophetic Prospect
"...is animated less by the bourgeoisie 'God
of culture' and more by a 'liberating God' ...who intervenes
in history to break down the structures of injustice and
raises up prophets in order to point out the way of justice
and mercy." (Mickler)
-
particularly concerned with
the experiences of the oppressed
The prophetic vision in Unificationism
grows out of:
-
Moon's own experience (and that of
his followers); and
-
Church contact with the oppressed in
the U.S. and other nations
?
The Theocratic Prospect
-
Belief that God works through nations,
and, in particular, through the leadership of chosen
nations
-
top down strategy
-
adaptation of religious ideals to
political realities
-
U.S. "choosen" nation. That is why
Rev. Moon is here:
-
supporting selected U.S.
leaders
-
meddling politically
-
cultivating contacts and influence
(most significantly throught the Washington Times)
-
creating literally scores of
programs designed to create good will
-
But Rev. Moon and the leadership of
the Church seem clearly to be frustrated with the way
things have unfolded in America.
The Cultic Prospect
-
God works through the pure in heart
-
Doctrine is not to be adapted, but tit
is to be believed
-
Hope rests not in human achievement, but
in divine intervention
Future of the Church?
-
These four ideological perspectives are not
necessarily distince warring groups
-
Moon himself manifests elements of
each
-
So do many members; but
-
Those who know the Church well affirm
that Mickler has identified distinct groupings
-
Mickler sees geo-political stability as
the key to the future:
-
25-50 years of geo-political stability
will likely lead to synthesis of strains and tensions
-
If instability, survival 7 success will
depend on the accendency of one of the four.
For additional reading on the Unification Church, see:
The bibliography above;
The
Profile of the Unification Church on
this web site;
The more extensive bibliography on the Profile
page, including newspaper coverage of significant Unification
Church events.