EncyclopediaUnification Church
Unification Church, religious sect founded (1954) in Korea by Sun Myung Moon. Moon moved to the United States in 1971. He and his wife, Hak J. Han, are seen by followers as “True Parents.” He claims to have communicated with Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the Buddha in his spiritual search, and has declared himself to be the “Messiah.” Moon matches his followers with mates and performs mass weddings, the church's most important ritual. Officially known as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification for World Christianity, the church's headquarters are located in New York City. In 1995 the church reported 50,000 U.S. followers, 3 million worldwide.
See studies by D. Bromley and A. D. Shupe, Jr. (1979) and E. Barker (1984).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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