The word cult, as defined by Websters New Collegiate Dictionary denotes a usually small circle of persons united by devotion or allegiance to an artistic or intellectual movement or figure. According to this interpretation, all religious groups can be classified as having this characteristic. However, due largely in part to stereotypes portrayed in the media, much of society perceives the word cult as definable by a close-knit, unorthodox religious movement in which members, or potential members are enticed by means of deception and indoctrination.
It is in accordance with this explanation that one can separately distinguish the hundreds of religious groups fitting this description, from the much larger number of orthodox religions, or religions deemed conventional. The act of stereotyping religions as cults has been in existence since the beginning of organized religion. Jesus and his followers, while on earth, were even viewed by many as a cult members. In the 1960s and early 70s however, cults suddenly began to get larger and became spectacles through the media.
In 1978, the first widespread fascination with modern cults occurred as a result of the mass suicide in Jonestown. One such religion that fits societys definition particularly well is the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, more commonly known as the Unification Church. This group was founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1954, and is based upon the doctrines taught by Rev. Moon. According to the beliefs of the religion, Sun Myung Moon was told by God that he was the second messiah, sent to Earth to complete Jesus unfinished work.
The members claim to believe in the same God that exists in Christianity, but they reject the traditional Christian concept of the Trinity. In fact, they believe that Jesus, was sent to Earth by God to form a perfect marriage in order to redeem humanity. In this perfect marriage, a child can be born free of original sin. Since Jesus was executed before accomplishing his mission, it is now up to Moon to complete the work. When God created Adam and Eve, he intended for them to be married in Eden. Before marriage however, Eve had an affair with Satan and ultimately caused the spiritual downfall of mankind.
Later, she again sinned by engaging in a pre-marital sexual relationship with Adam; and consequently, they formed an imperfect family; meaning that any children conceived by Eve, could not born without original sin. These two sins combined resulted in giving Satan control of the world. According to the group, Jesus was sent to rectify the problem and was executed and resurrected not physically, but spiritually, making it possible for people who believe in him to receive spiritual salvation. Complete salvation (spiritual and physical) cannot be obtained until the second messiah has formed a perfect marriage.
This is the reason Sun Myung Moon is the central figure of the church. He makes complete salvation possible by creating a perfect marriage. Rev. Moons marriage to his current (second) wife has supposedly completed the perfect marriage since their children were born without original sin. Mr. and Mrs. Moon are idolized by the followers, and are referred to as the True Parents. In order to now enable other people to give birth to children free of fallen nature, Moon matches each member of the church to a spouse in the most important Unification ritual. Before the marriage, the couple must drink a special concentration of Rev.
Sun Myung Moons blood in a wine ceremony. It is claimed that there have been hundreds of thousands of people married in this way. The Unificationists claim that discrepancies in their beliefs (when compared to Christian beliefs) are significant but are infrequent. The members however, do not refer to the Bible. The religious text belonging to the group is the Divine Principle, written by Moon. They also do not celebrate conventional holidays, but five days of their own: Gods Day, Parents Day, Childrens Day, the Day of All Things, and True Parents Birthday.
With more than one million members worldwide and a presence in over 150 countries, the UC (abbreviation for Unification Church) is one of, if not the largest cult groups in existence today. Although the members themselves do not consider their organization to be a cult, it is deemed one by many people referring to societys definition of the term. The Unification Church as a religion, more commonly called Moonism, is somewhat prominent and is very influential throughout the world. Many people, unknowingly, have in some way been affected by either a specific member of the group as a whole.
The underlying reason for this, aside from being such a large group, is the fact that the religion is also the wealthiest of all cult groups. Rev. Moon maintains ownership of some of the most esteemed businesses in subsistence. Included in the organizations oversufficiency of properties is/are: the New Yorker Hotel, the Tiffany Building, The Washington Times newspaper, the News World publication, 83 fishing and yachting boats in Virginia and Massachusetts, more than one thousand smaller enterprises in the U. S. alone, and a tremendous quantity of real estate holdings throughout the world.
To conduct business and to infiltrate into different groups, the Church is using at least 55 different front-names, or supplementary names used in place order to conceal information associated with a controversial group. The involvement with such economic activity has earned them the criticism of many informed individuals. It is these people that the religion is often referred to as the Religion of Big Business. It can be simple to see why society might view the movement as a cult due to the criticism it has received regarding its financial aggression, but adding to the reason is more reproach.
Another complaint made about the UC is that manipulation and deception are commonly used in recruitment methods. The Church makes it a main priority to procure new members. Recruitment takes place (when in the U. S. ) mainly on university campuses, but is also done on the street (in other countries more frequently). When occurring in schools, a free dinner or a free weekend is usually advertised in forms ranging from posters and flyers to personal invitations; although public invitations are becoming scarcities while personal solicitations are increasingly common.
The recruiters prefer now, to personally solicit the meetings because they can in this way choose who may be more likely to accept the teachings; whereas publicly announcing the gatherings could draw unpredictable/unwanted individuals. This is important to the leaders since the methods of recruitment are completely dependent upon peer pressure. To ensure acceptance to the invitations, the members do not include any reference to religion or to their specific group.
Instead, they only tell people about a great opportunity, and if any more information is requested, they will deter from giving any negative lore, or facts that might register negatively with the potential member. This is the first of many instances in which deception is used to entice people. Upon arrival of the recruits, there are already many current members there who have been trained in the most effective ways to make the religion appeal to people. The moonies (a term referring to members of the UC) greet the newcomers very graciously, in accordance with a method they are taught called love bombing.
This love bombing creates a feeling of belonging and creates bonds for the potential members. In this way, a good first impression is formed and the recruits decide that they like it. Specifically, this appeals mostly to people who lack a sense of belonging and who are looking for acceptance; and these are the people purposely being recruited by the moonies. Toward the end of the evening, a message is taught, revealing why the recruits have been brought here, and by this point, most of the people have already decided to stay.
The messages continue for the weekend, including more and more actual information about the group in each service. Finally, the weekend of fellowship and teaching concludes with a final service in which the guests are given the opportunity to make a commitment to follow Rev. Moon and his teachings. The recruits who have stayed to this point are very unlikely to decline the offer, as most/all of the other guests are making the commitment. This is in fact however, one more form of deception.
Some recruits are not recruits at all, but are seasoned moonies playing the role of a model guest with the purpose pressuring the others to conform. After making commitments, the new members are required to attend more workshops with the same atmosphere, where they can continue to learn about Rev. Moons teachings, and the purpose for their own lives. These seminars last for weeks and have the purpose of indoctrinating the teachings of the church into the new members mind. They are encouraged to show complete devotion to the UC by contributing to the group as much as they can.
As full-time moonies, the members are expected to: offer all possessions to the church, become a full time cash raiser for the group, remain celibate, remove all doubts and criticisms or Moon, follow your local leader without question, be told when and who to marry, be told when to have sex with the spouse, be told when you can have children, Only step into rooms using the right foot first, only clean yourself with the left hand after using the bathroom, follow the rule that states a wife may only walk or stand on a husbands left side, donate up to 50 percent of your salary to the church (if you are a leader), and relocate to whichever location you are assigned to.
