List of Unification Church people

This page is a list of prominent members and supporters, as well as some former members of the Unification Church, founded and led by Sun Myung Moon.

Moon family

The family of Rev. Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han are known as the "True Family". Rev. and Mrs. Moon are known as "True Father" and "True Mother" within the church, and collectively as the "True Parents." Their children are known as the "True Children."

• Rev. Sun Myung Moon - founder and leader of the Unification Church.^[1]
• Mrs. Hak Ja Han - founder's wife and current leader of the Unification Church. They were married in 1960.^[1]
• Sung Jin Moon (1946-), Moon's son with his first wife, Sun Kil Choi.
• Heung Jin Moon (1966-1984) second son, died in auto accident, believed by church members to be leading workshops in the spiritual world in which spirits of deceased persons are taught Unification Church teachings.^[2]
• Hyung Jin Moon - president of international Unification Church,^[3] studied theology at Harvard University^[4]
• In Jin Moon second daughter, president of the Unification Church of the United States until August 2012.^[5][6][7]
• Julia Moon - widow (posthumous wedding) of Heung Jin Moon. Born Hoon Sook Pak, oldest daughter of long time major leader and key aide Bo Hi Pak. Former prima ballerina and General Director of Universal Ballet, South Korea.^[8]
• Moon Kook-jin - fourth son; also known as Justin Moon. Businessman and firearms designer. Owns and operates Kahr Arms, a U.S. small arms manufacturer,^[9] chairman of Tongil Group, a South Korean chaebol associated with the Unification Church.^[10][11]

Unification Church members

• Ek Nath Dhakal, Nepalese politician.^[12]
• Mose Durst - president of the Unification Church of the United States in the 1980s, author, educator.^[13]
• Hyo Won Eu (1914 – July 24, 1970) helped Moon write Divine Principle, served as church president
• Dan Fefferman - executive director of the International Coalition for Religious Freedom.^[14]
• Nansook Hong - ex-wife of Hyo Jin Moon. Author of book about her experiences, In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family.^[15][16]
• Frank Kaufmann - comparative religion scholar; editor of journal Dialogue and Alliance; IRFWP director^[17]
• Young Oon Kim (1914-1989) was a leading theologian of the Unification Church and its first missionary to the United States.^[18]
• Chung Hwan Kwak - Unification Church leader; chairman and president of United Press International and of News World Communications, Inc.; leader of many other Unification-affiliated organizations.^[19]
• Tom McDevitt - President of the The Washington Times,^[20] from 2007 to 2009.^[21] Unification Church spokesperson,^[22] and pastor of the Unification Church in the Washington, D.C. region.,^[23]
• Bo Hi Pak - Unification Church leader; founding chairman and president of The Washington Times; main translator (during the 70s and 80s) for Rev. Moon's speeches given to English speaking audiences. Author of Messiah, a biography of Sun Myung Moon.^[24][25]
• Junko Sakurada (桜田 淳子) - singer and actress.^[26][27]
• Neil Albert Salonen - former president of the Unification Church of the United States, now president of the University of Bridgeport.^[28]
• Lee Shapiro (1949–1987) - Documentary filmmaker, died while filming in Afghanistan in 1987, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.^[29]
• Kevin Thompson - pastor of the Bay Area Family Church, a Unification Church congregation located in San Leandro, California.^[30]
• Jonathan Wells - author of Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? and senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.^[31]
• Andrew Wilson - professor at Unification Theological Seminary; editor of World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts.^[16]

Former members

• Michael Breen - British author and journalist
• Richard A. Cohen - advocate of conversion therapy, author of Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing.^[32]
• Christopher Edwards - author of Crazy for God, which told of his experiences as a church member.^[33]
• Tim Folzenlogen - contemporary realist painter and philosopher^[34][35]
• Stephen Gough - British activist, known as "The Naked Rambler." ^[36]
• Steven Hassan - mental health counselor and author of Combatting Cult Mind Control, Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, and Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs.^[37]
• Patrick Hickey - Nevada state legislator and author of Tahoe Boy: A Journey Back Home, his autobiography which told of his experiences as a church leader and of his marriage to a Korean woman introduced to him by Moon himself.^[38]
• Josette Sheeran - Vice Chairman of the World Economic Forum, formerly Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme and journalist and editor of The Washington Times.^[39]

Supporters

These are some people well known for their support of the Unification Church.

• Ralph Abernathy, minister, civil rights leader, served as vice president of the Unification Church-affiliated group American Freedom Coalition,^[40][41] and served on two Unification Church boards of directors.^[42]
• Neil Bush, businessman, son of United States president George H. W. Bush and brother of president George W. Bush, promoted Moon at events in Asia and the United States.^[43][44]
• Danny K. Davis, United States congressman co-sponsored a 2004 ceremony in which Moon was crowned the "King of Peace."^[45]
• Louis Farrakhan, the leader of The Nation of Islam, an African American Islamic organization, served as a "co-officiator" at a Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church.^[46] In 2000 the Unification Church co-sponsored the Million Family March, a rally in Washington D.C to celebrate family unity and racial and religious harmony, along with the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan was the main speaker at the event.^[47]
• Morton Kaplan, author and University of Chicago professor of political science. Editor of Unification Church owned The World & I magazine and organizer of church sponsored conferences.^[48]
• Douglas MacArthur II, American diplomat. Chairman of the World Media Association and member of the editorial advisory board of the Washington Times.^[49]
• Emmanuel Milingo, now excommunicated Roman Catholic archbishop, married by Moon in 2001 to Unification Church member and supporter of Unification Church projects.^[50][51]
• Richard L. Rubenstein, author and educator. Appointed by Moon as president of the University of Bridgeport.^[52]
• Ryoichi Sasakawa, Japanese businessman and philanthropist. Supported Moon’s anti-communist work in Asia.^[53][54]
• Ninian Smart (1927 – 2001), Scottish author and professor at University of Lancaster and University of California at Santa Barbara. President of the American Academy of Religion. Supported the Inter Religious Federation for World Peace, the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences and other Unification Church affiliated projects.^[55]
• George Augustus Stallings, Jr., former Roman Catholic priest. Organized Washington D.C. coronation of Moon. Married by Moon.^[45]
• Peter Tapsell, former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. In 2006, he sponsored the Unification Church organization Universal Peace Federation in New Zealand and spoke at a rally with Mrs. Moon.^[56]

References

1. Neusner, Jacob (2009). World Religions in America: An Introduction. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 19. ISBN 0-664-23320-1.
2. "From the Unification Church to the Unification Movement, 1994-1999: Five Years of Dramatic Changes" by Massimo Introvigne, a condensed version of material in The Unification Church, in the series "Studies in Contemporary Religion", Signature Books.
3. Sons Rise in a Moon Shadow, Forbes, April 12, 2010
4. Landau, Christopher (October 8, 2009). "'Moonies' mull future without founder". BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
5. Unification Church Woos A Second Generation, National Public Radio, June 23, 2010
6. Shapira, Ian; Michelle Boorstein (November 23, 2009). "Church disunity, recession worry Moon followers and operations". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
7. Belz, Emily (November 19, 2009). "Not so unified". World Magazine (www.worldmag.com). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
8. Dunning, Jennifer (April 14, 1998). "A Korean Dance Troupe With a Russian Look". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
9. Telegram & Gazette staff (April 11, 2000). "Neighbors target gunmaker". Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts).
10. Kim, Hyung-eun (April 12, 2010). "Business engine of a global faith". Joong Ang Daily.
11. Kirk, Donald (May 2, 2010). "Sons rise in a Moon’s shadow". Forbes.
12. Nepal: The Peace Tour Visit
13. Tucker, Ruth A. (2004). Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement. Zondervan. p. 258. ISBN 0-310-25937-1.
14. Yamamoto, J. Isamu; Dr Alan W Gomes (1995). Unification Church. Zondervan. p. 22. ISBN 0-310-70381-6.
15. Hong, Nansook. (1998). In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. (ISBN 0-316-34816-3)
16. Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press, US. pp. 45–46. ISBN 0-19-515683-8.
17. Briggs, Ed (November 3, 1992). "Specialist urges religious leaders to work together". Richmond Times (Richmond, Virginia). p. B-5.
18. J. Isamu Yamamoto, 1974, Unification Church: Zondervan guide to cults & religious movements, Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-70381-6 pages 8 and 22
19. Isikoff, Michael (March 30, 1998). "Theological Uproar in Unification Church;Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean as His Reincarnated Son". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). p. A1.
20. The Washington Times, Hunting For a Bionic Editor in Chief
21. Three top executives ousted by Washington Times, Frank Ahrens and Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, November 10, 2009
22. Fisher, Marc; Jeff Leen (November 23, 1997). "A Church in Flux Is Flush With Cash". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). p. A1. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
23. Toalston, Art (April 19, 1985). "The Unification Church Aims a Major Public Relations Effort at Christian Leaders". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
24. Messiah
25. Enroth, Ronald M. (2005). A Guide To New Religious Movements. InterVarsity Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-8308-2381-6.
26. West, Mark D. (2007). Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle: The Rules of Scandal in Japan and the United States. University Of Chicago Press. pp. 169, 188. ISBN 0-226-89408-8.
27. Stokes, Alan (February 8, 1999). "One missing from Moonstruck mass". The Australian (New South Wales, Australia: News Limited).
28. Cummings, Judith (July 2, 1977). "51 Are in First Class to Graduate From Seminary of the Moon Sect". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). p. 14.
29. Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne (2005). Blood on the Border. South End Press. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0-89608-741-7.
30. Montagne, Renee (February 13, 2007). "Prosecutors Net Leopard-Shark Smugglers". Morning Edition (National Public Radio). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
31. Shermer, Michael (2006). Why Darwin Matters. Times Books. p. 110. ISBN 0-8050-8121-6.
32. Boodman, Sandra G. (August 16, 2005). "A conversion therapist's unusual odyssey". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). p. HE04. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
33. Madsen, Douglas; Peter G. Snow (1991). The Charismatic Bond: Political Behavior in Time of Crisis. Harvard University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-674-10987-2.
34. Tim Folzen.com
35. McCarty, Mary (April 1991). "The Mouth: Portrait of the artist as a smug man". Cincinnati Magazine. p. 89.
36. Review: The Naked Rambler, Digital Journal, January 22, 2014
37. Hickey, Eric W. (2003). Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime. SAGE Publications. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-7619-2437-1.
38. Vogel, Ed (January 17, 2010). "Hickey back in Assembly after 14-year hiatus". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
39. Lynch, Colum (November 8, 2006). "State Department Official Picked to Run U.N. Food Program". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). Retrieved 2009-12-11.
40. Leigh, Andrew (October 15, 1989). "Inside Moon's Washington - The private side of public relations improving the image, looking for clout". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). p. B1.
41. Nix, Shann (August 10, 1989). "Church seeks new image". San Francisco Chronicle. p. B3.
42. "Unification Church funnels millions to U.S. conservatives". The Dallas Morning News (The Dallas Morning News Company). December 20, 1987. p. 4A. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
43. :: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::
44. WTimes, Bushes Hail Rev. Moon, Robert Parry, 10-2-2009
45. Babington, Charles; Alan Cooperman (June 23, 2004). "The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception - Lawmakers Say They Were Misled". Washington Post: A01.
46. From the Unification Church to the Unification Movement, 1994-1999: Five Years of Dramatic Changes Massimo Introvigne, Center for Studies on New Religions "The ceremony in Washington, D.C., included six "co-officiators" from other faiths, including controversial minister Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam. The Blessing ceremony in Seoul on February 7, 1999 also featured seven co-officiators including Orthodox Rabbi Virgil Kranz (Chairman of the American Jewish Assembly), controversial Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and the General Superintendent of the Church of God in Christ (a large African American Pentecostal denomination), Rev. T.L. Barrett."
47. Families Arrive in Washington For March Called by Farrakhan, New York Times, October 16, 2000
48. Church Spends Millions On Its Image Washington Post. 1984-09-17
49. Church Spends Millions On Its Image, Washington Post, 1984-09-17.
50. Archbishop rejects Vatican ultimatum
51. The archbishop's wife speaks for herself National Catholic Reporter August 31, 2001
52. U. of Bridgeport Honors Rev. Moon, Fiscal Savior, New York Times, September 8, 1995
53. The Resurrection Of Reverend Moon PBS, Frontline, January 21, 1992
54. Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes, New York Times, January 21, 1992
55. Prophets and protons: new religious movements and science in late twentieth-century America, Benjamin E. Zeller, NYU Press, page 22
56. Dearnaley, Mathew (14 August 2006). "Moonies show way to peace, says Tapsell". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2010.