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Church will
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gradually come down or drastically come down and die. Many people will die--
those who go against our movement."(246)
Moon based his movement on a church because it provides the greatest
opportunity for reaching his goals. A UC publication discussed a change in
the American organization's name from 'United Family" to "Unification
Church," noting that "The reason for the change is that we must ultimately
have our effect on the institutions of society." (247) It is important to Moon's
strategy to have his movement recognized as a religious one. An ex-UC
member stated:
"The teachings of Sun Myung Moon were often referred to by other members
as an "ideology" that would change the political systems of the world. It was
made clear to me that so long as the church-related aspects of the group were
emphasized, Moon's followers would be in a protected position as far as first
amendment religious freedom was concerned, and be able to take advantage of
tax laws as well."
(248)
Components of the Moon Organization
The evolution of the Moon Organization has been in keeping with the
worldwide goals expressed by its head. Initially, it consisted of the "Holy Spirit
Association for the Unification of World Christianity," the precursor of the
Unification Church.(249) This was followed by cultural, political, and economic
organizations, each of which in turn was able to spawn its own, separately
named projects, committees, and substructures.
(250)
In many cases, the ties of
the subordinate organizations to the UC were carefully hidden.
For the sake of analysis, these groups can be viewed as falling into one of
three categories. The first are those whose major function is to attract new
members to the UC, though their relationship with the UC may be hidden. CARP
(Collegiate Association for the Research into Principles); Creative Community
Project (formerly known as New Education Development Systems, Inc. and the
International Re-Education Foundation); the Center for Ethical Management and
Planning; and the One World Crusade are among them.
A second category consists of groups which focus on the secular goals of
Moon and the UC. Examples are the International Cultural Foundation, which has
sponsored annual international science conferences on the "unification" of
science; the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation; and the Freedom
Leadership Foundation.
The final category includes economic enterprises, ranging from multi-million
dollar industries to small retail stores.
The origin and activities of the major components of the Moon Organization
are described below.
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