January 6, 1920 - Sun Myung Moon
The Unification Church he built became one of the most scrutinized new religious movements of the twentieth century, attracting both devoted followers by the millions and persistent allegations of coercive recruitment, financial exploitation, and authoritarian control over members' personal lives. His organization accumulated vast business holdings and exerted influence across conservative political networks in the United States, South Korea, and beyond — complicating any straightforward categorization of his legacy as purely religious.
From Wikipedia
Sun Myung Moon (Korean: 문선명; Hanja: 文鮮明; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, whose members, popularly known as "Moonies", consider him and his wife, Hak Ja Han, to be their "True Parents". The church is widely noted for its "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies.
Moon was the author of his Unification Church's religious scripture, Divine Principle, and was an anti-communist as well as an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.
Moon was born in what is now North Korea. When he was a child, his family converted to Christianity. In the 1940s and 1950s, he was imprisoned multiple times by the North and South Korean governments during his early new religious ministries, formally founding the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, simply known as the Unification Church, in Seoul, South Korea, in 1954.
- Last updated on .