|
Politics are an integral part of the Unification Church's concerns and activities, although the church itself largely remains aloof from politics. The degree of involvement of the movement, as well as some of its specific stances, have also been part of the reason for the movement's controversial status over the years. The belief in the establishment of a literal Kingdom of God on earth and church founder Sun Myung Moon's teaching that religion alone is not enough to bring this about provides a motivation for political involvement.〔Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, ''Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and its Principles'', Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press ISBN 0-682-49264-7 p86-87〕 ==Cold War era== In the 1940s Moon cooperated with Communist Party members in the Korean independence movement against Imperial Japan. However, after the Korean War (1950–1953) he became an outspoken anti-communist. In 1964 Moon founded the Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation, a public diplomacy agency which promoted the interests of South Korea and sponsored Radio Free Asia. Former U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Richard Nixon were honorary presidents or directors at various times.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19761102&id=y6kzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yjgHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3422,903462 )〕 In 1972 Moon predicted the decline of communism, based on the teachings of the ''Divine Principle'': "After 7,000 biblical years — 6,000 years of restoration history plus the millennium, the time of completion — communism will fall in its 70th year. Here is the meaning of the year 1978. Communism, begun in 1917, could maintain itself approximately 60 years and reach its peak. So 1978 is the border line and afterward communism will decline; in the 70th year it will be altogether ruined. This is true. Therefore, now is the time for people who are studying communism to abandon it."〔(The Way of Restoration ), (April, 1972)〕 In 1973 he called for an "automatic theocracy" to replace communism and solve "every political and economic situation in every field."〔''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'', Frederick Sontag, Abingdon Press, Jan 1, 1977, page 122〕 In 1974, Moon asked church members in the United States to support President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal when Nixon was being pressured to resign his office. Church members prayed and fasted in support of Nixon for three days in front of the United States Capitol, under the motto: "Forgive, Love and Unite." On February 1, 1974 Nixon publicly thanked them for their support and officially received Moon. This brought the church into widespread public and media attention.〔Introvigne, Massimo, 2000, ''The Unification Church Studies in Contemporary Religion'', Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, ISBN 1-56085-145-7, (excerpt ) page 16〕 In 1976 church president Neil Albert Salonen met with Senator Bob Dole to defend the Unification Church against charges made by its critics, including parents of some members.〔(Dole meeting with Moon aide called cordial ), ''Lawrence Journal-World'', February 24, 1976〕 In 1976 Moon established News World Communications, an international news media conglomerate which publishes ''The Washington Times'' newspaper in Washington D.C. and newspapers in South Korea, Japan, and South America partly in order to promote political conservatism. According to the ''Washington Post'': "...the ''Times'' was established by Moon to combat communism and be a conservative alternative to what he perceived as the liberal bias of The Washington Post." Bo Hi Pak, called Moon's "right-hand man", was the founding president and the founding chairman of the board.〔Pak was founding president of the Washington Times Corporation (1982-1992), and founding chairman of the board. Bo Hi Pak, Appendix B: Brief Chronology of the Life of Dr. Bo Hi Pak, in ''Messiah: My Testimony to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Vol I'' by Bo Hi Pak (2000), Lanham, MD: University Press of America.〕 Moon asked Richard L. Rubenstein, a controversial rabbi and college professor who had written on the Holocaust, to join its board of directors.〔"Rabbi Joins the Board of Moonie Newspaper", ''The Palm Beach Post'', May 21, 1978〕 ''The Washington Times'' has often been noted for its generally pro-Israel editorial policies.〔(As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam? ), ''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', December 1997〕 In 2002, during the 20th anniversary party for the ''Times'', Moon said, "The ''Washington Times'' will become the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world." In 1977 the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations, of the United States House of Representatives, found that the South Korean intelligence agency, the KCIA, had used the Unification Church to gain political influence within the United States and that some Unification Church members had worked as volunteers in Congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Cultural Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization which acted as a public diplomacy campaign for the Republic of Korea.〔(Spiritual warfare: the politics of the Christian right ), Sara Diamond, 1989, Pluto Press, Page 58〕 The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the Unification Church's campaign in support of Nixon.〔(Ex-aide of Moon Faces Citation for Contempt ), Associated Press, ''Eugene Register-Guard'', August 5, 1977〕 In 1980 church members founded CAUSA International, an anti-communist educational organization based in New York City.〔"Moon's 'Cause' Takes Aim At Communism in Americas." ''The Washington Post''. August 28, 1983〕 In the 1980s it was active in 21 countries. In the United States it sponsored educational conferences for evangelical and fundamentalist Christian leaders 〔(Sun Myung Moon's Followers Recruit Christians to Assist in Battle Against Communism ) ''Christianity Today'' June 15, 1985〕 as well as seminars and conferences for Senate staffers, Hispanic Americans and conservative activists.〔(Church Spends Millions On Its Image ), ''Washington Post'', 1984-09-17. "Another church political arm, Causa International, which preaches a philosophy it calls "God-ism," has been spending millions of dollars on expense-paid seminars and conferences for Senate staffers, Hispanic Americans and conservative activists. It also has contributed $500,000 to finance an anticommunist lobbying campaign headed by John T. (Terry) Dolan, chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC)."〕 In 1986 it produced the anti-Communist documentary film ''Nicaragua Was Our Home''.〔(Public TV Tilts Toward Conservatives ), Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting "While conservatives dismiss Bill Moyers' world-class documentaries on our constitutional checks and balances as "propaganda," they never mention PBS's airing of unabashed right-wing agitprop films such as Nicaragua Was Our Home (the pro-contra film produced by Rev. Sun Myung Moon's CAUSA, which funded the contras after Congress' ban)..."〕 In 1980 church members in Washington, D.C. disrupted a protest rally against the United States military draft.〔(30,000 participate in anti-draft rally in Washington ), ''Daily Collegian'', March 24, 1980〕 In 1981 the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court ruled that the Unification Church was not entitled to property tax exemptions on its New York City properties since its primary purpose was political, not religious.〔(MOON'S SECT IS TAXABLE, COURT RULES ), New York Times, May 7, 1981〕 In 1982 this ruling was overturned by the New York State Supreme Court itself, which ruled that the church should be considered a religious organization for tax purposes.〔(N.Y. Upholds Tax Exemption for 'Moonies' ), Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1982〕 In 1983 some American church members joined a public protest against the Soviet Union over its shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007.〔() San Francisco Chronicle September 3, 1983 "For a second day, the Soviet Consulate in Pacific Heights was the scene of emotional protests against the shooting down of a Korean Air Lines jumbo jet. About 300 people held demonstration yesterday morning. Among them were members of the Unification Church, or "Moonies," whose founder is the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial South Korean who has melded a fierce anti-communism into his ideology. Eldridge Cleaver, the onetime black radical who recently has had ties with the Moonies, spoke at the rally. Many pickets carried signs accusing the Soviet Union of murdering the 269 passengers and crew aboard the airliner. In another development, San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli filed a $109 billion lawsuit against the Soviet Union on behalf of the 269 victims."〕 In 1984 the church founded the Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy, a Washington D.C. think tank that underwrites conservative-oriented research and seminars at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and other institutions.〔(Church Spends Millions On Its Image ), ''Washington Post'', 1984-09-17.〕 In the same year, church member Dan Fefferman founded the International Coalition for Religious Freedom in Virginia, which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to religious freedom by governmental agencies. In August 1985, seven years before the fall of Soviet Union, the Professors World Peace Academy, an organization founded by Moon, sponsored a conference in Geneva to debate the theme "The situation in the world after the fall of the communist empire."〔(Projections about a post-Soviet world-twenty-five years later. ) // Goliath Business News〕 In 1986 CAUSA International, a church supported anti-communist organization, sponsored the documentary film ''Nicaragua Was Our Home'' about the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua and their persecution at the hands of the Nicaraguan government. It was filmed and produced by church member Lee Shapiro, who later died while filming with anti-Soviet forces during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.〔(New York Times review. )〕〔(How to Read the Reagan Administration: The Miskito Case )〕〔(Public TV Tilts Toward Conservatives ), Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting〕〔(2 Americans Reported Killed In an Ambush in Afghanistan ) New York Times 1987-10-28〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Unification Church political activities」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|