Unification movement Unification movement The Unification movement or Unificationism, also called the Unification Church (UC), is a worldwide new religious movement. Its members are colloquially called "Moonies". It was officially founded under the name Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) in Seoul, South Korea, in 1954, by Sun Myung Moon, a Korean religious leader also known for his business ventures and engagement in social and political causes. In 1994 the HSA-UWC was replaced by Moon with a new organization, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU). The movement is spiritually-based and includes a number of legally
Sun Myung Moon children. Moon's family followed Confucianist beliefs until he was around 10 years old, when they converted to Christianity and joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1941, Moon began studying electrical engineering at Waseda University in Japan. During this time he cooperated with Communist Party members in the Korean independence movement against Imperial Japan. In 1943, he returned to Seoul and married Sun Kil Choi on 28 April 1945. On 2 April 1946 their son, Sung Jin Moon was born. In the 1940s, Moon attended a church in Sangdo dong that was led by the messianic minister Baek Moon Kim, who claimed