Unification Church of the United States Unification Church of the United States The Unification Church of the United States, sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Moonies", is a new religious movement in the United States of America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s when missionaries from Japan and South Korea were sent to the United States by the international Unification Church's founder and leader Sun Myung Moon. It expanded in the 1970s and then became involved in controversy due to its theology, its political activism, and the lifestyle of its members. Since then it has been involved in many areas of American society and has
World Mission Society Church of God authoritarian groups, and director of the Cult Education Institute -- describes the WMSCOG as "a very intense group... similar to the [[Unification Church]] [of] [[Sun Myung Moon]] -- the "[[Moonies]]" -- comparing WMSCOG indoctrination methods to those of the Unification Church (which, like WMSCOG, originated in Korea). Ross says that the WMSCOG has driven members into "bankruptcies because of excessive donations," and says some have lost their jobs to "excessive demands" of the group and associated "sleep deprivation.” Ross says that members often are sent to group housing and shared apartments -- becoming isolated and alienated from family and friends,