The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification is a global federation of individuals and families who aim to create a world of peace and unity beyond national, cultural, religious and ideological barriers, a world where everyone may live together in peace and harmony.
In a nutshell
Name: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification
Founded: 1996
Founders: Rev. Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012) and Dr. Hak Ja Han
Teachings: Unificationism, a long series of revelations received by Sun Myung Moon. See: Brief about the Teachings of the Family Federation
Goal: The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. A harmonious world family, where everyone may experience peace, security, freedom and love.
Strategy: Unite all good forces
Distribution: Largest in South Korea and Japan, but found in most nations.
Background: The Family Federation took over many of the functions of the Unification Church and its basic teachings.
Frequently asked questions: See: Faq
Three ideals
As the name indicates, the Family Federation is based on three ideals – family, world peace, and unification.
- The family ideal. Most religions focus on the individual and its spirituality. The Family Federation teaches a broader concept of spirituality, where your relationships to your loved ones are of decisive importance for your eternal life. As God is the source of love, marriages blessed by God and families full of true love are the very foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven that God longs for. It is a love kingdom, and the family is a school of love.
- World peace. If there is love and peace in the home, there is hope that we may also create societies and nations with peace. The family is the fundamental social institution. If we can learn to love our fellow human beings on micro-level, in a family, we may also do so on macro-level, i.e. in the society around us and in the big world we live in. Well-functioning families are the very key to reducing crime, alcohol and drug abuse, the number of suicides and many other social problems.
- Unification. We talk about unification on all levels, from the individual to the global level. God is the source of unity, evil the source of division. Therefore, the goal of the Family Federation is to remove the barriers and create a world of unity, a social unity, such as that between husband and wife, between parents and children, different social groups, nations and religions, but also unity between the inner world and the outer, between mind and body, spirit and matter, religion and science.
The inauguration
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification was first founded in the USA 31st July 1996 by Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han, and in many European nations soon after that.
As co-founder, Mother Moon gave the inaugural address titled “View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation”, reading a prepared text. Father Moon spoke without a script at the closing banquet the following day, 1st August, at the Sheraton Washington Hotel. His speech was titled “In Search of the Origin of the Universe”.
Gerald Ford, U.S. President 1974-1977, spoke at the inauguration 31st July 1996. He said,
“While the world’s finest athletes test themselves in Atlanta, this gathering is sort of a spiritual Olympics. Like the Olympians, you have assembled from all over the world to further the cause of peace among nations.
But while those Olympians are dedicated to gold and glory, you in this room pursue other objectives. The glory you seek, comes from God, not gold.
If at times I sound a bit like an Old Testament prophet, it’s because there is nothing about which I feel more strongly, more deeply, than the survival and the strengthening of the family. No civilization that neglects the family, can be called civilized for long, and no political philosophy that takes the family for granted, will be taken seriously by anyone who values morality, compassion and peace.”
The chronicle “40 Years in America” describes the event,
“The movement’s most spectacular world convention was held in Washington, D.C. from July 30-August 1, 1996, inaugurating the Family Federation for World Peace (FFWP).
This event included a cast of luminaries rivaling anything the movement had yet undertaken: two former Presidents of the United States, Gerald Ford and George Bush; former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias of Costa Rica; former Prime Ministers Edward Heath of Great Britain and Brian Mulroney of Canada; thirty-six one-time heads of state or governments; university presidents including Boston University’s John Silber; Christian television personality Robert Schuller; Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed; Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Maureen Reagan, the daughter of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan; well-known comedian Bill Cosby; and Christian singer-actor Pat Boone. In addition, the main proceedings were covered live by C-SPAN television network. (p.443) […]
The establishment of the FFWP represented a new stage in the movement’s development. Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, who was appointed International President, maintained that the FFWP was more important than the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) or Unification Church. HSA-UWC, he noted, was “not True Parents’ ultimate organization”.
The rationale for this assertion was connected to the historic shift that underlay the emergence of the Completed Testament Age. As noted previously, Rev. Kwak explained,
‘Religious organizations have always been centered upon the salvation of the individual, but we have now progressed to the salvation of the family. […] Such an organization is not a church; it is the Family Federation for World Peace.’
Given this understanding, it wasn’t surprising that the FFWP rather than the Unification Church was the main sponsor of the World Culture and Sports Festivals and International Marriage Blessings after 1996.” (p.444) (From the section “Federations for World Peace and Unification”, in “40 Years in America – 1959-1999 – An Intimate History of the Unification Movement”, by Michael Inglis and Michael L. Mickler, published by HSA Publications Oct. 2000, 624 pages.)
The Family Federation was launched on the foundation of the Unification Church, a spiritual movement founded in South Korea in 1954. The original intention was neither to establish a church nor a new religion.
The Family Federation took over many of the activities and tasks of the Unification Church and the same basic teachings, but has a pronounced goal of creating a world of peace and unity based on well-functioning families.
More about the Family Federation
Text: Knut Holdhus
