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Line 1: − All kinds of crazy things are attributed to Unification Church practices, but I was mostly curious how their marriages work. I've seen footage of mass weddings and heard rumors that marriages are or were arranged in Unification church congregations. I'm curious of your opinion/insight on how this works, and whether this is common practice or a rarity that gets heavily publicized. − Line 20:
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Marriage in the Unification Church (view source)
Revision as of 11:52, November 14, 2008
, 11:52, November 14, 2008a bit more about matching the couples
'''Marriage in the Unification Church''' works the same way as marriage in every other religion or culture. A man and a woman consecrate their relationship to God, and live together. They love each other, have sexual relations only with each other, and they raise their children to love God and to refrain from sexual relations until marriage.
'''Marriage in the Unification Church''' works the same way as marriage in every other religion or culture. A man and a woman consecrate their relationship to God, and live together. They love each other, have sexual relations only with each other, and they raise their children to love God and to refrain from sexual relations until marriage.
All people are called to be patriots and saints on the way to becoming children of God. Dedicating one's marriage to the family, nation and world is seen as the express route to saintly joy.
All people are called to be patriots and saints on the way to becoming children of God. Dedicating one's marriage to the family, nation and world is seen as the express route to saintly joy.
When the church was just getting started in Korea, Rev. Moon knew each member personally and prayed long hours while considering which were the best matches. Being able to see into the spiritual world, he could see their ancestry and thus determine who ought to go with whom; even as a child in his village he had the reputation as a shrewd matchmaker. In the US, members would gather in large rooms and Rev. Moon would look at them or talk with them briefly, mostly relying on [[discernment of spirits]] to make his choices.
Of course, members are free to refuse a match. In that case, Rev. Moon often has offered an alternative match.
When international membership exceeded 10,000 members it became impractical to conduct matching ceremonies, so Father Moon began using pictures attached to application forms. He still used his talent of spiritual discernment to arrange the matches. Reportedly, the process can take as little as a few seconds per couple. It's not just him: he has help from God and his angels, of course. Sometimes church elders even make specific suggestions.
For the second generation of church members, that is, sons and daughters of Blessed members, the parents do the arranging.