The Second Generation from Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Movement and Their Multiple Cohorts

Authors

  • Nicholas Chiaia Independent Scholar / General Counsel for UCI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.32005

Keywords:

Unification Church Movement, Sun Myung Moon, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, religious freedom, Shinzo Abe assassination

Abstract

This study updates explanations about the late Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon’s (“Reverend Moon”) Unification Movement, a new religious movement he founded in 1954. The Unification Movement substantively fragmented, beginning in 2008 following the founder’s age-related mental and physical decline. This study principally focuses on the Unification Movement Second Generation, and it provides critical detail about the Movement’s financial dimension and its impact on the Second Generation in Japan. It also differentiates Unification Movement Second Generation into three cohorts: the pre-hometown nursery cohort, the Japanese cohort, and the hometown cohort, noting the varying sociological outcomes of each of these three distinct groups. 

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Published

2025-05-23

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Chiaia, N. (2025). The Second Generation from Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Movement and Their Multiple Cohorts. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 13(2), 220–248. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.32005