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![]() More than 1,000 couples participate in a Unification Church mass wedding in the Philippines in 1996. My Take: Moon’s death marks end of an eraEditor’s note: Eileen Barker is professor emeritus of sociology of religion at the London School of Economics. By Eileen Barker, Special to CNN With the death of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon at 92, we see the end of an era. Moon was the last surviving charismatic leader of the wave of movements that spread throughout California and the rest of the West in the 1970s and ’80s - other examples included L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology, David Berg’s Children of God and Prabhupada’s Hare Krishna movement. In the case of Moon’s Unification Church, hordes of young, well-educated hippies left college and their comfortable middle-class homes to work up to 18 hours a day on the streets, selling flowers or candy and urging others to follow a Korean who declared that he was the messiah. ![]() Moon speaks during a meeting with 2,500 clergy in Washington on April 16, 2001. He was on a national unity tour. Rev. Moon, religious and political leader, dies in South Korea at 92By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) - The Rev. Sun Myung Moon - founder of the Unification Church, which gained fame worldwide decades ago for its mass weddings, as well as the Washington Times - died early Monday in South Korea, the church said. The Universal Peace Federation said on its website that Moon died early Monday morning of complications related to pneumonia. He was 92. "Our True Father passed into the spiritual world at 1:54 AM Monday, September 3rd, Korea time," a message on a Unification Church English-language website said. The Washington Times, one of several publications that Moon founded, similarly reported Moon's death. ![]() Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is shown here on July 22. He is now in intensive care, a spokesman says. Spokesman: Unification Church founder hospitalized with pneumoniaBy K.J. Kwon, CNN Doctors put the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 92, in intensive care Tuesday, where he is breathing through a respirator, the church spokesman said. Moon felt ill suddenly and was hospitalized in Seoul in "grave condition." His doctor has given him only a 50% chance of survival, spokesman Ahn Ho-yeol said. FULL STORY |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team. ![]() ![]() |
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