Moon “had a lot of sexual relationships which were described as being part of some kind of religious, spiritual ritual.” – Eileen Barker
Eileen Barker, right, has studied the Sun Myung Moon organization for over 40 years. She is shown here at the CESNUR Conference on the UM, 2017.
“It is said, and there seems to be a lot of evidence for this, that in the early days [Moon] had a lot of sexual relationships which were described as being part of some kind of religious, spiritual ritual. We are hearing stories over and over again about this. ... the allegations from a lot of women and people, men as well as early followers, does seem to be pretty enormous. It is just not one person who has been making these claims.”
Professor Eileen Barker in a radio programme about the Unification Church.
BBC Radio 4 ‘Beyond Belief’ Monday January 7th 2013 LINK
The presenter was Ernie Rea:
“Joining me to discuss the Unification Church are Professor Eileen Barker, Director of INFORM, which is an information network focusing on New Religious Movements, George Chryssides, Honorary Research Fellow in Contemporary Religion at the University of Birmingham and Jack Corley, Director of the UK branch of the Unification Church.”
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In 1984 Professor Eileen Barker wrote:
“But the following year [1955] Moon was imprisoned again. The Unificationists say that this was on a trumped-up charge of draft evasion, but it has also been reported that he was charged with ‘injuring public morals’, or, according to another account, that ‘his indictment was initially draft dodging but was later changed to adultery and promiscuity.’ Similar rumours (which persist to this day in Korea)31 alleged that he was engaging in ritual sexual practices.
31 In conversations with scores of non-Unificationist Koreans the first information I have been given about the Unification Church has, in almost every instance, been that Moon engages (or has engaged) in immoral sexual practices with his followers.”
The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice?
by Professor Eileen Barker pages 42 and 265
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Professor Eileen Barker quoted Choi Syn-duk
“In July, 1955, several senior members and four leaders as well as Mr. Moon were imprisoned under an accusation of injuring public morals.”
from Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society No. 43 (1967) pp101-113
Link to Choi’s 1967 article: Korea's Tong-il Movement
Choi Syn-duk (Ch’oe Sin-dok, 崔信德) [was] Associate Professor of Sociology at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. ... She was once an active member of the Tong-il church and was closely associated with Mun Son-myong.
(The Tong-il Movement is another name for the Unification Church.)