''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'' is a nonfiction book about the

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or " Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Sp ...

and its founder and leader,

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Un ...

. It was written by

Frederick Sontag Frederick Earl Sontag (October 2, 1924 – June 14, 2009Professor Fred Sont ...

, a professor of philosophy at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

and a minister in the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

.,Frederick E. Sontag dies at 84; Pomona College philosophy professor
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', June 20, 2009 and published by

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

in 1977. Sontag spent 10 months visiting church members in North America, Europe, and Asia as well as interviewing Moon at his home in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

. The book also provides an overview of Unification Church beliefs.Who is this Pied Piper of Religion?
'' St. Petersburg Times'', February 4, 1978 In an interview with

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

Sontag compared the Unification Church (founded in 1954) with

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and said that he expected its practices to conform more to mainstream American society as its members become more mature. He added that he did not want to be considered an

apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

for the church but a close look at its

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

is important: "They raise some incredibly interesting issues."Moon: an objective look at his theology
''

Boca Raton News The ''Boca Raton News'', owned by the South Florida Media Company, was the local community newspaper of Boca Raton, Florida. The paper began publication December 2, 1955, with a startup circulation of 1200, published by Robert and Lora Britt, and ...

'', 1977-11-25

References

{{Unification Church Books on the Unification Church 1977 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Abingdon Press books