In the past Reverend Moon and his movement were persecuted worldwide. Why?
The activities of the Unification movement have made their impact on almost every area of culture: science, philosophy, religion, media, medicine, social service, etc. As a result of this and of the rapid growth of the movement, the movement went through a period of persecution worldwide, similar to what other new religious leaders and movements have faced in the past- the new was seen to be strange and threatening.. History shows that persecution is the normal course for new religious leaders. Jesus, for example was condemned as a “blasphemer” by the religious leaders of his time. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote “There is a group, hated for their abominations, called Christians”. Reverend Moon does not regard persecution as a negative- true religious movements prosper and flourish under persecution.
