Abstract
The authors consider critically the Annual International Conference of the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS) sponsored by S.M. Moon. Thirty eminent scientists who had endorsed ICUS responded to a personal letter. By analyzing their replies systematically, we identified their rationales in the face of anti-cult publicity. Our experiences represent a case history in the calculated misapplication of the principles of open expression, religious freedom, and the search for values.
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Former members (cf. Edwards, C.,Crazy for God. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1979; Wood, A.T.,Moonstruck. Morrow, 1979; Underwood, B., and Underwood, B.,Hostage to Heaven. New York, Potter, 1979) allege that the Unification Church uses deliberate deception and mind manipulation in its recruiting and training procedures. Two social scientists (Conway, F., and Siegelman, J.,Snapping. Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1978) charge that in cult conversion the individual suddenly loses his or her mental faculties to some form of external or automatic control, a process they have termed “snapping.”
Moon, Sun Myung,Master Speaks, January 30, 1973, as cited in “Investigation of Korean-American Relations.” Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1978, p. 322.
Cf.Science, 1976,194, p. 1254.
Horowitz, I.L., ed.,Science, Sin, and Scholarship. Cambridge, Mass., M.I.T. Press, 1978.
Investigation of Korean-American Relations. Report of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1978.
We are grateful to the thirty scholars who replied to the stimulus letter. Since we disguised our research intention in order to avoid the reactive problems that may occur with standardized questionnaires, we have omitted quotations. We have written to each correspondent explaining the circumstances and reporting the outcomes of the research. We also acknowledged aur personal bias. Finally, it should be noted here that the senior author did not attend ICUS.
International Cultural Foundation,What ICUS Is. New York, International Cultural Foundation Press, 1978.
Webb, E.J.; Campbell, D.T.; Schwartz, R.D.; and Sechrest, L.,Unobtrusive Measures: Nonreactive Research in the Social Sciences. Chicago, Rand-McNally, 1966.
Allport, G.,The Use of Personal Documents in Psychological Science. New York, Social Science Research Council, 1942.
The Unification Church is apparently financed through international commerical enterprises, mobile fund raising teams, and perhaps the government of South Korea. Cf. Bromley, D.G., Shupe, A.D., “Moonies” in America. Beverly Hills, California, Sage, 1979.
Kerlinger, F.N.,Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.
We acknowledge and appreciate the assistance in coding of Marjorie W. Dole and Linda Dubrow Eichel.
According to Bromley and Shupe(op. cit.). Beverly Hills, California, Sage, 1979. pp. 150–157, in his quest for visibility and legitimacy, Moon has participated in lavish speaking tours, sponsored free banquets for dignitaries, and solicited and received official letters from 26 governors and 178 top city executives.
Aronson, E.; Turner, J.; and Carlsmith, J., “Communicator Credibility and Communication Discrepancy,”J Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1963, 59, 177–181.
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Dole, A.A., Dubrow Eichel, S.K. Moon over academe. J Relig Health 20, 35–40 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533285
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533285