What It Really Means To Be A Unificationist
…but what does that mean?
The official legal name is the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), but that’s a bit long to put on a name tag, so you can call us “Unificationist”. Founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in Korea in 1954, the unification philosophy has spread to many countries all over the world. We have often received public attention, but there is a lot you might not know about the people behind those news stories.
Unificationists aspire to live their lives according to certain divine principles, but you don’t have to be a Unificationist to understand them, they are universal truths that anyone can practice. In fact, you probably already practice some of these principles and didn’t even know it!
Living for the Sake of Others
There is always someone willing to pitch in at one of our parties! We are taught from an early age that the way to bring about peace in the world is to practice the act of service. Along with volunteering to do the dishes, we are often engaged in service projects, charity events and conferences dealing with social issues. Thinking of others beyond oneself is seen as one of the truest expressions of faith.
Basically, we all kind of want to save the world. Most often though, “living for the sake of others” is something we can practice on a day-to-day basis; whether it be random acts of kindness, offering someone our seat on the bus, or taking the time to help our kids with their homework. Whenever we put someone else’s needs before our own, we are making a better world one small step at a time!
One Family Under God
Every day is like a family reunion. No matter what race, religion or nationality, we are all children of the same Heavenly Parent. To a Unificationist, everyone is a “brother” or “sister”, or “aunt” or “uncle”; it’s one big family affair!
These extra relatives come in handy for all kinds of things; people to help and support us through tough times, people to celebrate and uplift us in the good times, and a global network of extended families is especially helpful when travelling! If a kid from New York needs a place to stay in Madrid, chances are that he or she will find a Unificationist family ready to open its doors and give a tour of the city.
Unity
It’s part of our name, after all! One of the main goals of the community has always been to bring about a world of peace by uniting religions, nations and peoples. Many Unificationists take part in organizations that seek to end religious, cultural and political conflict. Since we’re all part of the same family, it makes sense to tackle the things that divide us.
In order to bring about unity in the world though, we must first work on ourselves. It’s no easy task to unite our body with our mind when trying to drag ourselves to the gym; it’s often difficult to have harmony in our own relationships, let alone between warring nations! The daily practice of unity is something we can all aspire to. We’ll need to pull ourselves together if we hope to take on the problems of the world!
Although we come from many different backgrounds, we are united by these and many other principles exemplified by the life and teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon. We support each other’s unique talents and gifts to bring joy to others, and when we use those things to make a difference in the world, large or small, we are truly living a Divine Principle inspired life.
To learn more about us, check out some fun facts about how we name our babies or fun facts on how we are all a little bit Korean. You can even try a fun quiz to see how much Divine Principle is already working in your life.