To the western world, mass weddings can seem a bit strange. Even still, it’s possible to gain an understanding of the principle behind them with a little background. The Unification Church, located in South Korea, strongly believes in a purified humanity through a blessed marriage. It is through this blessing, the Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony, that they wish to reverse the fall of man and in turn be connected again to God with a purified and sinless lineage to come. Sounds complicated but keep reading. Founded by the late Sun Myung Moon and wife Hak Ja Han, the Moonie mass weddings are intended to eradicate sinful desires, and have children born into the world without original sin. The idea here is that basing a marriage on the search for love and/or lust provides too many avenues for mistakes and emotional error. Through the belief that many of the wars and problems of the Earth ultimately stem from impure or bad marriages, the Unification Church works to shut out self desire completely by arranging couples for marriage and keeping them involved in the faith. This again plays off the idea that our emotions and ego tend to go after what we want, not necessarily what is best.
What’s The Point?
The Moonie mass weddings are intended to arrange marriages that are not only the best fit for the couple, but for the future of humanity. The belief is that when we are able to pick and choose who to be with for the rest of our lives, sometimes our own intentions and self desires blind us from making the best choices, resulting in unhappy marriages, divorces, and a plethora of problems. However, when one decides to be a part of the Moonie mass weddings, it is up to the Church to decide on spouses; laying a common ground for the couple through faith. It’s a simple concept: without sexual or personal desire, the marriage is founded upon selflessness and faith, eliminating any chance for sin to step in. The Unification Church does not believe that any one religion is right or wrong and refuses to point fingers, because humanity serves the same God (aside from ceremonial practices and man-made religious systems). In a world of materialism and personal attainment through desire and passion, this idea may sound completely absurd. It’s understandable because this is a path intentionally opposing the modern western world. The belief is that the western world lives through the blindfolds of entertainment media. Placing a premium on superficial appearance and personality, the western world is led by what the eyes can see; accepting only the most beautiful appearing person and forgetting what it’s like to truly connect with someone. Through the Unification Church, the common connection is faith and love for God, resulting in some of the happiest marriages and successful families. Among having the lowest divorce rates, the entire society is conditioned away from sexual immorality, profanity, selfish behavior, and all sins of self interest.
Improving Humanity
The main truth about Moonie mass weddings is that their focus is on improving humanity. Those that choose to take part are willingly buying into this concept and putting faith into their ability to build a life with someone that shares that goal. Love, then, is something that grows between them and something that they learn to work at. It may be hard to throw away the “want what I want” attitude, but the truth is that it all stems from materialism. Their goal is to set aside personal desires and passions and learn to love the right way, thereby making a better place to live.