Letter on religion and politics
Rev. Michael Jenkins
MWJenk@FAMILYFED.ORG
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Dear Leaders and Blessed Central Families,
In the notes of Father's morning message of March 2, Father was quoted as
saying, "To unify Korea we must unify church and state. We must establish
a political party and then unify church and state."
This interpretation of Father's actual words give a very misleading
impression. In western political thought "unity of church and state"
conveys the idea of the establishment of an official state religion.
From Father's extensive commitment to dialogue and the development of
interreligious conferences on peace we see that his teaching always
emphasizes the Biblical theme of the prophet "advising" the king.
He also teaches that the "prophetic" voice at this time is most clearly
heard when there is harmony of the world religions. As with a symphony,
every religion has its distinct character, integrity and unique
expression. However, when harmonized together on the "key" notes they
bring forth the most beautiful inspiration toward understanding and peace.
Rev. Moon's thought teaches that the essence of God is love for all races,
religions, peoples, nations and cultures and that His hope is that all
people realize true families that are blessed by God living in harmony
and peace on all levels. He teaches that a harmonized and cooperative
interreligious body can best communicate and advise the heads of state,
assemblies and congresses of the world concerning the realization of
such a world of peace based on the family.
Father also emphasizes in his teaching that the government should embody
godly values and policies as the natural expression of the religious
beliefs of its people. A better translation of Father's words would be
"we must harmonize religion and politics." In fact our translator, Mr.
Tim Elder, upon careful review, concluded that rendering the thought
conveyed on March 2 as the as "unity of Church and state." would have
better been expressed as the "Harmony between religion and politics".
Of course, Father opposes the strict "separation of church and state"
in the sense that he does not favor a completely secularized, amoral
society in which religion is removed from the public square. But by
no means does Father wish to "unite the church and state" in the sense
of making the Unification Church or any other faith an official state
religion. That's why he says the "interreligious" body should "advise"
the governmental bodies of the world.
Because the phrase "unite the church and state" can be so easily misused
by our opponents to create trouble for our movement, it is important
that the previous language be corrected on any public websites and that
members be advised about the need for caution in speaking of the concept
of the relation of religion and politics.
The context of a free relationship and cooperation between the religious
and political spheres is not narrow. Rev. Moon's teaching and practice
is consistent and clear. His respect for the absolute value of all
religious traditions and that they are all rooted in the same God is the
ground from which his idea of a better relationship between religious
and political leaders may be realized.
His concept of religious leaders advising and giving wise counsel
to political leaders is not a vision of one religion in control
but rather the spirit of the Lord working through the collective
consensus of all. The spirit of cooperation between religion and
politics is set forth quite well in Rev. Moon's address entitled,
"The Path to
World Peace in View of God's Will", given at the Interreligious and
International Federation for World Peace Assembly 2001, The Search for
Solutions to Critical Global Problems Global Violence: Crisis and Hope,
October 20, 2001, New York, NY.
He states as follows:
"Inter-religious reconciliation and cooperation is an essential
condition for world peace. I have campaigned tirelessly for interreligious
harmony and dialogue. I always have devoted a far greater proportion
of my funds for that purpose than for the growth and development of the
Unification Church. Its first requirement is that the religious people
sacrifice themselves, harmonize and cooperate with other religions. With
this they become capable of advising the political leaders.
Therefore, religious leaders and believers should be the guides
who lead people to peace. If religions only emphasize narrow-minded
denominationalism and fail to teach true love for God and the universe,
we will never free humankind from the horrors of war. In the face
of this global crisis, religious leaders have to practice true love,
humbly following God's Will, walking hand in hand beyond the boundaries
of their own religion.
The inner power of religion touches our hearts and can recreate us as
people of peace. It can cultivate our ability to practice self-control
from within. It can overcome historical hatreds and resentments among us.
This is the root from which arises true peace and stability.
If religions demonstrate love for each other, cooperate with each
other, and serve each other, putting the higher ideal of peace ahead of
particular doctrines, rituals and cultural backgrounds, the world will
change dramatically.
I once again emphasize the proper role of the United Nations in realizing
world peace. As a representative organization for world peace, the United
Nations has made many contributions. Last year, I presented my proposals
to solve the fundamental problems plaguing the planet Earth, given that
the world's circumstances have changed and the complex situations in
which nations find themselves today are unlike those at the time of the
United Nations' founding.
One of these proposals was to establish a special body (of religious
and political leaders) that would discuss and evaluate the religious,
spiritual and moral dimensions of world problems. The United Nations
must serve the world and God's ideal of creation effectively. To do so,
it must transcend the power of politics and national diplomacy, which
reflect the motives of nations seeking their own self-interest. Only
then can it truly protect the human rights of all peoples and nations
and build world peace.
This is not limited to the United Nations. Maintaining order in the
world and protecting public prosperity and peace will be difficult as
long as political sovereignty operates on the principle of national
self-interest and ignores or undermines moral and spiritual values.
What is required is that high-level leaders ground themselves spiritually
and morally upon God's ideal and govern according to universal
principles. No political power or earthly authority should stand above
God and the laws of Heaven."
This gives a better understanding of the concept that Father is putting
forward concerning the harmonization of religion and politics.
Sincerely,
Rev. Michael Jenkins
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