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Y. Yun: Address to Summit 2022, Session V
Written by Dr. Yun Young-ho, Director-General, UPF International
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
First of all, I would like to thank Secretary Michael Pompeo and also Pastor Paula White, whom I deeply respect. I would like to also thank Speaker Newt Gingrich. Truly words of wisdom. I would like to thank Secretary Pompeo, Mr. Tom McDevitt and Mr. Chung, Hee-taek. Today you’ve really shared profound words of wisdom about freedom and religious freedom.
Today I also feel particularly tense because in this session, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification has a set of values. Also, I would like to share a little bit about some of the issues of religious persecution that have been happening, and that’s why I feel a little bit tense. Looking back at my experience in Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, I studied theology and also Buddhism. I have a PhD in Buddhism and also in Confucianism. I’ve met many religious leaders, including Pastor Paula White and also my special brother, Prophet Samuel Radebe, whom I respect. And I’ve met many religious leaders. One thought that I had is that we are all united by universal values given to us by our Creator. We need to restore our spirituality and we need to restore our relationship with our Creator, with God. This is the experience that I had.
Also, with regards to Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, we speak about religious rights and religious freedom. I would like to share a little bit about it and also perhaps share a little bit about instances of religious persecution.
Respected leaders from around the world, this morning we held the Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference, and we discussed the realization of a world of peace, how to realize one global community under the Heavenly Parent, under our God, our Creator. And we also spoke about the Universal Peace Charter, which outlines some of the basic rights that people can look forward to. On that foundation, this session really focuses on religious freedom, the freedom to choose your religion and the freedom to worship and also religious rights. These are some of the points I would like to briefly touch upon.
According to one census, the number of religious believers, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and so on, if you add the number of worldwide believers, the cumulative total of all believers is higher than the actual human population. What does this show? It shows that religion is essential to human development. And people are always curious. I’ve always thought about the divine, about the purpose of life, about the goal, the objective of our existence on Earth. And this is a very, maybe simple example. But today religion also is essential to human life. It helps provide people with guidance on how to live a fruitful and productive life, a life well lived. In 1948, just as Mr. Chung mentioned, there was a UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in which this was emphasized. These are points you’re already aware of. But in Article 1, it says that all human beings are endowed with inalienable rights such as equality, but also freedom. And people have intellect, and they can live according to the principles of fraternity. In Article 18, it says that all people have the freedom to choose according to the dictates of their conscience. They have the freedom to choose their religion and they have the freedom to act according to their conscience. They also have the freedom of choice, the freedom of decision and the freedom of assembly. All of these are important.
In religion, for example, we have gatherings. People have the freedom to gather, to worship God together, and they have the ability to express their beliefs and their religiosity. According to all the nations of the world, these are very important rights and they have been promoted in democratic countries. That is why, for example, America has been a beacon on the hill. And many other nations, like France and Germany, also embrace freedom of religion.
It is the same in Korea. Article 20 of the constitution of Korea guarantees religious freedom. All people have religious freedom and there is no national religion. There is a separation between church and state. These religious freedoms show that we cannot really go against religion. It’s to preserve religious rights and religious freedom. This is to also preserve religious minorities so that there will be no discrimination against any particular religious denomination.
Therefore, when we speak of religious freedom, a person can choose freely and can choose what they wish to believe and can also worship according to the dictates of their conscience. They can also share about their religious beliefs to others. This religious freedom can be respected, and we cannot take away these basic rights. However, when we look at the instances of religious freedom, we can see that when religious nations have been established, there have been a few changes. For example, one religious expert mentioned the division between church and state. There are times when there’s a rich tradition of cooperation between church and state, or a loose cooperation between church and state. There are many other religious groups who work together. For example, in America there is a great relationship between church and state, but church and state are separate. Or like in France, where church and state are completely separate, where the state is completely secular. And there are other nations where church and state are completely merged together. For example, Korea has a very strict division between church and state.
In Korea, we have freedom of religion. But in reality, there are some countries, for example, that can legislate laws to tax religion or to get taxes from different religions. However, I wish to mention that there are different types of religious denominations, and there are different types of relationships between church and state.
Now, I would like to share a little bit about what Family Federation is working towards? How does it look at, for example, religious freedom or human rights? In 1954, our founder founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. At that time the founders really worked to bring harmony and cooperation between the different religions of the world to realize a world of peace. The work of interfaith activities began at that time. Also, the founder’s ideal was to promote family values because a world of lasting peace, a world of true peace, can only be realized when families are healthy, strong and happy, but also live in freedom. That is why in 1997 they changed the name to Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The reason the name was changed was to emphasize the centrality of families in realizing a world of peace, but also the importance of families worldwide living in communion with a creator, with God.
Since then, the founders have worked in interfaith. Family Federation was never meant to be a stand-alone religion. We’ve always engaged in interfaith work, cooperation with other religions, with the aim of promoting peace, cooperation, harmony around the world. Family Federation takes particular pride in its interfaith record. The founders published World Scripture, an anthology of different sacred texts from the different religions or traditions around the world on very similar themes such as love, marriage, death, life, freedom. About 70% of the values between the religions of the world are more or less similar.
Instead of emphasizing denominations, Family Federation has really emphasized the importance of interfaith work, of cooperation and also, particularly important, the values of family and the importance of living lives as a family centered on God, our Creator. In order to realize one global family of humanity under God, Family Federation has been working tirelessly centered on various values focused on the family centered on God. That is why we’ve had interfaith and international Marriage Blessing ceremonies. We also had interfaith work and we’ve also had various other similar initiatives.
Furthermore, Family Federation understands that in order to follow human development, we need both external developments through science, but also internal development through religion, through an understanding of the Creator. All religions seek to promote human happiness through an understanding of the Creator, of the essence of the fundamental purpose of life and help families achieve this heart of understanding. For example, the heart of a parent, the heart of siblings, the heart of a couple and understanding the different levels of love within the family. These are ideal families, healthy, happy families. This would be the original ideal of God being realized.
Respected peace-loving leaders, according to World Scripture, we all have a similar purpose: we wish to be happy. Family Federation teaches that God is in a parental position to humanity and we can only be truly happy when we lead lives centered on God. One of the fundamental freedoms, but also duties and rights of human beings, is freedom of religion, freedom to choose one’s religion, freedom to worship and assemble. Therefore, religious persecution goes against these fundamental rights. It is a persecution of the very essence of society.
Recently, we all learned of the sad passing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan. Family Federation was deeply shocked to learn about the passing of Prime Minister Abe, and during the opening ceremony and also during the regional ILC, all the peace leaders offered words of condolence to Prime Minister Abe and his family and the people of Japan. Once again, I would like to offer profound words of condolence to the people of Japan and the family of Prime Minister Abe.
As a result of the assassination of Prime Minister Abe, there have been many unfortunate incidents. For example, there have been many personal attacks on believers of Family Federation and also many false reports in the media about Family Federation. One unfortunate circumstance has been the forced conversion and kidnapping of Family Federation believers. Since 1966, more than 4,300 Family Federation followers were kidnapped against their will and forced to renounce their religion or to renounce their beliefs. In particular, one person was kidnapped for twelve years and five months. There are also cases where, unfortunately, the kidnappings ended in the loss of life.
Even today, many of the victims of these kidnappings are suffering from profound trauma. Already this issue was reported to the UN Human Rights Council and was reported also to the Japanese government. The US State Department also alluded in its human rights report to these forced conversions and forced kidnappings.
Beloved leaders in Korea and throughout the world in 194 nations, Family Federation has been active to promote family values, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. We all believe that we are endowed with the rights given to us by our Creator. We hope that we can live in a world where we can follow the dictates of our conscience, live in freedom, choose our religion, assemble freely, and be able to pursue the religion that really inspires us. That is why Family Federation would like to share that it regrets the continued kidnapping and forced conversion of Family Federation believers and hopes that these abuses against basic human rights can end. Going forward, Family Federation will continue its work to promote family values and freedom of religion, but also to promote the realization of a lasting world of peace.
The nations or the societies that we belong to all aim towards realizing human flourishing and happiness, but also a world of lasting peace. I believe that all of you gathered here would share these values.
Lastly, in Africa there is the African Union and there is UPF’s Interreligious Association for Peace and Development. The IAPD association would like to propose being an advisory body to the African Union. This initiative is being led by Prophet Samuel Radebe. Forty-two religious leaders from Africa are here and they would like to convey the importance of having an advisory body, religious body to the African Union. The purpose of it is to help us realize one family of humanity under the Creator, where we can all have universal values, where we can freely worship and freely follow our conscience and live in freedom and worship accordingly.
Once again, I would like to thank all the leaders gathered here. May God’s abundant blessings be with you and your families. Thank you very much.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.