Maurice Davis - Opposition To The Unification Church

Opposition To The Unification Church

In 1970, when two of his congregants' children became involved with the Unification Church, Davis began to educate himself more about the nature and methodology of cults. He soon became involved in assisting the parents of "cult children". Davis directed and appeared in the film, You Can Go Home Again, produced by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Davis observed commonalities among the young people he counseled that had joined cults. He found that most of these individuals were dropouts from mainline churches and synagogues - and that they were on a quest for idealism, community and a sense of belonging.

Davis founded and headed the national anti-Moon organization called Citizens Engaged in Reuniting Families, which in 1976 comprised 500 families. Davis stated that he received letters from distraught parents all over the United States, telling "the same story". He elaborated his points, asserting that the recruitment tactics used by the Unification Church are "a form of hypnotism". In November 1976, Rabbi Davis spoke at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, New York, on the topic of "The Moon People And Our Children". He has also compared the Unification Church to the Nazi Youth movement, and to the Peoples Temple.

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