Married to the moonies

[JazzAnnNonMouse]

Anyone?!

I now feel sad that I didn't get married in a stadium with 25,000 to a man I only met yesterday!

Insania.

Yes, how interesting, and what lovely young people. A massive leap of faith from the English girl who went without a partner and was matched by Rev Moon.
I've never met anyone who was part of The Unification Church. I'd love to find out more.
The couples were lovely I wish them all the best. I was wondering what the divorce rates were, some of the first marriages seem to have lasted.

Such a bizarre concept! Couldn't imagine it myself but so interesting! I wonder of the programme is typical or whether it shows a certain slant?

I too am wondering about divorce rates.

But I'm guessing it's like it was in ye olden days,(or in other cultures today) You didn't really know someone before you married, and you certainly didn't get divorced.

I don't know tethers it all seemed quite harmless to me. All the money in the organisation is a bit , but as a Catholic no more than the See of Rome I guess. DH is Muslim and gives 10% to charity, so I didn't see that as strange.

I wouldn't want to be at the back of the stadium.

Do you have to pay more to be at the front, like a Cold Play gig?

It is strange, but I guess any marriage is a leap of faith, when do we ever know anyone. The English Psyc.student and her Czech husband were a delight I thought, I couldn't help but wish them well, they seemed so happy to be together.

I reckon Lynette , I think the front is for Rev Moon matched, see you take a big leap, but you get to look the Messiah in the eye.

Cynical side = visas?!

That did cross my mind, JazzAnnNonMouse, but I actually doubt that is the driving force for these couples.

Why leave a decent job in Japan/America to live in the UK, where you will probably earn less?

they all seemed very happy

True lynette - unless that was why it was started...

I agree, they all seemed like lovely young people and not 'weirdos' as people in programmes like this are so often portrayed. I'd love to find out more about it. Was it a one off programme or is there another one? I'd like to see how their relationships grow.

There is a lot to be said about abstaining from sex until marriage and I really admire their values. I wish that sex before marriage wasn't so accepted in today's society (and I say that as someone who had a lot of sex before marriage and, indeed, walked down the aisle with a tot in tow, so I'm not judging those who do!).

But what if they're shit in bed

Ask Rev. Moon for a refund?

Definitely!

I wonder if there are Members on MN? There has to be doesn't there? I'd love to ask, I'm intrigued by the whole thing.

Presumably they have then go and register the marriage?

As the furthest they go before marriage is a chaste peck on the cheek I suppose they wouldn't know whether their partner was shit in bed or not! And the earth hardly moves for any of us the first time do it? They may well have a 'was that it?' moment afterwards.

Mind you, I still occasionally have that feeling and I lost my virginity 20 years ago

It was intresting to hear the views of the young people as they prepared for their big day, and a general view of the Moonies overall which I think was fairly fair and unbiased. IT mentioned the past cult reputation, although didn't really address whether this still occurs today. It would have been interesting ot see what the yooungsters understand by their parents faith, and how they practice it it today. Also, were the marriages legal in Britain?

The only really sinister aspects was the money accumulation accusations by the Moonies and when the mother said that about world peace. Also, I felt one of the lads was a bit disillusioned when seeing REv Moon, describing him as an ordernary Korean man.

It would have been nice to know how they are doing now, whether the marriages are successful etc. a few months down the line.

invicta I wanted to know whether the marriages were legal too, no mention was made of that.

Have just googled moonie weddings, apparently the "mass wedding" is a blessing ceremony and the couples will still have to go through a legal ceremony in the country in which they intend to reside.

A quick google tells me the divorce rate for Moonies is 10%

Googled a bit more. US statistics:

Unification Church (Moonies); 17.4% were divorced from their original partner.

Denomination (in order of decreasing divorce rate)
% who have been divorced

Non-denominational ** 34%
Baptists 29%
Mainline Protestants 25%
Mormons 24%
Catholics 21%
Lutherans 21%

Jews 30%
Born-again Christians 27%
Other Christians 24%
Atheists, Agnostics 21%