|
On the Outside Looking In: Growing Up
in the Moonies
Flore Singer Aaslid
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Social Anthropology, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Abstract
The author recounts her experiences as a child and young adult in the
Unification Church (“the Moonies”). She discusses the enduring sense of not
fitting in, which arose from her many years of travelling and being taken care
of by people other than her parents (who were usually busy with missionary work)
and stigmatized for being an “unblessed” child (not born to Moonie parents).
During this prolonged conflict situation she vacillated between trying to “buy
it” and rebelling. Leaving the group proved to be difficult because she
discovered that she did not fit in “outside” either. Ultimately, however, she
left the group permanently and began to build a new life.
This material was originally prepared
for a presentation at AFF’s annual conference, June 14-15, 2002, at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel, Orlando (FL) Airport.
Full text available through
ICSA E-Library.
|
