This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1985, Volume 2, Number 2, pages 252-258. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.

Autobiography of a Former Moonie

Gary Scharff

My experience as a member of the Unification Church a Moonie was the most exhilarating and also the most frightening of my life. At the end of my second year in the church I returned to Princeton University to resume my studies in religion. I tried to persuade a dear friend who is a professor there that religious leaders and professors should be open about groups like the Unification Church. My friend looked at me and said, “Gary it's good to be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out” Two years later, when I left the Unification Church, I recognized the wisdom of his comment.

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