[Original:【宗教と政治】家庭連合解散なら「共産主義者への贈り物」 米福音派牧師が警告]
Washington, D.C. – Christian evangelical pastor Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)—an independent agency of the U.S. government—recently warned that the Japanese government’s request for a dissolution order of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU; formerly known as the Unification Church), if realized, would be a “gift to the communists.” He also expressed concern that such a move could influence other minority religions in the future.
In a contribution piece to the American political news website Real Clear Politics titled Alarming Religious Freedom Trends in Democracies Demand Attention, Moore pointed out that “totalitarian countries aren’t the only places where religious freedom is under attack.” He then argued that “freedom of religion is under direct government attack in democracies despite the fact that they recognize it as an inalienable right.”
In the report, he criticized the request for the dissolution order against the Family Federation in Japan, saying, “Shamefully, in Japan…the government is aggressively pursuing the revocation of the legal status of an influential minority church.” He then cautioned that this move will have “disturbing implications for other minority religions like Jehovah’s Witnesses and evangelical Christians.”
He also points out the communist ideology behind the persecution of the Family Federation and thus warned that if its dissolution were to take place, “it will be a gift to the communists who aim to destroy Japan.”
In addition to being president of the Congress of Christian Leaders—a group of evangelical pastors that he co-founded—Moore was twice appointed to be a member of USCIRF under the former Trump and Biden administrations. He is known for his multi-faith work in defending religious freedom around the world, including the oppression of Muslim minorities and Christians in China.
