Remembering Danbury: 39th Anniversary of True Father’s Imprisonment
July 20 marked the 39th anniversary of True Father’s unjust entry into Danbury prison. Some 200 Unificationists in the U.S. and abroad joined HJ International Graduate School’s recent virtual program, The Fraudulent Myth of the "Cult Expert:” Factors Contributing to the Wrongful Indictment and Imprisonment of Sun Myung Moon, which commemorated his 1984 imprisonment.
“Our movement was improperly represented,” said HJI Professor Dr. Thomas Ward, who spoke about the events leading up to True Father’s incarceration. The program, hosted by HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh, traced the media bias, environmental factors, and self-professed “cult experts” that all contributed to the groundless indictment.
“Those who opposed us worked to foster an environment of animosity and hysteria,” Dr. Ward said. But True Father “just focused on his desire to love America and be a model citizen in prison,” he said. “True Father was always positive and optimistic.”
Dr. Ward explained how interest groups — such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-Cult Movement — make the greatest impact by successfully capturing the media’s attention. “It can affect political parties, leading to legislative decisions,” said Dr. Ward. Such was the case of True Father, where sensationalized headlines incited public fear, confusion, and negative bias.
In particular, the “Fraser Report,” in which U.S. Rep. Donald Fraser falsely alleged the Unification movement was a front for the South Korean government, “showed a number of irregularities in our movement’s investigation,” said Dr. Ward.
A Senate investigation, which began in 1979, “opened with 13 ‘experts’ on cults,” Dr. Ward said, including Ted Patrick, known as the “Father of Deprogramming;” Dr. John Clark; Rabbi Maurice David, and Father James LeBar among the group. They were unqualified individuals who “exaggerated the conversion capabilities of New Religious Movements” (NRMs) and viewed them as cults, Dr. Ward said.
“Ted Patrick had a tenth grade education,” noted Dr. Ward. “He was not a theologian, scholar, psychologist, or psychiatrist.”
“There are real experts, and then there are overnight experts,” he continued. “They all had a decided bias against NRMs and didn’t enter into dialogue, and they bought into guilt by association.”
Dr. Ward shared that since a majority of people were not educated in religion, a “powerful narrative emerged” that “created hysteria and animosity” toward the Unification movement and members. Today, biases continue to thrive around NRMs. Media “agenda setting and gatekeeping” further propels negative perception, said Dr. Ward, as news outlets cherry pick what to publish.
“The Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists is marvelous, and if it had been put into practice, we wouldn’t have gone through what we did,” said Dr. Ward. “The media violated its own Code of Ethics in the case of NRMs.”
“Religion always arose and emerged from a tiny seed,” noted program host Dr. Walsh. “It’s tragic that even today this ignorance and bigotry continues.”
Nevertheless, True Father took the high road with his imprisonment. “True Father [was] determined to stand trial and go to prison,” said Dr. Ward. “[True Father] said he was honored to serve and protect religious freedom. He came to this country and reminded the people of the spirit and foundation the founders established for America.”
You can learn more about True Father’s life, including his Danbury imprisonment, in his autobiography available here.