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Applied Unificationism celebrates its 5th Blog-iversary

The Applied Unificationism Blog was founded five years ago on May 1, 2013 and is a blog hosted by the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS). Its purpose is to explore the application of Unificationism to the wider world, but also occasionally posts significant articles on theology. It generally posts a new commentary article every Monday.

The Applied Unificationism Blog is broadly read by Unificationists in the U.S., as well as in Europe, Korea and Japan. One major leader termed it, “the best thing out there,” referring to its focus and discussion of how to apply Unificationist principles to today’s societal problems.

Any article on the site is available for automated Google Translation from English to dozens of supported languages.

In its five years, the AU Blog, as it has become known, has posted over 275 articles in eleven different categories. It is followed (by email, Facebook or Twitter) by 800 regular readers; is read in 200 countries or territories; has received over 270,000 total page views, nearly 2,700 reader comments overall, and nearly 60,000 referrals to its articles from search engines alone and 27,000 from Facebook. Some articles have generated a large number of site hits in just 24 hours — in several cases over 1,700 in a day.

The AU Blog’s top three articles all-time are: “Morals and Messages from Harry Potter: Lesson Learned,” “The Only-Begotten Daughter,” and “Same-Sex Marriage: A Unificationist Response.” 

Other popular articles include: “Toward a Headwing Idea for America,” “You’re Not Really an Adult Until Your Father Dies”: Reaching the Highest Stage of Filial Piety” and “God as the Heavenly Parent of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.”

Popular regular authors include Dr. Andrew Wilson, Dr. Michael Mickler and maestro David Eaton. 

The Blog recently ran a series of commentaries by three different authors on the topic of gun control in America. 

AU Blog articles are often re-posted by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International Headquarters (FFWPU-IHQ) and by the FFWPU-USA and gain even broader readership.

Original written contributions of 1,500-1,800 words are encouraged to be submitted by Unificationists, current and former UTS faculty, and interested others. The AU Blog seeks quality commentary or op-ed pieces, written in a lively manner, on a wide range of subjects in which the writer exhibits a strong degree of familiarity with the subject matter. Broad topics include politics and economics, religion and spirituality, gender issues and the family, and culture and the arts. The Blog especially encourages article submissions from second generation Unificationists. It also posts occasional film and book reviews, and collections of poetry. 

For more information on submitting an article for the AU Blog, visit the Blog’s author’s guidelines page. To submit an article or review for consideration by the AU Blog, email the Managing Editor, Dr. Mark P. Barry. Dr. Barry has edited the Blog since its beginning and is also Lecturer in Management at UTS.

Applied Unificationism is a place where the future of the FFWPU, founded by Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, may be thoughtfully and responsibly discussed; in order to maintain that standard, reader comments to all articles are moderated. The AU Blog, as does UTS, its host, institutionally upholds the position of Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon as the leader guiding the FFWPU in its worldwide work.

UTS, as a school for original thinkers, aims to maintain a site with some authority and wisdom where worthy ideas related to building the heavenly kingdom can be discussed among members and friends of the FFWPU and its sister organizations.

If you’ve not been aware of the Applied Unificationism Blog in the past five years, please visit its home page. And if you haven’t already done so, please “Follow” the AU Blog by signing up towards the bottom of our home page to receive an email each time it posts something new.

Mark Barry

On March 27, Dr. Mark Barry, editor of the Applied Unificationism Blog and a Lecturer in Management at the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS), was interviewed on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) World Service Newsday radio program about the Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Un and his surprise meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day. 

The hastily organized visit was the first trip abroad by Kim since he took over leadership of the country following his father’s death in 2011, sparking global interest by the United States and around the world. A meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set for the end of April, and a proposed meeting with President Donald Trump sometime in May or early June. 

Dr. Barry was contacted by the BBC because of his knowledge of how the “Hermit Kingdom” operates, his connections to people familiar with issues on the Korean peninsula, and his having travelled to the country and met Kim’s grandfather and North Korea’s first Communist dictator, Kim Il Sung, in 1994. The interview was conducted by moderator Majlinda Zeqiri and lasted for nearly five minutes, covering topics ranging from the importance of the meeting between Kim and Xi, the proposed upcoming meeting between Kim and Trump, and whether or not any of President Trump’s twitter postings had influenced Kim in any way. Dr. Barry thought not.

The Newsday program, begun in 2012, broadcasts from 4:00-9:00 am GMT as a “wake up” or breakfast show, and has, according to the BBC’s own accounting, “one of the largest audiences – if not the largest – of any radio programme in the world.” According to Dr. Barry, the show reaches “tens, even hundreds of millions” of people. It’s broadcast area covers Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with a particular focus on Africa. His interview was broadcast to the U.S.A. on the night of the 27th at 11:00 pm EST.