Research:Cheon Il Guk Constitution

Cheon Il Guk Constitution - History and Analysis

Sometime in 2012 Hak Ja Han announced that a convention to create a constitution for the nation of Cheon Il Guk would convene. The convention would be tasked with creating groups of scholars to draft a preliminary constitution. Not much is known about the early stages of this project and who were the driving people leading the effort. One task of this research will be to identify the key players.

News reports filtered to the west irregularly telling of study sessions among various groups. Another part of this research will be to identify the groups and their participants and their work product if that information is available.

What is now known is that once the original draft was written a series of public hearings were held. The stated purpose of the hearings was for Unificationists from around the world to give input and make suggestions. Hundreds of members participated. A few people posted testimonies on social media and for the most part reported that there were no time for questions and answers or any input from the audience. The draft constitution was read and speeches were given.

Adopted Without Public Review

In spite of promises to open the proceedings to the public there was no opportunity given for Unification members to comment on the proposed statutes of the Cheon Il Guk Constitution. The draft version was officially adopted and it was announced on 'Foundation day 2014' the Constitution would enter into force sixty days hereafter, April 11.

There is some confusion as to what entity the Constitution is intended to govern. The "nation" of Cheon Il Guk does not exist, some remarked, therefore the constitution was in fact more a charter for governance of the Unification Church itself which would define it as Canon Law for a religious body. UC spokesmen have thus far left the intention vague. The authoritarian model of Unification Church governance apparently will continue even after the nation of CIG is realized.

Member Reaction

Western members were universally disappointed that church leadership did not keep their promise to develop the CIG constitution in full public view and with input from the members. Church leadership held stage-managed events to give the appearance of public hearings however all recognized this as a clumsy charade.

In spite of their disappointment, western members, academics and intellectuals have evaluated the document and and published their views. Thus far, UC leadership has ignored their remarks.

A pointed critiques comes from William Haines who explains in his editorial below that UC members recite a Family Pledge as a daily traditional practice by which they declare themselves "Owners of Cheon Il Guk." Unificationists believe that as owners, their rights are granted to them by the Almighty and not some committee in a distant capital. If left unresolved, this matter of authority and ownership will become a very divisive problem. As one 2nd generation member said:

"...we can conclud that it is not a constitution, as with a democracy. It is not a covenant, as with Canon Law. It is a "terms-of-use-agreement" written to protect the Movement from its members."

Here below are comments by Unificationists.

CIG Symposium in London

Western members were universally disappointed that church leadership did not keep a promise to develop the CIG constitution in full public view and with input from the members. Church leadership instead held stage-managed events to give the appearance of public hearings however all recognized this as a clumsy charade. In spite of their disappointment, western members, academics and intellectuals have evaluated the document and published their views. Thus far, UC leadership has ignored their remarks. The Summary of Speaker Presentations linked below contains the transcript of remarks of eight Unficationists from Great Britain which was the first national church to hold a symposium the discuss the draft constitution.

Criticism of the Cheon Il Guk Constitution

• Symposium on the Cheon Il Guk Constitution — Summary of Speaker Presentations — London, UK, March 22, 2014
• Reflections on the Cheon Il Guk Constitution — By Graham Simon, AppliedUnificationism.com
• Who owns Cheon Il Guk? — By William Haines, UTS '92
• Thoughts on a Cheon Il Guk Constitution — By Gordon Anderson, Ph.D UTS '78
• Open Letter on the Cheon Il Guk Constitution — By Mark Anderson, Paul Carlson, Dan Fefferman, David Payer

Full Text of the Cheon Il Guk Constitution

Cheon Il Guk Constitution