“All Evil Spirits Must Be Brushed Off”

Abstract

Abstract Emerging out of a messianic Protestant environment steeped in the Korean religious heritage, the Unification Church/Movement has become one of the best-known new religious movements in the world. However, little is known about the impact of mediumistic activities in Unificationism, particularly as articulated in the so-called Ch’ŏngp’yŏng (Cheongpyeong) Providence. At the heart of this novel soteriological program within wider Unificationist millenarianism are practices specifically aimed at the separation of evil spirits and the liberation of ancestral spirits. This chapter first outlines the doctrinal foundations of the Unificationist concept of evil spirits and introduces Unificationist cosmology. It then describes the theory and practice of the liberation of evil spirits and ancestral spirits in Unificationism.