Mose Durst (born September 5, 1939) is an author, educator, and the former president of the Unification Church of the United States.[1]

Durst was born in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, to immigrant parents from Russia. He received a Master's degree and Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Oregon. He taught at Laney College in Oakland, California.[2] In 1972 he converted from Judaism[3] and joined the Unification Church in Oakland, then became a lecturer and a church leader in California. In 1974, he married Korean missionary Yon Soo Lim, and they led the Northern California church together.[4]

In 1980, Durst was appointed by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon as the president of the American church. As church president Durst expanded some of the successful practices of the Northern California church to the national level.[5][6][4]

In 1984, Durst expressed regret over misunderstandings between Unification Church members and some members of the Jewish community. He placed blame for this both on the members' "youthful zeal and ignorance" and on the community's "insecurity."[7] That same year he wrote in his autobiography: "Our relations with the Jewish community have been the most painful to me personally. I say this with a heavy heart, since I was raised in the Jewish faith and am proud of my heritage."[8]

Durst currently teaches literature and history to middle school students at the Principled Academy, a Unification Church sponsored school in San Leandro, California, and is the chairman of the school's board. He has published seven books: To Bigotry, No Sanction: Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church, Principled Education, Shakespeare’s Plays, and Oakland, California: Towards A Sustainable City,[9] and two children’s books.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Lattin, Don (11 February 2001). "Children of a Lesser God / THE MOONIES: Looking to its youth for survival". SFGATE. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Reaching Out Across America - Interview with Dr. Mose Durst about the Unification News". www.tparents.org. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  3. ↑ "Religion: Sun Myung Moon's Goodwill Blitz". Time Magazine. April 22, 1985. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Excerpts Archived 2003-04-29 at the Wayback Machine The Unification Church, Studies in Contemporary Religion Massimo Introvigne, Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-145-7.
  5. ↑ "Moonie change seen", Modesto Bee, May 8, 1980
  6. ↑ "Neil Duddy Interview: Dr. Mose Durst". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Unification Church seen as persecuted", The Milwaukee Sentinel, September 15, 1984, page 4
  8. ↑ To Bigotry, No Sanction, Mose Durst, 1984
  9. ↑ Oakland, California: Towards A Sustainable City, AuthorHouse.
  10. ↑ The Principled Academy - Staff page Archived 2007-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, school web site.
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