Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles

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The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) is a non-profit, collegiate organization associated with the controversial Unification Church.

The organization claims global reach, with a significant presence in the U.S.A., Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.


Contents

[edit] CARP Mission Statement

World CARP is an international campus-based organization that raises young leaders of character who live for the greater good and build a culture of true love, "We strive for personal excellence through challenging our limitations and practicing a principled lifestyle. We believe that enduring relationships, based on the model of true family, will build toward lasting peace within the larger community and the world. Through serving the campus community, we advocate and develop moral, ethical relationships in preparation for family life and career."

[edit] The Core Values

Living for the Greater Good [AIMS]
• I Align myself to God's Vision, Values and Goals.

• I continuously Invest in others to develop their potential.

• I Multiply the value of World CARP by taking creative action.

• I Share best practices across the organization.

Ownership [RAISE]

• I am entrusted to take Responsibility for stated goals.

• I am Accountable for the execution and outcomes of stated and expected goals.

• I take Initiative by being proactive and solving problems.

• I Strive for excellence with passion and commitment.

• I Execute the goals that I set out to achieve.

Teamwork [MORE]

• I Mentor team members from God's perspective to personally guide their growth and development.

• I keep Open-mindedness to give and receive feedback and new ideas constructively.

• I Respect team members by trusting them and recognizing the merit they bring.

• I Energize team members with my conviction in the common vision and goals.

Dream Big [CARE]

• I have absolute Conviction in the fulfillment of God's Ideal.

• I Aspire to challenge limitations by looking for possibilities and seizing the opportunities.

• I am Results Oriented, learning from both victories and failures with the end goal in mind.

• I am Expertise-driven to be an effective part of realizing God's Dream.

[edit] History

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CARP was founded in Japan at Waseda University in 1964 by student followers of Sun Myung Moon[1]. The precursor to CARP was founded several years earlier in Moon's native Korea.

The original CARP chapter in Japan focused its activities on ridding the extreme-leftist ideologies at the time, including Trotskyism, Leninism, and Marxism. These began to permeate the Waseda campus as well as other college campuses. What alarmed CARP members at the time was the championing of materialism and atheism by the burgeoning leftist schools of thought, which combined was seen as a viable threat to the very ideology of Moon, which taught the absolute truth of the existence of a parental, loving God. Rallies, demonstrations, and even physical confrontations with communist students were common, and became the iconoclastic image of CARP in Japan well into the 1970s. This is contrary to the popular conception by opponents that classify CARP strictly as a front group, along the lines of Global Association of Culture and Peace. However, to those who give it casual glance, the distinction is nonexistent.

In the United States, CARP developed its controversial brand and most nefarious climax in the 1970s where it unfortunately degenerated to a pseudo-organization with little credibility - simply but a vehicle to increase membership for the Unification Church among the intellectually elite. The lack of a substantial college presence and activism on campus lead many to become disillusioned and suspicious[2]. In efforts to repair and rectify the tarnished CARP name, current CARP activists are striving to achieve the goals set out by the organization, which was Moon's desire from the very beginning.

[edit] Controversy

CARP has been known to actively recruit on various campuses. Some[who?] claim that the group is not up front about their beliefs and practices with outsiders until a person is completely dedicated to the group. Members have been known to use emotional attachment and praise as a recruitment technique. It has been said[who?] that the Unification Church encourages members to mislead the public when convenient, including concealing the disbursement of money attained through the selling of flowers and candles.[3]

According to David Crandell, Director of Student Activities at the University of Southern California, "CARP has been accused of being one of those groups that preys on college students".[4] Crandell also reported that "I don't care about the content of their beliefs, but when they are deceptive in their recruiting or use psychological manipulation to keep people involved, then we've got problems."[4] CARP had its student group status at USC revoked in 1994 and according to Crandell, The Office of Student Activities would probably not allow the group to be active on campus if they requested to be reinstated.[4]

The Office of Student Life at the University of California, Berkeley has received multiple complaints about CARP.[5] A Berkeley student who attended a CARP event at the request of a CARP member, is reported as saying "If I would have known, I would never have shown up ..... they were very nice and I think they were sincere, but I also think I was misled."[6] In part of an extensive description of the group's activities, a student summarizes in detail: "They exploit loneliness and shyness to create an artificial sense of family."[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ A National Movement Emerges: 1972-74 - A History Of The Unification Church In America 1959-74 - Michael L Mickler
  2. ^ http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bpreview/old/california/moonies.html
  3. ^ http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/unification2.html
  4. ^ a b c Daily Trojan
  5. ^ calpatriot.org
  6. ^ The Daily Californian
  7. ^ http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bpreview/old/california/moonies.html


[edit] External links

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