A Study on Religious Education in Families of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification: Focusing on Adolescent Textbooks

[Objective] This study aims to understand religious education in families of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), a new Christian religion, with a particular focus on adolescent textbooks utilized in these households. [Contents] The adolescent textbooks, compiled into two volumes, are structured under eight major themes and a total of 52 subtopics. Each subtopic is designed for parents and their adolescent children to read together at home, fostering interaction and dialogue. The major themes of Volume 1 are: (1) Heavenly Parent and True Parents, (2) Self, (3) Interpersonal Relationships, and (4) Dreams and Future. The major themes of Volume 2 are: (1) Love, (2) Family, (3) All things, and (4) Faith. These major themes are based on the worldview of FFWPU, encompassing the primary life purposes and values pursued by the faith community. The textbooks also reflect the unique characteristics of this new religion, including its experience of misunderstanding from mainstream Christianity in Korea and its significant composition of multicultural families within the faith community. Accordingly, the textbooks also emphasize the aspect of religious education aimed at enhancing the self-esteem of adolescents from multicultural families. [Conclusions] Religious education in families of FFWPU emphasizes helping adolescent children form a religious self-identity, establish religious values regarding sexuality, and focus on the practical application of life aimed at developing a complete religious character.