Based on his personal revelation, Moon founded the Unification Church in Korea in the 1940s. The Church’s main following is in Korea and Japan but it is a worldwide organization with estimates of its membership ranging from 250,000–3,000,000. The Unification Church is now officially recognized as a religion by most major countries, despite having for years been dismissed as a cult (here meaning not a religion) and surrounded by accusations of brainwashing, separating converts from their families, and secret practices. Moon has staged mass “marriage blessing ceremonies” involving thousands of couples that have gained him wide media attention. The Unification Church owns vast real estate, media, and civic holdings and is influential in American and Korean politics.