WASHINGTON - Aug 10.1996 - THERE was a time when associating with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon was a distinct no- no for more mainstream religionists who generally regarded Moon's Unification Church as a cult.

But the speakers list for last week's Moon-sponsored conference in Washington is evidence that
despite his theology and controversial past, the Korean-born religious leader is no longer
off-limits -- at least when it comes to conservative politics and ``family values.''

Among the speakers at the three-day conference of the Moon-sponsored Family Federation for
World Peace were such prominent evangelicals as Christian Coalition executive director Ralph
Reed, Family Research Council president Gary Bauer and Concerned Women for America president
Beverly LaHaye. The Rev. Robert H. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral also was on hand.

`Gathering of experts'

The conference was billed as a ``gathering of scholars, activists and experts'' concerned with
the family and its relationship to society. Sessions were held on marriage and the family and
its relationship to government, the media and religious values.

``They're working to strengthen the family and so are we,'' says Christian Coalition spokesman
Mike Russell, when asked why the religious right's leading political organization chooses to
associate itself with Moon.

``Ralph doesn't agree with every organization he speaks to. Part of his job is to be a
diplomatic envoy to groups we do disagree with but may be able to work with,'' Russell says.

``I don't see why Christians should censor themselves out of any forum in which our
perspective can be heard,'' Bauer says. ``I disagree with the theology of many groups that I
address; Jews, for example, who do not accept Jesus, or atheists.''

Diane Medved, a self-described ``traditional Jew'' who co-wrote ``The American Family''
(HarperCollins) with former Vice President Dan Quayle, says she agreed to speak at the
conference ``to add a Jewish perspective, which is something I always do.''

Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, both addressed the conference, which ended Aug. 2 and
attracted about 1,500 participants from around the globe. However, few of the invited speakers
stayed to hear them. Most -- citing busy schedules -- left the conference immediately after
making their presentations.

The family holds a central place in Unification Church theology, which teaches that Jesus
failed in his mission because he did not establish the ``perfect marriage.'' The church --
which is said to have no more than 10,000 members in the United States -- also teaches that a
sinless world can only result from a ``sinless family.''

Despite those professed beliefs, Moon, who now lives in Irvington, N.Y., has had family
problems of his own.

Hak Ja Han is his fourth wife; Moon divorced the previous three. His eldest son, Nansook Hong
Moon, pleaded guilty in June to violating a court order prohibiting him from contact with his
wife and five children. The younger Moon's wife left him, charging him with alcohol and
substance abuse, which he has admitted.

The elder Moon's acceptance by mainstream religionists began with his imprisonment for three
months on tax evasion charges in 1984, says J. Gordon Melton, director of the Center for the
Study of American Religions in Santa Barbara.

``His jailing was seen by many in the religious community as an issue of religious freedom and
the persecution of a maligned religious minority,'' Melton says.

Moon's conservative politics and his courting of world leaders also gained him the support of
some mainstream religious conservatives. In addition, Moon's establishment of the Washington
Times newspaper gave religious conservatives ``a platform in the nation's capital that they
craved,'' Melton said.

Moon's success attracting world leaders to his conferences -- his organization is said to pay
generous speakers' fees and expenses -- was also evident at this week's Washington gathering.

Among the former world leaders who spoke were Presidents Bush and Ford, Australian Prime
Minister John Gorton, British Prime Minister Edward Heath, Mexican President Luis Echeverria,
and Oscar Arias, the ex-president of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Comedian Bill Cosby, who along with singer Pat Boone, performed at the conference, was
reported by the Washington Post to have received $150,000 for his appearance. Cosby reportedly
sought to get out of appearing after learning that he had been booked to perform at a Moon-
related event, but relented under the threat of a lawsuit, the Post reported.

Larry Moffitt, a spokesman for the Washington Times Foundation, one of three Moon-related
organizations that co-sponsored the meeting, acknowledges only that speakers are
``appropriately compensated for people of their stature.'' But he declined to discuss
specifics.

Schuller spokesman Mike Nason says the ``impressive'' lineup of conference speakers was a
major factor in Schuller's decision to deliver the opening invocation at the event.

``The agenda was right, but the list of leading political figures told us that this is a
strong coalition that could achieve something,'' Nason says. ``Coalition, not collision, is
what Dr. Schuller is all about. We don't have to agree on theology.''

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