Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-7

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-7

□ Other Fake News

1) People from Shincheonji Church of Jesus visit door to door posing to give out face masks to spread the virus?

That is not true at all. There are photos on the internet of a person visiting houses to give out masks. As clarified in prior publications, the people in the images are local community leaders of towns and villages (representatives of li, eup, myeon, and dong) and public workers of Daegu City. Currently, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has suspended all activities for evangelism, services, or gatherings.

2) The Tribe of James in Busan of Shincheonji Church is hosting an open house event on 29 February and inviting citizens?

All information and materials on events hosted by Shincheonji Church of Jesus were produced and distributed before the spread of COVID-19. To avoid any confusion, please note that Shincheonji Church of Jesus has prohibited all services, meetings, and functions starting from 18 February.

3) Shincheonji Church requires people to complete a certain course at a training camp before they can sign up as a member? Those trainees are what they call students?

Joining Shincheonji Church of Jesus requires a six-month course of studying the Bible (at Zion Christian Mission Center) that ends with a final examination. Once you complete the course and pass the final exam, you are eligible to join the church, which is a decision by choice. There are no camps required for joining Shincheonji Church, and the church does not recommend it. That assertion is entirely false.

4) There is a video on social media of a person confirmed as infected and a member of Shincheonji Church on the run from a hospital quarantine ward and wandering the streets. Is that real?

No, it is not.  

5) The distinct style of services at Shincheonji Church worsened the spread of COVID-19?

Since it is not an expert group on health and medicine, Shincheonji Church of Jesus cannot determine why the church has had a high count of infection.

Some media reports claim the spread of COVID-19 was exacerbated because of the way of service at a Shincheonji church. Shincheonji Church of Jesus does have a large congregation. A Shincheonji church arranges seats so that the congregation members would sit on the floor with a distance between one another. 

This seat arrangement allows church members more personal space and room to move about compared to conventional church row chairs. On days with an unusually big crowd, space in between people may get smaller than usual to accommodate more people in the given space. When space allows, people sit wider apart.

Moreover, church notices from January state that anyone who shows any symptoms of a cold, including coughing and fever, was not allowed to come to service. Others were encouraged to wear protective face masks. Assertions that the style of worship at Shincheonji Church of Jesus is the cause of a mass spread of the virus are unfounded.

6) Shincheonji Church of Jesus does not tolerate personal health issues, so churchgoers must hide their ailments and attend service?

That is entirely false. Shincheonji Church of Jesus does not demonize illnesses or ailments. When sick, we take rest and seek medical help. Members sometimes do have personal reasons for not joining service from health, business trips, or family matters, and none of those reasons can cause disadvantages. Service and worship is a personal matter in faith.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.