The former editorial page editor of the Washington Times has filed a discrimination complaint against the paper, saying he was “coerced” into attending a Unification Church religious ceremony that culminated in a mass wedding conducted by the church’s leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Richard Miniter, who was also vice president of opinion, made the claim in a filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that also disclosed he was fired last month. He said in an interview that he “was made to feel there was no choice” but to attend the ceremony if he wanted to keep his job, and that executives “gave me examples of people whose careers at the Times had grown after they converted” to the Unification Church. A Times spokesman said the paper would not comment.

Miniter, an Episcopalian who tried to avoid attending by saying he had to worship at his own church, said he found the religious weekend in New York last December to be “creepy” and that the Times had invited him to other such events. He said that Moon spoke for about an hour, that ceremonies were conducted in which water was poured from small urns into larger ones, and that Moon married 20 to 30 couples.

The Times, owned by Unification Church officials, has said since its 1982 founding that it is editorially independent of the church; numerous editors and reporters have said over the years that they encountered no interference from the ownership. Still, Miniter’s complaint raises a sensitive issue for the newspaper.

The Miniter filing follows a major shake-up at the Times. Three top executives, including McDevitt and chairman Dong Moon Joo, were ousted last week. Executive editor John Solomon, who like Miniter was hired by McDevitt, resigned and has offered no public explanation. The money-losing newspaper said it would assemble “a market-based plan that supports the sustainability of the Washington Times.”

For more, read here.