A derisive name applied to members of the religious movement founded in 1954 by Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon (1920 ). Known as the Unification Church (in full, the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity), and more recently the Association of Families for Unification and World Peace, the organization was founded in 1954 in South Korea, and moved to Tarrytown, NY, in the 1970s. Its doctrines are presented in Moon's book, The Divine Principle (1952), and stress the leading role of the family, through which God's purpose will manifest itself on Earth; mass marriages, which may involve a thousand or more couples, are one of the movement's more public activities. Rev Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, are seen as the Lord and Lady of the Second Advent, and called Father and Mother by their disciples. The missionary activities of the Church have attracted a great deal of criticism, especially from parents who believe that their children have been brainwashed. The organization's financial affairs have also been the subject of investigation, and in 1982 Moon was fined and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for US tax evasion. He has continued to live chiefly in the USA, where he owns several companies, but has encountered increasing opposition to his movement there, and also in several countries where he has tried to expand, especially in C and S America. In the late 1990s he began to develop a centre at Jardim, W Brazil, as a new garden of Eden.
The term Moonies is a derogatory term for members of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Movement. Members prefer the terms Unificationist or Unification Church member. The term was coined by the New York newspapers The Daily News and The New York Post, in 1974 during the church's 'Madison Square Garden' campaign.
For some years Unificationists silently endured the media's use of the term. They even joked about it, referred to themselves as "proud Moonies" on buttons and mugs, and called each other "Moonies" (perhaps analogous to African-Americans adopting the word "nigger" among themselves in certain contexts). Michael Jenkins, changed their public stance, and asked major media organizations to stop referring to them as "Moonies", pointing out that the term was intended as a demeaning and pejorative slur, and reflects bigotry and prejudice.
In August 1994 the Unification News, the official monthly newspaper of the church, published an article saying in part:
| One can only wonder how long Unificationists must bide their time before their sincere petitions regarding the offensive use of the term "Moonie" will finally be acknowledged. Church missionaries have been murdered in the course of their public church duties because they were "Moonies." |
A dysphemism treadmill effect has occurred, and the term is now used again, especially by the youth of the church, to refer to themselves.
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