Moonies
Moonies (singular Moonie) is an informal term for members of the Unification Church, based on the name of church founder Sun Myung Moon. Some dictionaries see it as offensive or derogatory in nature, while others do not. It is considered a disparagement by most church members, but has nevertheless been used by them and others on occasion without any negative connotations.
Definition
The term is derived from the name of the founder of the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon. nor does the 1999 edition of the Webster's II New College Dictionary, which defines the term as "a member of the Unification Church established and headed by Sun Myung Moon". Other dictionaries view the term as either offensive, or derogatory in nature.
According to The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2005), the term "moonie" has come to be used to refer to "any blind, unthinking, unquestioning follower of a philosophy".
History
The term was casually used within the organization itself and by members on the street; During the 1970s and 1980s, the term was used by members of the Unification Church "as a badge of honor". The term's usage began in the 1970s. In 1978, Sun Myung Moon declared: "In two and a half years the word 'Moonie' shall become an honorable name and we will have demonstrations and victory celebrations from coast to coast." Moon used the term again in 1979, stating: "If the most beautiful woman who thought she could seduce any man crept into my bedroom to tempt me, I would know how to make a Moonie out of her." The Unification Church paid civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy to equate the term Moonies with the "N-word". In 1984, The Washington Post noted "Members of the Unification Church resent references to them as 'Moonies'", and quoted one member who said "Even in quotation marks, it's derogatory". In 1989, The Seattle Times reported that the Chicago Tribune was picketed after referring to members of the Unification Church as Moonies.
On an October 6, 1994 broadcast of Nightline, host Ted Koppel stated: "On last night's program ...I used the term Moonies. This is a label which members of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church find demeaning and offensive, and I'd like to apologize for its use." The 2004 edition of the UPI Stylebook and Guide To Newswriting advises: "Do not use the pejorative term Moonies in reference to members.
Commentary
The 1989 book Competition in Religious Life notes that "Moon and his disciples" have been "often unflatteringly referred to as 'Moonies'". Eileen Barker writes in the 1995 book America's Alternative Religions that "members prefer to be called Unificationists", and acknowledges that "they are referred to in the media and popularly known as 'Moonies'". In the same book, scholars Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley use the term Moonies to refer to members of the organization. In his 1998 book Religion, Mobilization, and Social Action, Anson Shupe notes that he and David Bromley used the term in publications in 1979, and Eileen Barker used the term in 1981 and 1984, "and meant no offense".
The 1999 book Religion and politics in America notes that "this movement - its followers are universally known, often derisively, as 'Moonies'" and Philosophers and Religious Leaders, published in the same year, states that "Many Americans view Moon's church suspiciously as a cult with its members pejoratively referred to as 'Moonies'." The 1999 Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture states followers are known derogatively as 'Moonies' because their leader is the Second Coming. R. C. S. Trahair's 1999 book Utopias and Utopians notes: "Today the term 'Moonies' is often used in a derogatory way, because their leader and his business ventures, which are synonymous with the church, have become suspect."; the book's entry on the group is "Moonies (Unification Church)". In his 2000 book Mystics and Messiahs, Philip Jenkins likens the term to "smear words such as Shaker, Methodist, Mormon".
Rosalind Millam's 2002 book Anti-Discriminatory Practice notes that "Its followers are better known as Moonies"; the entry on the organization in the book is titled: "Unification Church (Moonies)". The term is used as a high-school language exercise in the 2004 book Can I Know What to Believe?‎: "When I say the word Moonies, what do you think of? Because Moonies aren't as prevalent in our society today as they were several years ago ... some might mentioned the mass weddings performed by Sun Myung Moon. Others might mention the group's fund-raising efforts through flower selling." Paul Weller's 2005 book Time for a Change notes that "Unifications have often popularly - and sometimes disparagingly - been referred to as 'Moonies', in reference to the founder of their movement". Eugene V. Gallagher writes in the 2006 work Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America that a pejorative use of the term is linked with a negative view of the leader of the organization: "even his name attracted the hostility of enemies who derided followers as 'Moonies' and the movement as a 'cult'". Don Lasseter notes in his 2006 book If I Can't Have You, No One Can that "'Unificationists' now regard the term 'Moonies' as a denigration of their people and beliefs."
Definition
The term is derived from the name of the founder of the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon. nor does the 1999 edition of the Webster's II New College Dictionary, which defines the term as "a member of the Unification Church established and headed by Sun Myung Moon". Other dictionaries view the term as either offensive, or derogatory in nature.
According to The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2005), the term "moonie" has come to be used to refer to "any blind, unthinking, unquestioning follower of a philosophy".
History
The term was casually used within the organization itself and by members on the street; During the 1970s and 1980s, the term was used by members of the Unification Church "as a badge of honor". The term's usage began in the 1970s. In 1978, Sun Myung Moon declared: "In two and a half years the word 'Moonie' shall become an honorable name and we will have demonstrations and victory celebrations from coast to coast." Moon used the term again in 1979, stating: "If the most beautiful woman who thought she could seduce any man crept into my bedroom to tempt me, I would know how to make a Moonie out of her." The Unification Church paid civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy to equate the term Moonies with the "N-word". In 1984, The Washington Post noted "Members of the Unification Church resent references to them as 'Moonies'", and quoted one member who said "Even in quotation marks, it's derogatory". In 1989, The Seattle Times reported that the Chicago Tribune was picketed after referring to members of the Unification Church as Moonies.
On an October 6, 1994 broadcast of Nightline, host Ted Koppel stated: "On last night's program ...I used the term Moonies. This is a label which members of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church find demeaning and offensive, and I'd like to apologize for its use." The 2004 edition of the UPI Stylebook and Guide To Newswriting advises: "Do not use the pejorative term Moonies in reference to members.
Commentary
The 1989 book Competition in Religious Life notes that "Moon and his disciples" have been "often unflatteringly referred to as 'Moonies'". Eileen Barker writes in the 1995 book America's Alternative Religions that "members prefer to be called Unificationists", and acknowledges that "they are referred to in the media and popularly known as 'Moonies'". In the same book, scholars Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley use the term Moonies to refer to members of the organization. In his 1998 book Religion, Mobilization, and Social Action, Anson Shupe notes that he and David Bromley used the term in publications in 1979, and Eileen Barker used the term in 1981 and 1984, "and meant no offense".
The 1999 book Religion and politics in America notes that "this movement - its followers are universally known, often derisively, as 'Moonies'" and Philosophers and Religious Leaders, published in the same year, states that "Many Americans view Moon's church suspiciously as a cult with its members pejoratively referred to as 'Moonies'." The 1999 Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture states followers are known derogatively as 'Moonies' because their leader is the Second Coming. R. C. S. Trahair's 1999 book Utopias and Utopians notes: "Today the term 'Moonies' is often used in a derogatory way, because their leader and his business ventures, which are synonymous with the church, have become suspect."; the book's entry on the group is "Moonies (Unification Church)". In his 2000 book Mystics and Messiahs, Philip Jenkins likens the term to "smear words such as Shaker, Methodist, Mormon".
Rosalind Millam's 2002 book Anti-Discriminatory Practice notes that "Its followers are better known as Moonies"; the entry on the organization in the book is titled: "Unification Church (Moonies)". The term is used as a high-school language exercise in the 2004 book Can I Know What to Believe?‎: "When I say the word Moonies, what do you think of? Because Moonies aren't as prevalent in our society today as they were several years ago ... some might mentioned the mass weddings performed by Sun Myung Moon. Others might mention the group's fund-raising efforts through flower selling." Paul Weller's 2005 book Time for a Change notes that "Unifications have often popularly - and sometimes disparagingly - been referred to as 'Moonies', in reference to the founder of their movement". Eugene V. Gallagher writes in the 2006 work Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America that a pejorative use of the term is linked with a negative view of the leader of the organization: "even his name attracted the hostility of enemies who derided followers as 'Moonies' and the movement as a 'cult'". Don Lasseter notes in his 2006 book If I Can't Have You, No One Can that "'Unificationists' now regard the term 'Moonies' as a denigration of their people and beliefs."
Comments