Moonie (nickname)

Moonie is a pejorative term sometimes used to refer to members of the Unification Church. This is derived from the name of the church's founder Sun Myung Moon, and was first used in 1974 by the American media. Church members have used the word "Moonie", including: Moon himself, President of the Unification Theological Seminary David Kim, and Moon's aide and president of The Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea Bo Hi Pak. In the 1980s and 1990s the Unification Church of the United States undertook an extensive public relations campaign against the use of the word by the news media. Journalistic authorities, including the New York Times and Reuters, now discourage its use in news reporting. In other contexts it is still sometimes used and not always considered pejorative.

The word "Moonie" is derived from the name of Sun Myung Moon, the founder and leader of the Unification Church. Some dictionaries mention that it is considered an offensive word. The Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan describes it as a colloquial term. Secondary meanings include: "Any blind, unthinking, unquestioning follower of a philosophy".

The word "Moonie" is also a family name in the United Kingdom. The town of Moonie, Queensland in Australia was founded in 1840. It is also a common nickname in English-speaking countries. In more recent times it has also been used to refer to fans of the anime character Sailor Moon.

The word "Moonie" was first used by the American news media in the 1970s when Sun Myung Moon moved to the United States and came into public notice through a series of public speeches he gave, including at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1974 and Yankee Stadium and the grounds of the Washington Monument in 1976. It became prevalent and was used by both critics of the Unification Church and church members themselves. In 1982, a report sponsored in part by Auburn University noted: "In informal interviews with U.C. members have indicated that they do not consider the term 'Moonie' derogatory."

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