Moonie is a
pejorative term sometimes used to refer to members of the
Unification Church of the United States. 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. In commentary on the term and its usage, scholars have noted it is both a popular colloquial term, and one that has negative connotations. In his 2000 book
Mystics and Messiahs, Philip Jenkins discussed the term's usage, and likened it to "
smear words" associated with other religions; giving examples of
Shaker,
Methodist, and
Mormon. Journalistic authorities, including the
New York Times and
Reuters, now discourage its use in news reporting.