Parentism, Not Men and Women

Dear Editor:

Some of the terminology employed by the Quinns in their articles about the "Divine Order for Men and Women" could easily promote misunderstanding of the Unification Church.

The term that Father chose for his ideology is "Parentism". The word Parentism suggests both masculine and feminine expressions of authority. It is not traditional patriarchy ("Fatherism", from the Latin pater for father), nor matriarchy ("Motherism", from the Latin mater for mother), but subsumes the best of both.

The Quinns' choice of the word "Anti-feminist" is totally inappropriate. First, it is not accurate to identify feminism as a whole with its most radical and least rational extremes. Second, "Anti-feminist" makes the Unification Church look like some kind of reactionary movement, defined in terms of its prejudices rather than what it has to offer. How many women will feel drawn to a movement that labels itself "Anti-feminist)? What kind of men would be drawn to such a movement? Only people with serious psychological problems would be attracted by such terminology.

Let's stick with "Parentism", the word we already have.

Sincerely,

Graham Lester Kansas City, MO