Universal Life Church

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The Universal Life Church (ULC), sometimes called the Universal Church of Life , is the largest "Internet Church " in the United States of America . The organization is headquartered in California .

history

Kirby J. Hensley (1911-1999) founded the organization in Modesto (California) in 1959, initially under the name Life Church , and from 1962 Universal Life Church . Hensley had previously belonged to the Pentecostal movement and wanted to create an egalitarian religion; everyone should be a member and pastor and thus be able to trust, baptize and bury. He initially acted out of his garage.

Joining the ULC and being " ordained " as a pastor at the same time was done by post, later on the Internet, free of charge and without an examination.

The rumor that as a ULC pastor one would not be drafted into the Vietnam War led to over 100,000 joinings per month in the late 1960s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, many people entered for fun or to take advantage of clergy tax breaks.

In 1976, ULC was the fastest growing church with five million members and offered a doctorate in theology Doctorate of Divinity for a "donation" of $ 20 . A ULC parish of one's own cost two dollars a month, including the sending of a church constitution. The US news magazine 60 Minutes described how it could save a ULC officer significant taxes by donating to his own church, as well as deducting significant amounts of travel and food expenses from tax. In 1977, 88 percent of all homeowners in the town of Hardenburgh , New York, had joined the ULC and, as church officials, were exempt from local property tax. So-called "mail order churches" flourished as a business model, especially the Universal Life Church. In addition to “ordination documents for clergy”, the organization also sold founding documents for local church congregations through a post office box and advertised them in newspapers with tax benefits of up to 70 percent. ULC-appointed clergymen opened a bank account on behalf of their newly appointed parish, deposited much of their earnings into that account, and then withdrew money from there to support themselves. From 1984 tax authorities denied Universal Life Church its non-profit status as a church, rejected tax breaks and charged it with tax fraud. The process ended with a settlement payment of nearly $ 2 million from ULC. After that, the organization started to calm down.

For donations between $ 20 and $ 100, members could continue to acquire doctoral degrees with alleged study topics such as "immortality", "motivation" or "Bible studies". For three dollars, ULC issued marriage and baptism certificates or confirmed partnerships ( "affirmation of love" ). Universal Life Church rose to prominence again after a lay minister closed a wedding on the sitcom television series " Friends ".

activities

In return for payment, ULC issues its "ordained" members a certificate that entitles them to marry in most American states . In other states, however, lay pastors can generally be fined and imprisoned; the marriage certificates are invalid here - for example in the event of divorce or death. Weddings by ULC “pastors” and academic titles awarded by ULC are not legally effective in Germany.

According to information, the ULC has 18 million members (as of 2009) worldwide and advertises with the "ordination" within minutes and with the names of well-known personalities among the members. At the beginning of 2016, the “Parish Office Basic Package” including a certificate with a gold seal, marriage and baptism certificates in the ULC Internet mail order business cost just under 40 dollars.

In addition to the current organization of the ULC in Modesto (California) there are various other groups with their own websites under the name Universal Life Church .

criticism

The Universal Life Church has been called a sect and a title mill . The founder, illiterate and self-proclaimed bishop, Kirby J. Hensley, was particularly happy: "He became a millionaire," said Der Spiegel in 1972.

The New York Times also criticized in 2015: "The church pumps out ordinations at assembly line speeds and almost makes fun of a process that normally takes years of study." ( The church pumps out ordinations at an assembly-line pace, almost mocking a process that usually requires years of seminary study. )

Trivia

In 1981 Reverend Ron Jaenisch of Universal Life Church consecrated a computer so that the device could perform a wedding ceremony.

In 2006 ULC launched the “Marry Your Pet” initiative.

Web link

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Deutschlandfunk : Universal Life Church. Internet Church attracts more and more people , August 25, 2015
  2. ↑ ULC: Our history ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ulc.org
  3. ^ Ashmore, Lewis: The Modesto messiah: The famous mail-order minister . Universal Press, 1977. ISBN 0-918950-01-5 .
  4. ↑ a b c d beliefnet: Universal Life Church Still Churning Out Ministers. , February 4, 2001. Retrieved February 6, 2016
  5. ↑ a b 60 Minutes , Mike Wallace : Con Men: Fascinating Profiles of Swindlers and Rogues from the Files of the Most Successful Broadcast in Television History , Simon and Schuster, 2007. Pages 16-24. ( On Google Books )
  6. ^ Evelyn Brody: Property-tax Exemption for Charities: Mapping the Battlefield , The Urban Institute, 2002. ISBN 978-0-87766-706-3 . Page 32 ( on Google Books )
  7. ^ A b Christian Walter: Religious Constitutional Law in a Comparative and International Perspective . Mohr Siebeck, 2006. ISBN 978-3-16-148990-7 . Page 282 ( on Google Books )
  8. ↑ a b c FOCUS Online: Title fraud. Divine Promotion. In: focus.de. FOCUS Online, accessed on January 23, 2016 .
  9. ↑ a b The New York Times : Couples Personalizing Role of Religion in Wedding Ceremonies , June 26, 2015
  10. ↑ The New York Times : Great Wedding! But Was It Legal? , August 5, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2015
  11. ↑ 35,000 ordinations annually / Deutschlandfunk: Universal Life Church. Internet church attracts more and more people. Retrieved June 10, 2017 .
  12. ^ "Universal Life Goes On; Andre Hensley brings own beliefs to late father's church". Modesto Bee. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2017 .
  13. ↑ ULC-network ( Memento of the original from February 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 4, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ulc.org
  14. ↑ "ULC Store"
  15. ↑ Der Spiegel : Doctorate. On his behalf , December 18, 1972
  16. ↑ Der Spiegel : Religions in the test: Mohammed and the beef liver sausage , November 7, 2011
  17. ↑ Der Spiegel : Computer. Jesus on line , October 23, 1989
  18. ↑ Die Zeit : Marriage: So Much Love to Forgive , October 12, 2006