Religious organization which offers ordination to anyone
Not to be confused with Universal Life Church Monastery.
Universal Life Church
Logo of the Universal Life Church
Region
Worldwide
Headquarters
Modesto, California, U.S.[1]
Founder
Kirby J. Hensley
Origin
May 2, 1962 Modesto, California, U.S.
Members
18,000,000+ ordained[2]
The Universal Life Church (ULC) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley,[3][4] under the doctrine: "Do that which is right". The Universal Life Church advocates for religious freedom, offering legal ordination to become a minister free of charge, to anyone who wishes to join. The ULC has ordained ministers from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, including atheists, Christians, Jews, Neopagans, Wiccans, and people of many other faiths.[5]
The ULC's popularity stems in part from a rising interest in having friends or loved ones officiate weddings, a trend which has attracted a range of celebrities to become ordained including Stevie Nicks, Adele, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen,[6] Conan O'Brien, and Steven Tyler, among others.[7] However, courts in Virginia have held that they will not recognize marriages solemnized by ULC ministers,[8] while eight states have specifically held such marriages to be valid, these being Alabama,[9] Indiana,[10] Mississippi,[11] Pennsylvania,[12] South Carolina,[13][14] Texas,[15] Utah,[16] and Washington.[17] The remainder have not addressed the issue.
^"Contact Universal Life Church". Modesto, CA: Universal Life Church. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
^"ModestoBee.com". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
^James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions (2001), p. 769-70.
^U.S. Department of the Army, Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains (2001), p. VII-47-49.
^Hoesly, Dusty (October 23, 2015). "'Need a Minister? How About Your Brother?': The Universal Life Church between Religion and Non-Religion". Secularism and Nonreligion. 4 (1). doi:10.5334/snr.be. ISSN 2053-6712.
^Wolfson, Sam (April 4, 2018). "The wedding singer: Adele and the rise of celebrity ministers". the Guardian. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
^Freedman, Samuel G. (June 27, 2015). "Couples Personalizing Role of Religion in Wedding Ceremonies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
^Oswald v. Oswald, 2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 02811 (N.Y. App. Div. 2013); Ranieri v. Ranieri, 539 N.Y.S.2d 382 (N.Y. App. Div. 1989); State v. Lynch, 272 S.E.2d 349 (N.C. 1980); Cramer v. Commonwealth, 202 S.E.2d 911 (Va. 1974); Robert E. Rains, Marriage in the Time of Internet Ministers: I Now Pronounce You Married, But Who Am I To Do So?, 64 U. Miami L. Rev. 809, 830 - 34 (2010).
^"Couples looking to marry in Alabama don't need a judge or church; a friend can do the job". Huntsville Real-Time News. January 13, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
^"Center for Inquiry Inc v. Marion Circuit Court Clerk". Findlaw. March 31, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^"MATTER OF LAST WILL & TEST. OF BLACKWELL, 531 So. 2d 1193 - Miss: Supreme Court 1988 - Google Scholar". Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
^"O'Neill v Bucks County". Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017. (1.45 MB)
^"South Carolina Office of the Attorney General Opinion". Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019. (6.08 KB) (11 January 1971).
^"South Carolina Office of the Attorney General Opinion". Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019. (5.02 KB) (29 March 1973)
^Ctr. for Inquiry, Inc. v. Warren, CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:18-CV-2943-B at *20 (N.D. Tex., 2019).
^"Universal Life Church v. Utah, 189 F. Supp. 2d 1302". Dist. Court, D. Utah. January 17, 2002. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^"Letter Opinion 1971 No. 117 | Washington State". www.atg.wa.gov. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
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