What do you know about the Universal Life Church? Is it for real?

Question

so I can be reverend Bob at no cost and have my own church.. cool

Answer 1

Yes, it's for real.

So is the Universal Ministries.

They were the ones who ordained me as a minister.

Answer 2

The main church holds a valid 501(c) tax exempt status but this status is not transferrable to those who are ordained, they must get their own 501(c) status.

Many religious organizations bestow Minister status on a variety of individuals who don't possess even a Theology BA degree. In some cases they are high school graduates or just have a Liberal Arts degree.

It's the right of an organization to establish their own rules.

Thus the Universal Life Church is legitimate in that respect, but each ordained minister of that Church must establish their own recognized branch without help from the main body.

Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Jews and Muslims all go in with established organizations, do the work and file the papers which is mostly a formality. No one in Topeka is going to challenge the validity of a tax exempt status of the Roman Catholic Church.

They will challeng the ULC, but understand many Muslims in America are declaring a room in their house Tax Exempt as a praryer center and getting it accepted. Not the whole house, just a room.

Answer 3

I was there at UT Austin in 69 or 70 when Madalyn Murray O'Hare first started it. She basically did it to illustrate the privileges that were given to religious organizations as far as tax benefits, etc. It was an "atheist faith" then, and probably still is. For instance, if you were an ordained minister, you could consider all your income a donation to a religious organization and be exempt from taxes. Same with your house, etc. I think the IRS caught up to them fairly quickly, but some of the dodges may still be legal.

Answer 4

Yes,it is. I was ordained in it for $5.00 over 25 years ago. The "Universal Life Church" originally took the position that it was wrong for the government not to tax the non-churchbuilding assests of the Catholic Church. Their idea was to make everyone a minister so you could donate your salary to your church and be tax exempt. The logic was is everyone is tax exempt the government would either go broke or would have to tax non building assets of corporate churches.

Answer 5

The conventional Church is the call used to verify with the total Church mutually throughout the international. this is why the Early Fathers reported as the Church "catholic." Catholic potential "conventional." They have been concerning the universality of the Church, no longer the later denomination/sect of Roman Catholicism.

Answer 6

I've been an ordained minister in the church since 1970 and preformed a perfectly legal marriage ceremony in Maryland in 1972. Of course since I found the goddess and became a pope I've kind a lapsed. But I still believe
"YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF YOU'RE OWN HEAD, MAN"

Ewige Blumenkraft und ewige Schlangenkraft!

Answer 7

ULC holds forth in Modesto, Cal. You can become a minister of the church for free. For a modest cost, you can get kits which will give you the mechanics to perform weddings and other ministerial functions.

Answer 8

It started, I believe, as a way to avoid the draft as ministers are not required to serve.

Answer 9

As real as any other church, perhaps moreso - I've never heard of a ULC minister molesting kids or embezzling funds....

Answer 10

Yes it is a real document mill where they churn out ministerial certificates. Much like the Vatican.