 The logo on the original website | |
| Formation | August 16, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Founder | John Oliver |
| Dissolved | September 13, 2015 |
| Type | Parody religion |
| Headquarters | CBS Broadcast Center, New York City, New York, US |
Megareverend and CEO[1] | John Oliver |
| Website | ourladyofperpetualexemption |
Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption was a legally recognized parody religion in the United States established by the comedian and satirist John Oliver. The church was announced on August 16, 2015, in an episode of the television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Its purpose was to highlight and criticize televangelists, such as Kenneth Copeland and Robert Tilton, whom Oliver argued used television broadcasts of Christian church services for private gain. Oliver also established Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption to draw attention to the tax-exempt status given to churches.
During his show on September 13, 2015, Oliver announced that the church had received "thousands of dollars" and a variety of other items from viewers, and announced that the Church would be shutting down. The segments and later spinoff segments featured the comedian Rachel Dratch as Oliver's fictional wife, Wanda Jo. All donations were given to Doctors Without Borders.
Oliver created two spinoffs of the church in later segments. In April 2018, Oliver founded Our Lady of Choosing Choice, which owned the van labeled "Vanned Parenthood" (a reference to Planned Parenthood), for a segment about crisis pregnancy centers. In June 2021, Oliver set up a church in Florida called Our Lady of Perpetual Health, which owned the health care sharing ministry "JohnnyCare", satirizing the lack of regulations on such ministries.
- ^ Reed, Ryan (March 31, 2015). "Watch John Oliver Blast Televangelists, Create His Own Mega-Church". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 27, 2015.