Universal Life Church

Not to be confused with Universal Life Church Monastery.

Universal Life Church
Logo of the Universal Life Church
RegionWorldwide
HeadquartersModesto, California, U.S.[1]
FounderKirby J. Hensley
OriginMay 2, 1962
Modesto, California, U.S.
Members18,000,000+ ordained[2]
Official websitewww.ulchq.com

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.

  1. ^ "Contact Universal Life Church". Modesto, CA: Universal Life Church. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Universal Life Goes On". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  3. ^ James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions (2001), p. 769-70.
  4. ^ U.S. Department of the Army, Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains (2001), p. VII-47-49.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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).
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Center for Inquiry Inc v. Marion Circuit Court Clerk". Findlaw. March 31, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "O'Neill v Bucks County". Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017. (1.45 MB)
  13. ^ "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).
  14. ^ "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)
  15. ^ Ctr. for Inquiry, Inc. v. Warren, CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:18-CV-2943-B at *20 (N.D. Tex., 2019).
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Letter Opinion 1971 No. 117 | Washington State". www.atg.wa.gov. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.