Each year, hundreds of thousands of people become ministers through the Universal Life Church, a non-denominational religious organization that ordains anyone who wants (for free) and advocates for religious freedom. The church also makes a lot of money through its online store, selling ordination certificates, church robes, even holy water.
The ULC has ordained over 20 million people since its founding in 1962. Its popularity makes sense given recent demographic trends in the United States: the average age of marriage has been rising since 1960, while church membership is on the decline. Enter: the Universal Life Church, known as the “largest online ordination business in the country,” where anyone can become an ordained minister and officiate weddings for friends and family. But what exactly is the ULC? Is it a religion, a business, or something in between?
The Recount did a deep dive and the story is pretty incredible, involving tax schemes, IRS battles, bitter resentment and internal division, aggressive SEO battles, and even alleged Ponzi schemes. There are also two different groups that claim to be the “official” Universal Life Church, each accusing the other of misconduct. George Freeman, the presiding chaplain of the Universal Life Church Monastery claims that his group, based in Seattle, is the largest branch of the church and responsible for officiating up to 70% of the marriages performed in the US each year.
The ULC Monastery is also engaged in an ongoing legal fight in the defense of marriage equality. They’ve filed dozens and dozens of lawsuits around the country against state and local governments who challenge the validity of online ordination. Same-sex couples often have difficulty finding a religious leader or elected official who will officiate their weddings, so the ULC Monastery argues that a ban on online ordination is, in effect, a proxy ban on same-sex marriage. “We have made it a point to fight for ministers, to fight for people's rights,” Freeman says, “And that fight nowadays is in the courts.”
