Why the Universal Life Church "Scam" is a Myth

Note: this post was originally published in August 2018

The Universal Life Church is perhaps most well known for operating primarily online. The very idea of an online church rankles some people, and we can understand why. For so many centuries, religious organizations have operated using the same traditional paradigms. We don’t operate that same way, but that doesn’t make us any less legitimate. 

Critics of the ULC often rush to judgment, yet rarely take the time to research our church before throwing around accusations, including calling us a “scam.” Common arguments made by our detractors can be found below. We'll address them point by point, prove these accusations to be false, and show why the “Universal Life Church Scam” is simply a myth. 

1. Is the Universal Life Church Legal and Legitimate?

Our online ministry is entirely legitimate. 

In fact, the ULC is an established Church, with the same foundational legal status as other churches, like the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, or most any other religious organization you can think of.

While we do embrace the internet and provide many of our services online, many of our ministers do perform physical ceremonies and other ministerial work out in the analog world. We have firm beliefs, a guiding creed, and a large community of members who carry out our exciting mission every day.

We do not believe that the rite of ordination, or the right to captain your own spiritual ship, should be reserved only for the most privileged members of our society, which is why we have made the conscious and deliberate choice to open up our ministry and our ordinations to anyone who feels so-called.

In our view, opening our doors as widely as we do does not make us any less legitimate – in fact, we think it further cements our credibility.

For those who question the legitimacy of the Universal Life Church, we point to our non-profit corporation filings in the State of Washington and numerous other states. These filings can be found via the Secretary of State’s website.

Our incorporation as a religious organization means the ULC has the exact same legal standing as other major churches. So although certain ill-informed folks might call us "fake," that is patently untrue.

2) Why Does the ULC Charge for Credentials? Where Does the Money Go?

The Universal Life Church is a non-profit religious organization, and we work hard to keep the costs of ministerial supplies for our members low.

Nearly all of the money we make goes toward keeping the ULC in operation. The amount we charge for preparing and shipping physical supplies, like copies of ordination credentials, help us to cover the costs of producing those items and to keep the Universal Life Church open, so that we can continue to act as a source of support for our ministers around the world. 

In addition to the direct costs associated with manufacturing these supplies, the Universal Life Church has to pay rent, utilities, and wages just like any other Church.

We also regularly incur extraordinary legal fees in our ongoing efforts to restore, preserve, and defend the Constitutional rights of our ministers to freely practice as they see fit. We are incredibly grateful to those ministers who continue to support the operation and mission of the Universal Life Church by purchasing ministerial supplies and making donations to our Church. 

3) Why Does the Universal Life Church Ordain Anyone? 

Fundamentally, the ULC believes that anyone should be able to become ordained. We also recognize the numerous barriers posed by the traditional ordination process – which can take thousands of dollars and years of time to complete. That’s why we offer free online ordination. 

We do not believe that the rite of ordination should only be available to the privileged few – and for thousands of years, in the vast majority of established religions, ministerial office was only an option for wealthy men.

In that regard, we hope to facilitate a course correction by ensuring that ordination is available to any who feel so-called.

It’s true that the ULC ordination process does not involve any formal education prior to the granting of our ordination, but we do provide a number of training guides and other learning resources both for free on our site and for a nominal fee via our minister supplies catalog.

Utilizing these resources, Universal Life Church ministers can learn how to be a chaplain, how to perform a wedding, how to officiate at a funeral, and a whole host of other ceremonies. They are also able to research various world faiths and other topics of religious import as they see fit.

4) How Does the ULC Prevent “Fake” Ordinations?

One potential downside of our deliberate choice to keep our ordination process as accessible as possible is that it is vulnerable to pranks. The internet, for better or worse, can be a “wild west” when it comes to humor, particularly in situations like ours where the door is (purposefully) left wide open. On occasion, our system has been tricked by false names entered into the database. Our team does a wonderful job of screening and discarding any fake ordinations they come across, but this strategy isn’t foolproof. 

Regardless, know that fraudulent applications will be revoked and ordinations accidentally issued to pets or inanimate objects hold no validity. We do not accept as legally valid any application for ordination made under false pretenses, and only those ordination applications that are made directly by the person seeking ordination are considered valid. 

5) Are ULC Ordinations Really Recognized Everywhere?

Universal Life Church ordinations are recognized in nearly every state across the United States, and our ministers perform thousands of legally-binding weddings throughout the country each year.

ULC ministers have, on rare occasions, been denied the authority to officiate weddings in certain areas. However, these rejections are generally a result of county clerks not understanding the marriage laws in their area. 

For a full explanation of where ULC ordinations are accepted and the requirements for performing a wedding in your area, please visit our State Marriage Laws guide.

If you hear anything from a government official that leads you to question the validity of your ordination or your ability to perform legal ceremonies like weddings, please do not hesitate to contact our office so that our legal team can determine how best to assist you.