During this period, the IRS became suspicious about tax avoidance efforts within the church, eventually determining that Hensley, the Modesto ULC, and numerous affiliated churches chartered under its name were promoting tax avoidance schemes within church periodicals. There are currently multiple groups operating under the ULC name, most of which are unaffiliated in practice.
The Modesto group struggled to maintain control over these other entities as ULC affiliates grew in number. The Universal Life Church ran into difficulties as new branches of the ULC were granted charters and began moving off in different directions. Also in 1974, a federal judge declared that the ULC was qualified for a religious tax exemption. By 1974, the church had ordained over 1 million ministers.
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In accordance with the Law of California that exempts religious schools from accreditation, he offered a Doctor of Divinity degree from the ULC for twenty dollars, including "ten free lessons explaining how to set up a church". In the late 1960s, Hensley "became something of a folk hero among the young", particularly with college students, whom he would mass-ordain at speaking events. The ULC and its founder, Hensley, were also featured in several publications during this time, including Rolling Stone, which further increased public awareness of the church. Ordination requests increased dramatically, but the rumor proved to be false. The church's growth was affected in part by social movements during the Vietnam War, a widely circulated rumor claimed that ordination would qualify one for a legal exemption from the draft. The ULC began issuing mail-order ordinations shortly after its incorporation.
He first held services in his garage, and incorporated the organization in 1962. With this aim, he sought to establish "a new religion that would emphasize what all religions have in common", establishing this entity in 1959 under the name "Life Church" in Modesto, California. Lewis wrote that Hensley "began to conceive of a church that would, on the one hand, offer complete freedom of religion, and could, on the other hand, bring all people of all religions together, instead of separating them". Hensley, "a self-educated Baptist minister who was deeply influenced by his reading in world religion". The Universal Life Church was founded by Kirby J. The remainder have not addressed the issue. However, courts in Virginia have held that they will not recognize marriages solemnized by ULC ministers, while eight states have specifically held such marriages to be valid, these being Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington. 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, Conan O’Brien and Steven Tyler, among others. The ULC has ordained ministers from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, including Christians, atheists, Wiccans, pagans, Jews, and people of many other faiths. The Universal Life Church advocates for religious freedom, offering legal ordination to become a minister free of charge, to anyone who wishes to join. Hensley, under the doctrine: "Do that which is right". The Universal Life Church ( ULC) is a non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J.
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