What is the legal precedence for online and mail-order ordinations?
In 1974, the United States government sued the Universal Life Church and challenged their right to have a tax-exempt status. The presiding Judge James F. Battin also addressed the validity of mail-order ordination, independent church charters, and Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degrees. The Universal Life Church is not a Christian ministry, however, they performed a great service to all non-traditional ministries by fighting this case in court and eventually winning. The following is an excerpt from the court’s decision in this case. The Universal Life Church is referred to as Plaintiff: “…an Honorary Doctor of Divinity is a strictly religious title with no academic standing. Such titles may be issued by bona fide churches and religious denominations, such as plaintiff, as long as their issuance is limited to a course of instruction in the principles of the church or religious denomination… The statute is silent as to recognized honorary titles conferred for some meritorious recogniti
