Ok, maybe this sounds funny, but this really IS a serious question, because it’s something i’ve been considering for quite some time. I want to know how to form my own church, or rather, religious organization. Bear in mind, this is not a church for an existing religion, this is a NEW religion altogether. What i need to know is:
I want my church to be officially recognized by the (U.S.) federal government. How do i accomplish this?
As a church, my organization should be tax exempt. What do i need to do to arrange this?
What is required to establish my new religion? Must i have a “bible” written to document the guidelines of this new religion (which i WILL but as of this post is not complete)? Must i have a physical address (ie. a public meeting place) to register with, or is a P.O. box sufficient? Is anything else specifically required?
It is my understanding that people have certain rights based on thier religious beliefs, ie. in the millitary and prisons, accommadations (within reason) must be made so that you can practice your faith, or certain religious holidays from work must be granted. How can members of my religion gain such benefits?
I’m sure there’s other questions i’m forgetting, but i will add them as they come up. Many thanks in advance.
One place you might want to begin looking is the scam-ish http://www.ulc.org . They have some information about how to kick-start your own ministry, albeit under the benficient gaze of the Universal Life Church.
IANAL, but I’ve investigated the ULC a bit (hell, I even sent the guy $20 for his creativity…now I’m a saint ).
Technically, the government can’t stop you from believing whatever you want to believe, but they can make it a pain in the neck.
For the tax exempt status, for example, you have the IRS oversight, audits, etc. to deal with. And, only your church’s income would be tax exempt, not the income from your job.
IIRC, all that your employer has to provide is reasonable accomidation for your religious beliefs. If your new religion requires coffee breaks every 10 minutes, you could get fired (I think).
I’m sure that this thread will get hijacked about the ULC, so I’ll start it. One of the nifty things (and it looks actually legal) about the ULC is the apparent ability to perform legal, actual wedding ceremonies (once you register with the state). (Have I used enough parentheses?)
Thanks for the input! Well, being able to perform weddings, etc is one of the benefits my mininsters should enjoy. How would i go about registering with the state? How can i gain the credentials (and give them to others, my ordained) so that we can perform such ceramonies?
I also understand about the tax thing, but i have no intention to treat this as a tax shelter. I was thinking more along the lines of having a “corporate” account for all my church’s funds, and keeping that separate from my own personal. Yeah i know it’s gonna be a nightmare…
It will be a nightmare – and some of this borders on scam-o-la city, so I strongly suggest that you consult with someone that knows what they are talking about (a lawyer) before doing this.
As far as the weddings go, it was just a matter of going to the county clerks office, filling out a form (my faith is Universal Life) and paying the fee (I think it’s $30 a year in CA). Voila.
I’m sure that some lawyer/smart person will come here when they wake up to debunk the entire ULC/customized religion, but it my hasty google search, I couldn’t find any lawsuits against the ULC or its’ practitioners…
Some place I have a card that says I’m a minister in the Universal Life Church. I got it from a booth at a fair, where the guy “ordained” me in a minute or two. Not exactly much of a distinction, seeing as how the guy that started the ULC once ordained dogs on the Santa Cruz campus.
The trouble with trying to define religion in legal terms is that I defy you to demonstrate that my credentials DON’T make me a minister. Commenting on the impossibility of defining religion, Heinlein once had Jubal Harshaw observe that a roller rink could be a church if you believed roller skating to be necessary for, or even conducive to, spiritual salvation.
I saw a couple presentations by some jokers back in the 80’s who were trying to get people to organize churches to avoid taxes. I forget the name of the group, I tend to think of them as “The Church of the Almighty Tax Dodge”. The idea of the scam was that you would donate most of your income to the Church, which would support you as its minister. They advised you doing several things so that you could back up your claim of being a church - hold services, advertise as a church in the yellow pages, etc. The IRS clamped down on this sort of chicanery when some people actually started trying to get away with it. There are requirements for being a tax-exempt religious organization:
As a matter of fact, I went through precisely the same thing: I am the head of a very small, semi-serious religion. I’m always glad to see independent thinkers going the same way.
About the ULC: They produce a lot of good material for people starting out in this direction, including specifically several documents about the legal burdens on churches in the U.S. My church was started with ULC materials, and I certainly reccommend them. However, remember that they are certainly in it for their own self-promotional benefit (as well as soliciatation of donations), so you can and should safely ignore any advice that implies that you need them for anything.
As far as the legal burdens: the beauty of the First amendment is that these are almost nil. The big one is actually having to deal with local-level bureaucrats for stuff like recognition of weddings, etc. The other is of course the tax exemption- in order to get it, you will need to be organized as a nonprofit corporation, and to apply for exemption from state taxes as well. I’d advise proceeding carefully; you may not need a lawyer, but at least study up on the proper procedures for establishing and running a nonprofit organization.
This is true, at least in Florida. My friends were married at DisneyWorld last year by their friend, who is a minister in the ULC. He’s a lawyer, too, and found it hysterical to be performing a wedding.
It seems far too easy (based on the links above) to use a “church” as a complete tax dodge. Yeah, you need a corporation and to fill out some forms, but come on, that’s worth not paying taxes to me. What’s the catch? Do you have a cite for those presentations?
I don’t know what else I would cite that would be much better. Those are IRS information sites. They ought to know their own bloody regulations. It doesn’t seem that easy to me - you will notice that those things merely list the guidelines and tell you how to apply for tax exempt status, which requires a buttload of supporting documentation. They can turn you down, and it looks to me like there’s a lot of room for judgement calls on their part, so they can decide that your “church” is simply an attempt to circumvent the tax code.
You really don’t have to do anything special to start your own church. Wherever two or more are gathered… Remember that. Your problem arises when you try to take advantage of the many tax and retirement advantages available to religious institutions.
You can get a federal tax ID number without any questions. The questions start coming when you want to be classed as a tax exempt organization and avoid paying income tax, sales tax, property tax and the like. At this point you are going to have to show some bona fides. If you don’t go through the bureaucratic maize and just quit paying taxes you will receive a visit from the IRS agents with the badges and the sidearms. You do not want this.
Back in the 1980s there were several “sovereign citizen” types around here who decided that the best way to preserve their sovereignty, i.e., not pay taxes, was to transfer all their property to a church of which they were the only member and that had as its mission the care, comfort and maintenance of its members. It didn’t work. The IRS was briefly the owner of several farms and hardware stores before the taxpayers came to an appreciation that their profound conviction in the justice of their own cause cut no parsnips, as is sometimes said.
Your best bet is to simply affiliate with some mainline denomination.
If you become a Discordian , you will automatically gain the title of Pope, and be regarded as infallible in moral decisions. As will anybody else who becomes a Discordian. As has everbody who is already a Discordian.
If you choose **not ** to be a Discoedian, the Discordians will immediately give you the title of…Pope. You will be morally infallible.
