An ordination mill is a religious organization or denomination in which membership is obtainable by trivial means and all members are qualified for self-ordination as a minister of religion, bishop, priest or deacon without any prerequisite training, work, experience, seminary study or other qualification. In some cases, ordination may be obtained online or by mail merely by submitting an application and a nominal fee.
In recent times, online ordination has become increasingly popular as a fast way for a person to become registered to perform a wedding for their friends or co-workers.
History
The term ordination mill, intended to be analogous to diploma mill or accreditation mill in higher education, is pejorative; and there is little public pride regarding the ULC, but this church is proud of its ordinations, intentionally from a mill.
The term is not new; US Library of Congress copyright archives list a Camden, New Jersey, newspaper report of "Clergymen made by mail-order ordination mill for $2 in 2 weeks" from 1927. The Universal Life Church, founded as the "Life Church" in 1959 by Kirby J. Hensley in Modesto, California, has long offered ordination by mail and has been at the centre of multiple court cases in which it has sought equal recognition with other denominations on freedom of religion grounds. In 1970, the US Army's Office of the Chief of Chaplains described ULC Modesto as "like a number of similar 'ordination mill' denominations, it has 'no traditional doctrine' and 'will ordain anyone, for life, for a freewill offering'." The Universal Life Church's "freewill offerings" include the amount of $0.00, and the church offers supplemental materials for a fee.
Legal status
An ordination obtained online or by mail does not necessarily guarantee access to reserved clergy parking, preferential treatment during a military draft or tax advantages for individuals, despite an upsurge in demand for US ordinations during the Vietnam War. The church as an organization may qualify for registration as a non-profit organization for activities specifically related to religious ministry, a status the ULC Modesto home church has obtained from the US Internal Revenue Service in some years but not others. Clergy parking permits vary by municipality. In New York City annual permits are issued by the city, not the church, and are subject to narrow criteria: clergy qualify only if they work an average of at least twenty hours per week officiating at or presiding over services, with a limit of three registered vehicles per house of worship. This allows parking for up to five hours adjacent to the house of worship, three hours when visiting hospitals and four hours at a funeral establishment when performing official duties.
The validity of online or mail-order ordination credentials for officiants of weddings, funerals and baptisms varies widely. Many, but not all, US states allow any ordained minister authority comparable to a civil deputy marriage commissioner to officiate weddings. Other countries impose more stringent requirements. In Canada, requirements vary by province but it is not uncommon for provinces to require a denomination be a legally incorporated entity, hold tax-exempt charitable status, be in established operation for a specific amount of time with a minimum number of congregates (other than ordained clergy), operate at least one bricks-and-mortar house of worship in the province and maintain specific records, including lists of officiants and procedures for their appointment or removal. These requirements often pose obstacles to recognition of small, little-known or non-mainstream religious denominations; it is not uncommon for a new denomination to wait two years for Ontario accreditation even if it meets all requirements.
In 2014, Rodney Michael Rogers and Minneapolis-based Atheists for Human Rights sued Washington County, Minnesota under Fourteenth Amendment equal protection of laws and the First Amendment free speech clause, their attorney claiming discrimination against atheists as "When the statute clearly permits recognition of a marriage celebrant whose religious credentials consist of nothing more than a $20 ‘ordination’ obtained from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster … the requirement is absolutely meaningless in terms of ensuring the qualifications of a marriage celebrant." The case was eventually dismissed for mootness when "Washington County changed its practice and vowed that it would record credentials issued by [Atheists for Human Rights] from that date forward."