Church Sues Bucks County, Alleging Religious Discrimination

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A church known for providing religious ordinations over the internet is suing Bucks County in federal court alleging that one of its ministers was told by a county official that he could not practice his religion and perform a legal wedding ceremony because of the source of his ordination.

The Universal Life Church Ministries, along with Stephen Moser, one of its ministers, filed a federal lawsuit against Bucks County on Tuesday.

ULCM is asking the court for an injunction against the Bucks County Clerk that would prohibit them from discriminating against its ministers.

Based in Washington state, ULCM was founded in 1962 and describes itself as a nondenominational church that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Its ministers perform weddings, baptism, funerals and other spiritual ceremonies while also conducting general church services, according to their website.

County spokesperson Larry King said the county generally does not comment on pending litigation but noted that 303 marriage licenses with the officiant designated as Universal Life Church have been granted by the Register of Wills office since Jan. 1, 2020.

In a written statement following news of the lawsuit, Bucks County Register of Wills Linda Bobrin said she and her predecessors "have long accepted and will continue to accept marriages performed by persons ordinated via the internet."

These types of lawsuits are rare given the already wide acceptance of online ordinations, according to Lewis King, executive director of American Marriage Ministries, a Seattle-based church that also provides ordination services but is not affiliated with Universal Life Church.

"I'm sure the judge will side with ULC here because this is very cut and dry," King said. "The courts have overwhelmingly sided with ministers who were ordained online."

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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