He explains that the specifics of church ceremony are left up to the individual members, citing one minister who performs marriages only in Jacuzzis. The Universal Life Church is not new, though its presence on the web is. Reverend Kirby J. Hesley founded the ULC by pronouncing himself Bishop in 1962, as a protest against organized religion. Since then, he has advertised in the back of Rolling Stone Magazine. An article in the Village Voice claims that the ULC fields 15,000 requests from residents of New York City alone, every month.
Sainthood is slightly more exclusive, requiring an application over the Internet.
The ULC has no monopoly on online religion, however. Not to be outdone, this church includes a wide variety of Ph. D s which visitors can register for just as easily. These sites may be indicative of a wider trend in online religions. Religion is a spiritual concept requiring no inherent material investment, but with the potential for huge financial gain.