Ordained Ministers Legal FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some hopefully helpful answers to your legal questions...and a few non-legal questions are answered, too.

Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc. (legally incorporated non-profit)
The Esoteric Interfaith Church has under its umbrella also the Metaphysical Interfaith Church, our original unincorporated manifestation. The E.I.C. is an incorporated non-profit and non-denominational church that accepts, acknowledges and respects all faiths of the world that are dedicated to the service of the Divine and their fellow humanity. Our Ministers come from all walks of life and educational backgrounds. Many start their own branches of the E.I.C., or start their own totally independent churches. The Minister may serve a congregation and have a pastoral counseling practice. His or her emphasis may be on teaching or healing or on performing the sacraments and religious ceremonies. Our Ordinations are legal in all 50 States, unlike ordinations from other organizations such as ULC (Universal Life Church and its affiliates) who ordain you online without screening, without collecting written work from the minister candidate. Therefore ULC ministers cannot officiate weddings in dozens of States and cities such as NYC, but our ministers are perfectly legal and officiate weddings every day, being legal in all 50 states and all cities. Our by-laws specifically allow the Church to ordain ministers as the need arises, as we have screened them, trained them, seen their work and judged their spiritual commitment.

When can I set up my own Church?
Once you're an Ordained Minister by a recognized Church (that's us, the Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc.,) you can establish your very own church. You don't have to call it Esoteric Interfaith Church, you can name it whatever you'd like. We can issue you a founding charter (for $45 paperwork and notarizing fee) if you want one, otherwise you can draw one up yourself, or do Articles of Incorporation. Un-incorporated churches are churches who do not become incorporated in their state. They are just as legal as incorporated churches and have a founding document (charter) as opposed to Articles of Incorporation.

What about Tax Exempt status, how do I get that?
You should probably get an attorney or CPA to help you fill out the 501c3 tax exempt application (c3 is the type of exemption you'll get, it's part of publication 501). Once approved you'll be tax exempt whenever you buy anything from Office Depot, Sams, wherever---if it's supplies for your church, for your healing practice---it's covered. Cars and vans, copiers & computers, count too. One of our ministers does outside consulting work to help you write Articles of Inc., by-laws, file the necessary forms, etc. Write to us if you want to contact her.

Can I draw up the legal papers for 501c3 myself?
Yes, certainly. A few people do, but most get help because the application process is so involved. Drawing up addenda for our 501c3 application drove me crazy for instance, and our attorney was very helpful.

What about doing the incorporation papers myself?
This is easier to do alone. If you do incorporate yourself, we recommend using StartChurch.com's resources. Get their packet for your state. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: You do NOT have to become incorporated. If you remain unincorporated, as many churches do in order not to fall into the business corporate side of religion, we can help you with a church charter or other founding document.

What are the two steps to getting non-profit status for my healing center/church that I plan to create after becoming ordained by you? How do I start my own Church?
You can start your own church and / or get non-profit status, but to get IRS 501c3 or non-profit tax exempt status in your State, you MUST first incorporate.

Step1: First you must incorporate, which means ordering the packet for a corporate seal, writing up some Articles of Incorporation for your organization and Bylaws, too, in some cases, then filing them at your State's Secretary of State Ofc. or Office of Taxation and Assessment. (See startchurch.com for more info)

Step2: Then once you get your state charter in the mail you take it to any accountant or lawyer who is familiar with non-profits. S/he can shepherd you through the IRS forms for getting non-profit, 501c3 status. Or do it yourself by using the advice and manuals found at startchurch.com

There are also online firms that offer this service now for as little as $250. Lawyers who specialize in corporations are good at writing articles of incorporation and bylaws and can smooth things over easily at the Sec'y of State's office when the charter application is filed. You pay your State a fee of around $25 to $100 for the charter/filing. I know people who have done it themselves, but many use attorneys or CPAs. Most states only require you to draw up the Articles of Incorporation, write your Bylaws, and fill out a short application and they'll give you a state issued charter. This turns your church or organization into a "legal entity." Startchurch.com's products once again will answer all these questions. They are strict fundamentalist Christians, and the hundreds of Bible verses they insert into their work may make you cross-eyed, but they know their legal stuff! You can stop after incorporating your organization, or proceed to file IRS forms for non-profit / tax exempt (501c3) status.

I would like detailed info on the IRS tax exemptions available once I become legally Ordained.
The best thing for you to do is to call the IRS form & publications ordering line (the number is 800-829-3676). Ask for publications 501, 557 and applications 1023 and 1024----those have to do with tax exempt status for organizations. You can also download this info from irs.gov. If you are counseling or healing others, no matter how tiny your practice, you are already an organization, and once you become a minister you can call yourself a church, which is a non-profit organization.

ALSO: ask to be sent the forms and publications used by clergy members when they file their income taxes each year. The IRS line is open 24 hours a day. They offer the option to have things faxed to you, but I don't advise it---you're talking over a hundred pages here. You'll want the nice hard copy forms and their explanatory publications for your permanent records, anyway.

You'll get the info straight from the horse's mouth! None of our staff here are tax experts, we have a wonderful accountant, though, who says, "have 'em ask their accountant or order the tax publications themselves, here's the numbers....." Order all the publications/booklets and forms dealing with clergy and churches. They'll send you a fat packet, let me tell ya. Should answer ALL your questions!

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Can I still accept money for my services without getting tax exempt status?
Yes, definitely! Due to the separation of Church and State doctrine in the United States, any ordained minister can accept money for their services, counseling, readings, weddings, ceremonies, etc. If you don't want to go thru all the hassle of filling out forms and paying the expense to get your 501c3 tax exempt status, (average attorney's fees for this are $850 and the process can take months) you can remain an Ordained Minister at the head of an unincorporated church or pastoral counseling practice. You accept suggested donations for your services. They used to call them "love offerings," but now most people use more accurate terms such as: "healing, reading or counseling session for a suggested donation of $20...." etc. You simply say "suggested donation"---and then set whatever amounts you deem appropriate.

What are some good suggested donations for my services?
When I perform a wedding, I ask for a suggested donation of $150, which used to be a sort of minimum standard fee for most ministers across the US. Baptism or Sacred Naming of a baby is usually the same suggested donation as a wedding. Counseling or reading sessions bring in anywhere from $15 to $100. House blessings can ask for a suggested donation of up to $1000! I've never charged that much for anything. However, many ministers rely solely on their spiritual ministering skills to support their families, so it's okay to ask for higher amounts, just so long you don't break anyone's financial back (that would come back on you, so not a good idea) I know ministers who suggest hefty donation fees. Again, as long as you are fine with it, and your customers are fine with it, it's fine. Just be sure to file your income taxes at the end of the year as a clergy member---pay an accountant to do it, makes life so much simpler. (The above mentioned tax forms & publications explain this process). Keep in mind that the accountant you hire need not be a CPA. Regular accountants can help you, too, and don't charge nearly so much as certified public accountants. Check your yellow pages and call around to get a feel for whom you might want to work with.

How do I get into your website's Practitioner's Directory?
This service is Free to all our ministers and alumni. Try to get your entry for the Practitioner's Directory to us as soon as possible, send it via email if you can. Our site is getting heavy traffic, and we want to have every geographical region covered with a minister/practitioner. The entry should have either your email address or your contact phone number, and it should certainly say your city--that is if you want to do in-person counseling sessions, or build a local telephone clientele. Check out the Practitioners Directory for ideas how to write your entry.

What does my state require if I want to perform marriage ceremonies? Click here to see a list of requirements by state (and Canada and NYC) for performing marriages. Remember, no state or county or city can regulate whether you become an ordained minister or not, but many have simple requirements for any minister to follow whenever they officiate a marriage. Please let us know if you find anything else for your state so we can keep this page updated.

Is the Esoteric Theological Seminary accredited? Like most alternative religious schools and seminaries, there is no accrediting agency in existence who will accredit us. We are not Christian enough for the Christian accrediting agencies, and not secular non-religious enough for the academic accrediting agencies. As many other countless religious degree-granting institutions, we wish to maintain our total independence from state interference and/or regulation. Many seminaries choose not to take part in the accreditation system even though they would qualify easily. As a religious organization that exclusively grants religious degrees, we do not wish to be subject to any state regulatory or "approval" system. Furthermore the fees for maintaining accreditation are exorbitant, which would require us to double, even triple, our tuition. Due to the separation of Church and State, churches and seminaries are entitled to remain independent in all things being set apart. Therefore we remain unaccredited -- and COOL!!. (We are talking only about the degree-granting function of our Seminary. Ordinations are done by the Esoteric Interfaith Church and there is never a question whether an ordination is "accredited" or "unaccredited" because there is no such thing as accrediting a church. The question of accrediting only applies to degrees.)

Do you have a Statement of Authority to legally grant degrees?
Yes, of course. The Esoteric Theological Seminary follows all the laws of our state for licensing and the granting of degrees. Each member of the alumni may order a copy of our Statement of Authority and it is posted on the wall in the Registrar's office. Our state told us we should not post it on our website, and we no longer supply copies of it to inquirers because of possible fraud and diploma mills possibly trying to copy it.

I saw the Esoteric Theological Seminary and the University of Esoterica on lists of unaccredited schools published by Oregon, Maine, and Michigan -- and Wikipedia. Why is that? We really do not belong on those lists since we only grant religious degrees and do so legally. A disgruntled former minister ordained by our church but who lost his good standing with our Church wrote to each of those states in 2007 in a megolomaniacal (and futile) attempt to damage our Seminary's twenty year plus reputation. He was angry because our Church had removed his good standing after he harrassed our members, ministers and Seminary alumni, and accused our institution of criminal activity. His goal was to make us turn up in Google searches alongside diploma mills and disreputable schools. He also put us on Wikipedia in the List of unaccredited schools article. We absolutely don't belong there because we don't grant academic degrees, never have, but only grant religious degrees. Furthermore, according to the higher education laws of our state, because we grant only religious degrees, we are actually exempt from accreditation. It is important to note just because an institution is unaccredited does not mean they are granting illegal degrees or selling worthless pieces of paper like a diploma mill. Normally religious schools as small as us with only a few carefully selected graduates per year are not notable enough to appear on those state lists, but since we are technically "unaccredited," they and Wikipedia say we belong on their lists. There are dozens of good schools on those same lists with us, a great many of them religious, spiritual or metaphysical schools. Technically, we are not unaccredited, but rather exempt from accreditation due to our religious legal status. We are recognized by the federal government as a non-profit tax exempt religious organization. In OR, ME and MI state lists mentioned above, a distinction should be made between institutions like ours that grant only religious degrees and those that grant academic degrees. Diploma mills "grant" academic degrees, not religious ones. Customers of diploma mills don't want to "buy" a religious doctorate degree. They want to buy an academic degree, a PhD, a Business Degree, fake Law degree, etc. You don't see them going after a Doctor of Ministry or Bachelors in Theology! But those 3 state government clerks and bureaucrats just can't make the distinction between academic and religious degrees for some reason, and so they lump all unaccredited institutions together. The end up with dozens of legitimate religious schools listed alongside the bad apples. Common sense says putting legitimate religious schools in with schools they are trying to warn consumers not to get scammed by, only serves to muddy the waters and provide cover for the diploma mills. All the good schools make the bad apples look better, or harder to find.

Texas lists schools whose degrees are illegal to use in their state, are degrees from your seminary legal to use in Texas?
Texas is the only state in the union that does this. They say they will charge a small misdemeanor fine to any person using a degree from an institution not approved by them. They are trying to fight diploma mills, but they make the mistake of ignoring the difference between religious degrees and academic degrees. In 2007 the Texas Supreme Court threw out other laws restricting Seminaries in Texas, saying the state government cannot "be in the business of approving religious organizations." But they haven't finished throwing out this last goofy law, the illegal-to-use an unapproved degree law. We have over a dozen Texas alumni with whom we keep in constant contact and not one of them has ever been fined or even told they cannot use their degree. Evidently, this is one of those laws that is on the books but not enforced. The police have better things to do than issue tickets to degree holders for putting "ThD" or "D.Div." on their business cards! Again, Texas is the only state fussy like this. All 49 others and most countries of the world do not fine people for mentioning their religious doctorate degree! In Germany where we have a few alumni, residents must prove their degree comes from an institution that is operating legally and must declare the state of the USA from which it is issued. So our degrees are legal to use in Germany (and many other countries) but not in Texas! It really is silly. Change is on the way, however, for there are several seminaries suing Texas to remove this last peculiar law. It is understandable for Texas to threaten to fine people using a fake degree. But it is outrageous to disallow those using a religious degree granted legally and considered legal in all other states and many foreign countries. Keep in mind, this is only about degrees, not ordinations. Texas cannot declare anything illegal regarding ministers using their ordination credentials. That would be in violation of the US Constitution. A Texas official wrote to us after we inquired, saying "Texas would never interfere with a Church's training of its ministers."

What is your refund policy?
We want you to be happy with your credentials from the Esoteric Theological Seminary and Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc. We have only once been asked for a refund, so here is our official Refund Policy: Send your certificate and wallet-card credentials back to us with a written request for refund. The Church Board of Directors will consider your refund request and depending on the length of time since your payment, we'll issue either a full refund or a partial one. Please understand that after thirty days, most organizations will not refund you at all, but we will consider refunds requested in good faith and following the above instructions.

Tuition for the Esoteric Theological Seminary's degree programs is non-refundable once the course materials have been sent out, or the diploma has been physically awarded or sent out in the mail to the graduate. Again, this has never happened, but if you need a refund, please contact us. We want you to be happy with your degree. Transcript fees are also non-refundable once the transcripts have been printed and sent out.