Church of the Universe

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The Assembly of the Church of the Universe, an entheogen religion, was established by Walter Tucker in 1969 in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The Church uses marijuana as a sacrament and promotes nudity as a demonstration of human equality. The church's use of cannabis is allegedly founded in ancient Judaic practices involving Kaneh-Bosm, meaning cannabis. This translation is based on the findings of Polish anthropologist Sula Benet in the mid-1940s.

Contents

[edit] Theology

The guiding rules of the church are variations on the Golden Rule: 1. Do not hurt yourself. 2. Do not hurt anyone else. However, there are other greater and lesser aspects of their worship.

The Church of the Universe is a syncretic religion. Although often quoting from the Bible and other scriptures, the church disclaims a direct connection to Christianity. Indeed, it also accepts as valid sources of inspiration the ancient and modern sources such as culture of Sumer, pagan holidays of the solstices, Canada Day, the Knights Templar, Chaldeans, Gnostic gospels and the Desiderata.

Their sacrament is cannabis, and followers are encouraged to smoke marijuana and use hemp products. They draw on accounts in Genesis and associate the tree of life with the hemp plant, additionally quoting Psalm 22:30 and Revelation 22:2,14.

Nudity also finds its origins in Genesis, since Adam and Eve were unclothed until they partook from the tree of knowledge rather than of life. However, members are enjoined to cover their heads on any official occasion or when interacting with government agents. The nudism is no longer practiced in many communities within the Church of the Universe. Each person does so as God directs.

Since members are also ministers, and the church sells ordinations, there is theoretically no distinction between clergy and members. However, founder Walter Tucker and leading member Michael Baldasaro often appropriate religious titles such as reverend, archbishop, bishop and abbot with little consistency or apparent official basis.

[edit] Activities

Tucker founded the church at a water-filled former quarry in Puslinch, Ontario in Wellington County between Hamilton and Guelph. When he leased the site for a nominal fee, he renamed it Clearwater Abbey.

Church occupation of the area was not without controversy, including biker parties, the unexplained discovery of a corpse on the property in 1975, the termination of its lease in 1982, and subsequent ejection by police and sheriffs. An attempt to relocate to a disused foundry, renamed Hempire Village, in Guelph in 1994 met a similar fate. The church is now located in north Hamilton.

Marijuana use and nudism have attracted the most attention to the religion from people in general and the police in particular. Criminal charges of possession and trafficking are common for members, although the recent semi-legality of marijuana for medical purposes had reduced them despite the fact that sacraments are not medicines.

Frequent court challenges, based on charges or the exercise of political rights, have created an additional pair of intertwined activities: the Legal Self-Defence fund and the University of Universe. Members who defend themselves or others in court are granted degrees from this non-accredited university, the level depending on the level of court involved.

Baldasaro and Tucker are perennial candidates for various public and party offices, whether standing as candidates for various parties or as independents. Like the Natural Law Party, the Church of the Universe uses politics to further its religious goals rather than the reverse.

[edit] References

  • Assembly of the Church of the Universe. The Assembly of the Church of the Universe Sacramental Tree of Life. Hamilton, Ont.: The Church, n.d. [acquired ca. 1985]. Pamphlet.
  • Hamilton Public Library. Church of the Universe. Hamilton, Ont., n.p., various. Clipping scrapbook.

1. Encyclopedia Judaica. Volume 8. p. 323. 2. ^ Sula Benet, Early Diffusions and Folk Uses of Hemp. (Reprinted in Cannabis and Culture, Vera Rubin, Ed. The Hague: Moutan, 1975.) 3. ^ Sara Benetowa (Sula Benet), Tracing One Word Through Different Languages. (1936). (Reprinted in The Book of Grass, 1967.)

[edit] External links

Stories in local newspapers such as The Hamilton Spectator and The Guelph Mercury on the church and its members do not remain online for long. The following links have been chosen for their stability on the web.