The key to becoming an ordained minister isn’t religious piety or devotion; it’s pressing a button on the Universal Life Church homepage and filling in some basic biographical information.

That’s right – with a simple click of the mouse, you too can become a minister for ULC, spreading the word of God to, uh, all your friends on campus.

The best part? ULC doesn’t discriminate based on one’s religion. So, your Jewish/Muslim/Buddhist friends can all get in on the sacrilegious action.

The Brown Daily Herald reports:

One afternoon this September, Mike Bohl '11 went out on a bike ride, got a call from his old roommate and came home an ordained minister.

His roommate ordained him online through the Universal Life Church. The church's site, www.themonastery.org allows individuals to become ministers with the click of a button - really. Applicants need only fill out basic information like name and address, and then hit "ordain me."

[…] Ministers ordained through the Modesto, Calif.-based Universal Life Church can legally perform marriages, baptisms and preside over funerals. They are not required to comply with any formal doctrine, and, according to the e-mail the church sends out to its newly ordained ministers, "Ordination is for life, without price and without question of your specific beliefs." The only stipulation is that ministers must "always do the right thing."

Hmm, I’m not sure ordaining one’s friends without their knowledge, and then going around campus desecrating the rites of marriage by performing mock wedding rituals in dorm rooms qualifies as doing “the right thing.”

In fact, no it isn't.

Still, until the courts crack down on this site, I implore everyone to ordain their friends. At the very least, the look on their face when they receive their “official” certificate in the mail will make it all worth it.