Church of the Universe

[Rory]

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

It is a new religious movement or cult which uses marijuana as a sacrament and promotes nudity as a demonstration of human equality. Many question the sincerity or depth of this religion, seeing it as an excuse to indulge in otherwise frowned upon activities. However the Church's use of the entheogen Cannabis is taken from rituals found in certain ancient Semitic practices.

In 1936, etymologist Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw claimed to have discovered the connection between kaneh bosm in the Old Testament as the original Semitic Hebrew origins of the word cannabis. Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1980 confirmed this information as correct.The five passages that experienced the "missing" are Exodus 30:23; Song of Solomon 4:14; Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20; & Ezekiel 27:19. Kaneh bosm was mis-translated after the dark ages, where the Bible was prohibited by the Roman Empire

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 Psalms 22:30 and Revelations 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 practised in many communities within the Church of the Universe.

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.

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.

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.

So I discovered these dudes last year. Basically every sunday at 4 we go to them and smoke weed for an hour straight. I don't believe one bit in the religion but god damn the weed they smoke us on during service is damn good, and it's free! And you can buy some to take home with you afterwards! All sorts of different strains. Totally lucky I found these dudes. Anything similiar to this in your guys' areas?

[limit]

ahahaha that's hilarious.
No there isn't anything like that around here but there's still time and dope fiends like me to make up something about weed and god.

[dr.Spock]

holy crap haha.

wanna ask them if there are any "churches" located in edmonton alberta?

[(weedguru)scarf]

what times the next plane to north hamilton???

thats the best thing i have heard in this very short 2007

[Viewer_Discretion]

alright canada. Now all i gotta do is move up there.

[Dakine]

Well thats 4 people converted.

All we've got is some dodgy hindu meditation meet, on tuesdays, its pretty cool, you just go in high, and sit around on really comfy cushions for an hour, and snack on vegitarian treats.

[Weedguru~N0isenkiss3s]

you have to cover your heads? :O

Still though, that's pretty cool....I'd be reluctant to join though, what with the increased police attention :O

[Psyclone]

*gets pulled over with a blunt in my mouth*

Officer: "Is that marijuana I smell?"
Me: "YES, IT IS AGAINST MY RELIGION TO NOT SMOKE. IF I DON'T SMOKE I DISOBEY MY GOD."
Officer: "Please step out of the vehicle."

[Vinyl]

damn man. when i read that i thought "i wish they had something like that here" but you live in toronto dont you? im so going there as soon as i can drive!!!

[dr.Spock]

any updates on the church expanding to other parts of the country?

[Ziggy]

holy shit rory, nice find. i live in sauga. where bouts in toronto are they. wouldnt mind poppin in for a smoke.

but does that mean you guy smoke in the nude ?

[Vinyl]

dude...your in sauga? im in sauga where exactly u live? and it said in the article "north hamilton" i might just go on a "church hunt" soon

[Howl]

holy shit rory, nice find. i live in sauga. where bouts in toronto are they. wouldnt mind poppin in for a smoke.

but does that mean you guy smoke in the nude ?

I was wondering the same thing, Smoking nude with a bunch of other nude people, weird.

[Ziggy]

i live by the erindale go station. on creditview and rathburn....in that area....what about you freerider?

and howl, ye thats why i asked, cause if its a bunch of guys stripping nude smoking some ganja, count me out. im comfortable with my body, but if its going to be a sausage fest, i dont need weed that bad lol

[Vinyl]

im near eglinton and highway 10...well sort of lol. u know where central parkway mall is? im closer to there