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Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

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Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (English), Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (Portuguese)
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
LocationRio de Janeiro, Brazil
DenominationPentecostal, Evangelical
WebsiteUCKG official English language website (United Kingdom)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Edir Macedo

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG, from Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, also known as UCKG HelpCentre) is a Pentecostal Christian religious organisation established in Brazil on July 9, 1977, with a presence in many countries.

History

From the UCKG website

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God was formed in 1977 in Brazil. It owes its origins to an evangelistic programme conducted by Bishop Robert McAlister, a Canadian missionary in the Pentecostal tradition. The church's spiritual leader, Edir Macedo Bezerra, is a former low-level Brazilian national lottery employee and disillusioned Catholic who began his ministry in mid 1977 by preaching on a weekly radio show, according to Brazilian press reports.

Macedo, who went on to found UCKG, was one of the converts. He started to hold services under a small park shelter in Rio de Janeiro and later used cinemas and local halls to draw in congregants and shortly afterwards a funeral parlour.

Further church openings followed and the movement expanded across Brazil. As of 2010 there are about 5000 UCKG Churches in Brazil. Its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro can accommodate 12,000 people.

Following an exploratory visit to the US, the UCKG was established in New York in 1986, expanding later to other US cities.

The UCKG then opened churches in other countries in the Americas including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana. In Europe, it established congregations in United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, and Latvia. In Africa, churches were formed in Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Kenya, Lesotho, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, Uganda,including Botswana, and other countries. In Asia, churches exist in in India, China, Philippines, and Japan (where the first 24 h church is based). The branches are often located in areas predominantly populated by minorities and immigrants[citation needed].

Other history

The UCKG bought UK Liberty Radio in 2000[1], but authorities did not allow a proposed change in the broadcasting format to religious programming. Due to UK rules preventing stations owned by religious organisations from owning digital radio licences in the UK, UCKG's broadcasting licence was not renewed, and the station became Club Asia (and later Buzz Radio) on 3 July 2003[2].

In 2010, the UCKG announced plans to build the Templo de Salomão, a 10,000-seat church designed as a Replica of the Temple of Solomon.[3]

Doctrines

Most UCKG doctrines are the same as most conservative Pentecostal doctrines. Specific doctrines include belief:[4]

Controversies

The UCKG has caused much controversy. Many specific criticisms are listed on the Rick A. Ross Institute website[5]. UCKG response to some issues are on its website[6].

Throughout its history the church has been charged with immoral and illegal deeds, including money laundering, charlatanism[7][8], extracting money from supporters, often poor, which enriches UCKG leaders and is not distributed to the needy[8][9], witchcraft [7], and religious intolerance towards other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, other Protestant groups, and especially African Brazilian syncretic religions such as Umbanda and Candomblé, and their members[10]. Accusations of charlatanism are the most frequent. As a consequence of such charges, the church has been under investigation in Belgium.[11][12] There have been detailed reports in the US,[13] UK,[14] Brazil,[15] and Zambia.[16]

According to the UCKG website media organizations that have made accusations against the Universal Church lost cases and had to retract their allegations.[17] The website says that the Universal Church has been found innocent in cases around the world, in New Zealand [18], The United Kingdom [19], and other countries such as The Netherlands. A TV station there not only lost its case but also had to pay the court expenses of 102,978 euros, and a fine of 250,000 euros if it chose to ever speak against the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.[20] The website says that the Universal Church is committed to transparency and building good relationships with the media.[21]

Charges of fraud

According to the Brazilian press, a judge has accepted prosecutors' claims that the founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and nine other leaders took advantage of their position to commit fraud against the church and its followers. Prosecutors accuse the leader of the church, Bishop Edir Macedo, and 9 other church leaders of laundering more than US$2 billion in donations from 2001 to 2009.[22]

Accusations in the United States

One particular subsidiary of the UCKG near Houston, Texas was first inaugurated in the Pasadena area in 1992. Within less than a year the organization opened another location within the greater Houston area (located at North Sheapard/Garden Oaks intersection) in The Heights area.

The Francisco Rodriguez case:

In 1995 Francisco Rodriguez, a native of El Salvador, first started out as an energetic member and later he himself decides to volunteer for church activities such as holding "reach outs" to people in public and handing out gospel pamphlets and in mid 1997 the church administration decides to move him up making him a church collaborator. Rodriguez began running errands under the order of then pastor Carlos Moncada (a native of Honduras). In those errands Rodriguez was sent to the grocery supermarket and was given a list of items for church services. One of those items was Olive oil of which was told to the congregation that it was "Holy Oil" imported from Israel. Other items he was to purchase were wooden crosses of which he claims he was to order them from a wood shop in the local area and Holy Water of which he claims they had shipping trucks deliver natural spring water.

Rodriguez then contributes to church investments for future projects. In July 1998 he contributes an estimated $92,000 (U.S. Dollars) into a "private" church account and claims that Moncada's administrators promised to pay back all the money in a period of 2 to 6 months but Rodriguez himself was not notified neither by Moncada or his administrators neither did he ever receive a call from the bank. As time passed, he then talks with reporters claiming that it was the church that was putting pressure on him in order to unpocket the money and not that of a "well intended" donation. It was not until February 1999 that Rodriguez files a lawsuit against the church in a Houston court for an estimated $2.1 million (U.S. Dollars). The church was given an ultimatum of 90 days to pay the money to Rodriguez and by May 1999 the church could only give him $1.4 million dollars back (perhaps much less). In May 2000, Rodriguez speaks to local medias KTRK ABC 13 and KTMD Telemundo 47 (at the time still known as KTMD 48) revealing that the church forced him to do illicit acts and non-church related activities that clearly involved money laundering, fraud and "trash talk" in reference to other church members. However, Carlos Moncada was interviewed and questioned about where was the oil purchased his answer was; "We order pure imported olive oil from Israel". Then he was questioned about the church collection (cash donations/offerings) and their destination, his answer was; "That I cannot answer at this moment". Other things pointed out to media were about the cast-outs of evil spirits in their believers. Rodriguez says; "That was all drama". Other church members (of whom then abandoned the church) accused the Houston branch for similar acts. These accusations made headlines throughout the United States.

Victoria and Jesus Lorenzo case:

Victoria Lorenzo and her husband Jesus Lorenzo were a married couple (with children) and joined the church first in February 1996. The Couple were members of the UCKG at the same Houston Heights area subsidiary. Then in August 1999 they raised questions about the church's fund-raising tactics, the state attorney's office said it found itself powerless to act because church members make their donations voluntarily.

"There is nothing we can do legally," said Heather Browne, state's attorney spokeswoman. "There's a problem here - but we cannot legally sue."

Victoria and Jesus Lorenzo left the church in late 1999 after giving $60,000. They lost their office-cleaning business and their home later going bankrupt.

"They left us in the street," said Victoria Lorenzo. "It got to the point that we had to give them all our money - literally they were asking members in the church to empty their pocketbooks on the altar."

Ex-church volunteer Ludy Karr of Houston admitted she scammed followers by buying olive oil from the local supermarket that pastors then claimed to churchgoers was blessed, and had come from Israel.

"When I asked the pastor about it, he said I had the devil inside me and that I was being taken over by evil spirits," said Karr.

Tax evasion

Bishop Macedo, the founder and leader of the Church, was prosecuted for tax evasion in the state of São Paulo and imprisoned for 11 days in 1992.[7]

The UCKG says that no charges against him were ever proved and that it was felt within the church that this action was politically motivated.[23] But it is known that ministers openly ask for money offerings in exchange of miracle performance and in a service in Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, ushers collected all they could from the congregants, including jewelry that they were wearing. The church ended up buying the Record TV network that now competes with the Globo TV network giant that used to monopolize the air waves. To attack Record TV's intolerance of Roman Catholicism to the point that a UC minister destroyed a dark statue of Mary on the national holiday that celebrates Lady Aparecida as the patroness of Brazil, Globo created a soap opera narrating how the "miraculous" image appeared in a river in São Paulo state. Globo also often has spiritualistic themes in its soap operas, once Record and the UC,as well as most evangelicals consider spiritualism devilish. Interestingly though, the founder of the UC is said to have belonged to African-Brazilian spiritualistic denominations and would have only decided to found a charismatic church after the Association of African-Brazilian Spiritualistic Centros refused to accept him as a member with the pretension of becoming the leader.

Victoria Climbié's death (UK)

Main article: Murder of Victoria Climbié

Victoria Climbié was an eight-year-old child whose cruel death led to major changes in child protection policies in the UK. She died from abuse and neglect while living with her aunt Marie-Therese Kouao and the aunt's boyfriend. Victoria was seen by dozens of social workers, nurses, doctors and police officers before she died, and by the UCKG, but all failed to spot and stop the abuse as she was slowly tortured to death. Kouao and her boyfriend were charged with child cruelty and murder. During police interviews, both claimed that Victoria was possessed by evil spirits. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment.

Victoria's murder led to a public inquiry which investigated the role of social services, the National Health Service, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and the police in her death.

On 19 February 2000 Victoria was taken by Kouao to the UCKG on Seven Sisters Road. The pastor, Alvaro Lima, told the inquiry that he suspected she was being abused. He said that Victoria told him that Satan had told her to burn herself. According to the inquiry report "Pastor Lima expressed the view that Victoria was possessed by an evil spirit and advised Kouao to bring Victoria back to the church a week later".[24] Lima decided to pray and fast with an assistant; he did not call the police, hospital or social services, and took no further action.[25]

On 24 February 2000 Kouao took Victoria back to the UCKG, where Pastor Lima advised them to go to hospital and called a taxi;[24] when she arrived at the hospital her temperature was 27 °C (normal temperature is about 36 °C). She died the following day—the same day the UCKG was planning to hold a service of deliverance for her to cast out the devil.[26] A post-mortem examination found 128 injuries on all parts of her body; the pathologist reported that it was the worst case of deliberate harm to a child he had ever seen[24].

Belgian parliamentary inquiry

In 1997 the Belgian Parliament Inquiry Committee on Cults[27] labeled the UCKG as a dangerous cult. The report further alleged that "[The Church] claims that the Kingdom of God is down here and that it can offer a solution to every possible problem, depression, unemployment, family and financial problems. In fact, [the UCKG] is apparently a truly criminal association, whose only purpose is enrichment."[28] The Belgian report itself generated controversy for varied reasons and the Parliament ultimately rejected most of it.[29] Subsequently the UCKG won a legal case against the State of Belgium in respect of allegations which were made in a 1997 parliamentary investigation.[30] The government admitted making an error to include the Universal church in the investigation.[31]

The "Kicking of the Saint"

Main article: Kicking of the saint

An incident involving the UCKG in Brazil is known as the "Kicking of the Saint."[32] In the early hours of October 12, 1995—a holiday in honor of national Catholic patron saint Our Lady Aparecida—UCKG's bishop Sergio von Helde kicked, slapped, and insulted a statue of the saint on UCKG-owned Rede Record (Record TV), leading to violent protests and bomb threats against UCKG temples; Von Helde was charged with violating a law that forbids "public discrimination and contempt against another religion", and was criticised by the President. He fled the country, and was later found guilty of religious discrimination and desecration of a national sacred treasure and sentenced to two years in prison.[33] Edir Macedo apologized for von Helde's actions, but blamed Rede Globo—the nation's largest television network—for "manipulating public sentiment" by repeatedly showing a video of the pastor kicking the saint.[34]

References

  1. ^ News Article BBC - UCKG buys Liberty Radio (UK)
  2. ^ http://www.radio-now.co.uk/news123.htm
  3. ^ "Solomon's Temple in Brazil would put Christ the Redeemer in the shade; Huge replica planned for Sâo Paulo would be twice the height of the iconic statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro Tom Phillips, July 21, 2010, The Guardian.
  4. ^ UCKG website, "What we believe" lists many points, mostly those common to all Pentecostal doctrines
  5. ^ Rick A. Ross Institute website: list of articles on UCKG
  6. ^ UCKG: "Misconceptions", responses to criticisms
  7. ^ a b c Igreja in concert: padres cantores, mídia e marketing, by André Ricardo de Souza (in Portuguese): "in 1992 Edir Macedo was imprisoned accused of charlatanism, quackery, and larceny by fraud"
  8. ^ a b "Prosperity" in the 1990s: ethnography of the work commitment between worshippers and God in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (in Portuguese)
  9. ^ http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/u/universal/ex-member.htm
  10. ^ RELIGION-BRAZIL: Intolerance Denounced at UN
  11. ^ Belgian Parliamentary Report on UCKG (in Flemish and French)
  12. ^ English Translation of Belgian Parliamentary Report on UCKG
  13. ^ New York Post: ONE HELL OF A WAY TO RAISE MONEY - HOLY-ROLLER CHURCH CASHES IN ON FAITHFUL, 23 July 2000
  14. ^ Guardian newspaper: The exorcists, 15 January 2001
  15. ^ brazzil.com: Praise the Lord and pass the catch-up
  16. ^ AFP: Satanism claims lead to riot, 27 November 2005
  17. ^ http://news.uckg.org/2010/misconceptions.html#
  18. ^ http://uckg.org/show_pages.php?tbl_pages_id=PGURL-9dc64f1da7
  19. ^ http://uckg.org/show_pages.php?tbl_pages_id=PGURL-a6e1693af4
  20. ^ http://uckg.org/show_pages.php?tbl_pages_id=PGURL-d3e5c6a068
  21. ^ http://news.uckg.org/2010/press.html
  22. ^ Phillips, Tom (2009-08-13), "Brazilian evangelical leader charged with fraud", The Guardian, retrieved 24 August 2009
  23. ^ http://news.uckg.org/2010/myth4.html
  24. ^ a b c House of Commons Health Committee, The Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report, Sixth Report of Session 2002–03
  25. ^ Pastor prayed for 'possessed' Victoria, BBC, 6 December 2001, retrieved 23 April 2010
  26. ^ Victoria's life of horror", BBC, 12 January 2001, retrieved 23 April 2010
  27. ^ .pdf file with text in French and Dutch
  28. ^ [1]
  29. ^ Vote of the Belgian Parliament on the report of the Enquête (Commission) on Cults (pdf), Session of May 7, 1997
  30. ^ UKCG website on Belgian legal case
  31. ^ http://uckg.org/show_pages.php?tbl_pages_id=PGURL-f804ec7a50
  32. ^ Washington Post "On Faith"
  33. ^ Latin American (interdenominational Christian) Mission: Evangelical Christianity thriving in Brazil
  34. ^ "A Skirmish in Brazil's Holy War" by Jack Epstein in the San Francisco Chronicle

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