The Congregation of Universal Wisdom Opposes Vaccination

Stephen Barrett, M.D.
March 10, 2015

The Congregation of Universal Wisdom asserts that injection of any medication or other man-made substance would violate the sanctity of the body. The organization is operated by Walter P. Schilling, D.C., who had said that is was incorporated in New Jersey in 1975 and in 2000 had a total membership of “4,423 Souls” in 24 states, with 2,427 members in New Jersey, 1,255 in Florida and 409 New York. To join, families must state the name and birth date of each family member and include a dated statement that they will aspire to live by the group’s tenets. The “customary donation” for a family lifetime membership is $75.

The group’s religious tenets (shown below) express fundamentalist chiropractic theory in religious terms. They say, for example, that “the ministry will be constituted by those sufficiently trained in the art, philosophy and theology of the laying on of hands to the vertebrae” and that “the laity . . . shall be composed of those seeking spiritual and physical health combined by unequivocal adherence to the principles of the Congregation and the laying on of hands on their vertebrae.” They further state that the use of medication—whether by ingestion, injection, application, or inhalation—is a sacrilege.

In September 2000, the Syracuse Herald American reported that the mother of 5-year-old Victoria Turner was suing the local school district for denying her daughter’s entrance into kindergarten. The lawsuit claimed that the district was violating the child’s constitutional right to religious freedom. The mother stated that she belonged to the Congregation of Universal Wisdom, which preaches that injection of any medication or other man-made substance would violate the sanctity of the body. The school superintendent had determined that the mother’s beliefs were sincere but not part of a legitimate religion—that a similar case in another school district had revealed that the Congregation of Universal Wisdom had been formed by a chiropractor, required no real training for its ministers, and did not provide religious services or other regular contacts with its members. Unfortunately, for both the child and the community, the court sided with the mother and ruled that her views were sufficiently religious to qualify for a religious exemption under New York State law.

TENETS OF THECONGREGATION OF UNIVERSAL WISDOM

Purpose
  • As Universal Wisdom is the Supreme Master of all levels in creation and all life of the universe it shall, therefore, be the guide or principle for all mankind to aspire to live by.
  • The healing of mind, body and spirit is but one and is governed by this Universal Wisdom.
  • It is the belief of the members of the congregation that upheaval of the morals and inferiority of human values have been the results of a departure of mankind from the ideals expressed by Universal Wisdom. This we believe has resulted in a sick and decaying society whose redemption can only be brought about by a blending of Universal Intelligence with man’s innate mind. This blending must be initiated by correction of all interference of the brain and central nervous system by forces physical or otherwise that would prevent a free flow of life to all human parts.
  • After correction of the interference through the above mentioned avenues, the free and unimpeded flow of life energy should be maintained through Universal Wisdom.
  • Laying on of hands to the vertebrae shall be the sole means of maintaining the LIFE FORCE through Universal Wisdom
  • The health and purity of body , mind and spirit shall be the supreme attainment of mankind; to be expressed through Universal wisdom, a beautiful and meaningful world in harmony with all living things as all living things are the expression of God and/or Universal Wisdom.
  • No living thing shall possess the power to possess Universal Wisdom but in the presence thereof become the radiation, conductor of life force.
Healing
  • All living things are ordained through Universal Wisdom to be endowed with all resources which shall initiate, sustain and perpetuate life be they chemical, physical or spiritual through the laws of nature.
  • Violation of the integrity of these natural endowments shall result in a state of dis-ease. That state in which the living organism is no longer within a divine state of harmonious balance
  • It is sacrilege to introduce living organisms any unnatural matter that may alter the natural balance of that organism rendering into a state of dis-ease.
  • The laying on of hands, that basic manner of conveying universal forces by man, shall serve as the sole means of conveying and radiating the life forces from above, downward and outward.
  • The avenue through which Universal Wisdom is conveyed is through the brain and spinal chord by way of the universal forces. There shall be no other way in accordance with the ancient laws of life and from the divine laying on of the hands by adjusting of the vertebrae that the truth of life, spiritual and physical issue forth.
  • No man shall be of the power morally or otherwise to make himself above the Law of Nature nor obsess himself with vain posturing in the conveyance of Universal Wisdom; Universal Wisdom will not be governed by the ego of man.
Laity
  • The laity of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom shall be composed of those seeking spiritual and physical health combined by unequivocal adherence to the principles of the Congregation and the laying on of hands on their vertebrae.
  • The laity will partake of missionary activities in advancing the principles of the Congregation without reservation with respect to spiritual and physical health.
  • The laity shall elect from its body Lay ministers who may be called upon to preach and promote the Gospel of the Congregation.
  • The laity shall take the responsibility of adhering to the life principles of the Congregation and maintain the divine ethics in accordance with the life principle.
Sacrilege
  • It shall be a sacrilege to depart from the precepts of the Congregation by the following:
    a. The ingestion of medication or other chemical substances that defy natural law.
    b. The injection into the body of medication or other matter or substances that defy natural law.
    c. The application of medication, chemicals or other foreign matter or substances unharmonious to the laws of nature.
    d. The inhalation of medication, chemicals or other foreign substances in disharmony with the laws of nature.
Laity
  • The laity of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom shall be composed of those seeking spiritual and physical health combined by unequivocal adherence to the principles of the Congregation and the laying on of hands on their vertebrae.
  • The laity will partake of missionary activities in advancing the principles of the Congregation without reservation with respect to spiritual and physical health.
  • The laity shall elect from its body Lay ministers who may be called upon to preach and promote the Gospel of the Congregation.
  • The laity shall take the responsibility of adhering to the life principles of the Congregation and maintain the divine ethics in accordance with the life principle.
Ministry
  • The ministry will be constituted by those sufficiently trained in the art, philosophy and theology of the laying on of hands to the vertebrae.
  • Candidates for the ministry of the Congregation will be, examined by a body of five approved Ministers and one lay Minister-who will cast one vote each to admit the candidate to partake in the ministry.
The Examination
  • To consist of a dissertation of the Life Principle, the Philosophy and Practice of the Congregation and the Laying on of Hands to the Vertebrae.
  • A verbal examination in explanation of the dissertation.
The Meeting Places
  • There will be no edifice erected in a denominational or physical sense to denote the place of worship of the children of Universal Wisdom.
  • God sees all, hears all, feels all and knows all therefore, God is everywhere all the time and is in all living things.
  • A congregation shall consist of any member meeting at a designated meeting place anywhere in the Universe.
Moral Obligation
  • No court or civil legal body or any tribunal anywhere in the universe shall proclaim itself master in judgement over the physical, mental or spiritual health of any living thing. The only true judge is God in harmony with universal forces and no other living being possess the intellect to judge such matters.
  • The congregation in adherence to their spiritual belief and religion are bound by their moral obligation to make resistance and refusal to such judgements in keeping with their committed belief and practice.
  • It shall be considered a breach of Constitutional rights in a free society to subjugate, force by edict, civil judgement or criminal judgement a conscientious congregational member to submit to beliefs other than those precepts or principles which bind them to the Congregation of Universal Wisdom.
  • It shall also be noted that a member is conscientiously opposed to killing, maiming or willfully injuring a fellow living being whether by edict, act of war or dint of circumstance.

This page was revised on March 10, 2015.