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The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; Portuguese: Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus; Spanish: Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios, IURD) is an evangelical charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, Brazil. The church was founded in 1977 in Rio de Janeiro by Bishop Edir Macedo, who is the owner (since 1989) of the multi-billion television company RecordTV.
In 1999 the UCKG claimed to have 8 million members in Brazil and was already considered a "commercial church". The denomination had established temples in the United Kingdom and in Africa and India, claiming a total of more than 12 million members worldwide that year. By 2013, the UCKG had congregations in New York City, and—according to the UCKG's website in the United States—as of 2019 had more than 300 congregations in 33 U.S. states. The church supported Jair Bolsonaro for president in the 2018 Brazilian general election, which he won.
In 2017 the UCKG faced allegations of adopting children in Portugal and taking them abroad illegally. It has also been accused of cult-like illegal activities and corruption, including money laundering, charlatanism, and witchcraft, as well as intolerance towards other religions. There have also been accusations that the church extracts money from poor members for the benefit of its leaders. In 2000, a London-based UCKG pastor arranged an exorcism which resulted in the death of a child and the conviction of her guardians of murder. The UCKG has been subject to bans in several African countries.
In 2022 a major uproar began in the United Kingdom. Hundreds of ex members began speaking out publicly about the abuse they endured within the church. The complaints range from sexual abuse to physiological and financial abuse and coercion. The topic around faith abuse has been raised in the wake of the uproar. The movement, named Surviving Universal UK, went viral on TikTok. This gained media attention, resulting in a high profile investigation by The Guardian
UCKG survivors in the UK have been calling on the Charity Commission to launch a statutory inquiry into the UCKG’s conduct and finances and eventually strip the church of their charity status. In the UK, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) makes on average £12 million a year, according to their annual report Report submitted to the Charity Commission. This figure is widely criticised by UCKG survivors as they say members fund all UCKG activities, including expensive uniforms that all volunteers must wear, food banks and outreach programs. They question where the millions actually go.