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74-528: The Universal Life Church ( ULC ) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley , under the doctrine: "Do that which is right". The Universal Life Church advocates for religious freedom , offering legal ordination to become a minister free of charge, to anyone who wishes to join. The ULC has ordained ministers from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, including atheists , Christians , Jews , Neopagans and Wiccans . The ULC's popularity stems in part from

148-487: A notary public , justice of the peace , or marriage commissioner . The ULC has occasionally been criticized for its openness and ease of ordination. Some people, usually as a joke, submit ordination requests for their pets. The ULC has tried to curb the ordination of pets, but if the name on the application appears to be legitimate, the application will probably be granted. The ULC website warns against fraudulent ordination requests, including attempts to ordain pets: "No one

222-411: A religious denomination . Religious people of a non-denominational persuasion tend to be more open-minded in their views on various religious matters and rulings. Some converts towards non-denominational strains of thought have been influenced by disputes over traditional teachings in the previous institutions they attended. Nondenominationalism has also been used as a tool for introducing neutrality into

296-474: A century and a half, Cincinnati went unchallenged as the most prominent of Ohio's cities, a role that earned it the nickname of "chief city of Ohio" in the 1879 New American Cyclopædia . In addition to this book, countless other books have documented the social history of both the city and its frontier people. The city fathers, of Anglo-American families of prominence, were Episcopalian . Inspired by its earlier horseback circuit preachers , early Methodism

370-656: A combination of syllables drawn from French and Latin words, intended to mean "town opposite the mouth of the Licking". On January 4, 1790, St. Clair changed the name of the settlement to honor the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1811, the introduction of steamboats on the Ohio River opened up the city's trade to more rapid shipping, and the city established commercial ties with St. Louis, Missouri , and New Orleans downriver. Cincinnati

444-424: A crescent around the city: Mount Adams , Walnut Hills , Mount Auburn , Vine Street Hill , College Hill , Fairmont (now rendered Fairmount ), and Mount Harrison (now known as Price Hill ). The name refers to ancient Rome, reputed to be built on seven hills. "Queen City" is taken from an 1819 newspaper article and further immortalized by the 1854 poem "Catawba Wine". In it, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote of

518-496: A crisis and then retired to farming because he did not want to remain in power, becoming a symbol of Roman civic virtue . Cincinnati began in 1788 when Mathias Denman, Colonel Robert Patterson , and Israel Ludlow landed at a spot at the northern bank of the Ohio opposite the mouth of the Licking and decided to settle there. The original surveyor, John Filson , named it "Losantiville",

592-577: A keystone of civic history; and among Methodist institutions were The Christ Hospital as well as projects of the German Methodist Church . One of Cincinnati's biggest proponents of Methodism was the Irish immigrant James Gamble , who together with William Procter founded Procter & Gamble ; in addition to being a devout Methodist, Gamble and his estate donated money to construct Methodist churches throughout Greater Cincinnati. Cincinnati, being

666-510: A male householder with no wife present, and 53.3% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 21.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 10.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of

740-637: A number of hills, bluffs, and low ridges overlooking the Ohio in the Bluegrass region of the country. The tristate is geographically located within the Midwest at the far northern extremity of the Upland South . Three municipalities are enveloped by the city: Norwood , Elmwood Place , and Saint Bernard . Norwood is a business and industrial city, while Elmwood Place and Saint Bernard are small, primarily residential, villages. Cincinnati does not have an exclave, but

814-454: A population growth, marking the first such increase since the 1950 census. On January 4, 2022, Aftab Pureval assumed office as the 70th mayor of Cincinnati. Cincinnati has many nicknames , including Cincy, The Queen City, The Queen of the West, The Blue Chip City, and The City of Seven Hills. These are more typically associated with professional, academic, and public relations references to

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888-509: A process that usually requires years of seminary study". Non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination . The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism , Baháʼí Faith , Zoroastrianism , Unitarian Universalism , Neo-Paganism , Christianity , Islam , Judaism , Hinduism , Buddhism and Wicca . It stands in contrast with

962-444: A public square when the local populace is derived from a wide-ranging set of religious beliefs. This article about religious studies is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cincinnati Cincinnati ( / ˌ s ɪ n s ɪ ˈ n æ t i / SIN -si- NAT -ee ; nicknamed Cincy ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio , United States. Settled by Europeans in 1788,

1036-614: A reasonably intelligent (and suspicious) person could be readily misled by the ULC into believing that by becoming a ULC minister he can legally perform marriages throughout the United States, and beyond." In Canada, ULC ministers are currently not authorized to solemnize marriage in any province or territory. In places where being a ULC minister does not legally authorize a person to solemnize marriages, ULC ministers intending to do so must also meet other requirements, which might include registering as

1110-573: A religious affiliation for tax purposes, and whether ordinations legally permit recipients to perform weddings in various jurisdictions. Lewis notes that the American Internal Revenue Service has generally assumed a negative predisposition towards the ULC, and has sought to eliminate the organization's tax-exempt status. A number of legal cases have addressed this question, as well as the ordination question, with varying results. Four U.S. states expressly do not recognize ministers of

1184-626: A rising interest in having friends or family officiate weddings, a trend which has attracted a range of celebrities to become ordained including Stevie Nicks , Adele , Benedict Cumberbatch , Ian McKellen , Conan O'Brien , and Steven Tyler . However, courts in Virginia have held that they will not recognize marriages solemnized by ULC ministers, while eight states have specifically held such marriages to be valid, these being Alabama , Indiana , Mississippi , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Texas , Utah , and Washington . The remainder have not addressed

1258-862: A rivertown crossroads, depended on trade with the slave states south of the Ohio River at a time when thousands of black people were settling in the free state of Ohio. Most of them came after the American Civil War and were from Kentucky and Virginia with many of them fugitives who had sought freedom and work in the North. In the antebellum years, the majority of native-born whites in the city came from northern states, primarily Pennsylvania . Though 57 percent of whites migrated from free states, 26 percent were from southern states and they retained their cultural support for slavery. This quickly led to tensions between pro-slavery residents and abolitionists who sought lifting restrictions on free black people, as codified in

1332-513: A significant number of German-speaking immigrants , who founded many of the city's cultural institutions. It later developed an industrialized economy in manufacturing. Many structures in the urban core have remained intact for 200 years; in the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as the " Paris of America" due mainly to ambitious architectural projects such as the Music Hall , Cincinnatian Hotel , and Roebling Bridge . Cincinnati has

1406-565: Is 79 feet 11 + 7 ⁄ 8  inches (24.381 m), having crested January 26, 1937. Various parts of Cincinnati flood at different points: Riverbend Music Center in the California neighborhood floods at 42 feet (13 m), while Sayler Park floods at 71 feet (22 m) and the Freeman Avenue flood gate closes at 75 feet (23 m). Frequent flooding has hampered the growth of Cincinnati's municipal airport at Lunken Field and

1480-476: Is $ 158,200, and the cost of living in Cincinnati is 8% below the national average. As of September 2022, the unemployment rate is 3.3%, below the national average. Several Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Cincinnati, such as Kroger , Procter & Gamble , Western & Southern Financial Group , Fifth Third Bank , American Financial Group , and Cintas . General Electric has headquartered their Global Operations Center in Cincinnati; GE Aerospace

1554-472: Is already complete and 100 percent occupied as of early 2013. Smale Riverfront Park is being developed along with The Banks, and is Cincinnati's newest park. Nearly $ 3.5 billion have been invested in the urban core of Cincinnati (including Northern Kentucky). Much of this development has been undertaken by 3CDC . The Cincinnati Bell Connector began in September 2016. Cincinnati is midway by river between

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1628-538: Is also home to the Cincinnati Cyclones , a minor league ice hockey team. The city's largest institution of higher education, the University of Cincinnati , was founded in 1819 as a municipal college and is now ranked as one of the 50 largest in the United States. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is based in the city. Two years after the founding of the settlement then known as "Losantiville", Arthur St. Clair ,

1702-462: Is among the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the United States. Most of Over-the-Rhine's ornate brick buildings were built by German immigrants from 1865 to the 1880s. The neighborhood has been intensely redeveloped in the 21st century, with a focus on fostering small businesses. Cincinnati is at the southern limit (considering the 0 °C or 32 °F isotherm ) of the humid continental climate zone ( Köppen : Dfa ), bordering

1776-605: Is based in Evendale . The Kroger Company employs over 20,000 people locally, making it the largest employer in the city; the other four largest employers are Cincinnati Children's Hospital , TriHealth , the University of Cincinnati , and St. Elizabeth Healthcare . Cincinnati is home to a branch office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland . Cincinnati was platted and proliferated by American settlers , including Scotch Irish , frontiersmen , and keelboaters . For over

1850-666: Is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations, including the aforementioned Carew Tower , the Scripps Center, the Ingalls Building , Cincinnati Union Terminal , and the Isaac M. Wise Temple . Queen City Square opened in January 2011. The building is the tallest in Cincinnati and the third tallest in Ohio, reaching a height of 665 feet (203 m). Since April 1, 1922,

1924-408: Is noted to have no medical or dietary restrictions , and no specific burial requirements . With respect to military service, the handbook notes that the ULC maintains no doctrinal opposition to military service , but "respects the individual opinion of its members". The legitimacy of ULC ordination has been challenged in legal venues, primarily with respect to the questions of whether it constitutes

1998-460: Is rejected because of their name, but we must protect the integrity of the records against those who fraudulently submit requests for pets, obscene names, etc. Applying for ordination in the name of a fictitious person or animal, or the submission of a person's name without his or her permission is fraud, and may subject you to prosecution!". In 2015, The New York Times wrote that the ULC "pumps out ordinations at an assembly-line pace, almost mocking

2072-405: Is right". ... The Universal Life Church is open and accepting of people of all religions. It is opposed only to those religions that attempt to deny religious freedom. Any minister in the ULC can ordain new members. ... The Universal Life Church has no specific holidays , though local congregations celebrate a wide variety of them. There are two gatherings (conventions) each year in the spring and in

2146-612: The Baltimore Sun , 43% of couples in the U.S. in 2016 chose to have a friend or family member officiate their wedding, up from 29% in 2009. Another example of a person becoming ordained through ULC in order to perform a religious ritual is that of a Native American in Cincinnati , Ohio , who needed such an affiliation to perform smudging ceremonies as part of the prayer ritual for other Native Americans in area hospitals. Following Kirby Hensley's death in 1999, an organizational split led to

2220-571: The Coney Island amusement park. Downtown Cincinnati is protected from flooding by the Serpentine Wall at Yeatman's Cove and another flood wall built into Fort Washington Way . Parts of Cincinnati also experience flooding from the Little Miami River and Mill Creek . Cincinnati consists of fifty-two neighborhoods. Many of these neighborhoods were once villages that have been annexed by

2294-551: The Indiana counties of Dearborn , Franklin , Union , and Ohio . Metropolitan Cincinnati has the twenty-eighth largest economy in the United States and the fifth largest in the Midwest , after Chicago , Minneapolis–St. Paul , Detroit , and St. Louis . In 2016, it had the fastest-growing Midwestern economic capital. The gross domestic product for the region was $ 127 billion (~$ 160 billion in 2023) in 2015. The median home price

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2368-602: The humid subtropical climate zone ( Cfa ). Summers are hot and humid, with significant rainfall in each month and highs reaching 90 °F (32 °C) or above on 21 days per year, often with high dew points and humidity. July is the warmest month, with a daily average temperature of 75.9 °F (24.4 °C). Winters tend to be cold and moderately snowy, with January, the coldest month, averaging at 30.8 °F (−0.7 °C). Lows reach 0 °F (−18 °C) on an average 2.6 nights yearly. An average winter will see around 22.1 inches (56 cm) of snowfall, contributing to

2442-485: The nation's 30th-largest , with over 2.265 million residents. Throughout much of the 19th century, Cincinnati was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population . The city developed as a river town for cargo shipping by steamboats , located at the crossroads of the Northern and Southern United States, with fewer immigrants and less influence from Europe than East Coast cities in the same period. However, it received

2516-594: The twenty-eighth largest economy in the United States and the fifth largest in the Midwest , home to several Fortune 500 companies including Kroger , Procter & Gamble , and Fifth Third Bank . It is home to three professional sports teams: the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball ; the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League ; and FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer ; it

2590-419: The "Black Code" of 1804. In the pre-Civil War period, Cincinnati had been called "a Southern city on free soil". Volatile social conditions saw riots in 1829 , when many black people lost their homes and property. As the Irish entered the city in the late 1840s, they competed with black people at the lower levels of the economy. White-led riots against black people occurred in 1836 , when an abolitionist press

2664-550: The "Life Church" in Modesto, California . He first held services in his garage, and incorporated the organization in 1962. The ULC began issuing mail-order ordinations shortly after its incorporation. The church's growth was affected in part by social movements; during the Vietnam War , a widely circulated rumor claimed that ordination would qualify one for a legal exemption from the draft . Ordination requests increased dramatically, but

2738-473: The 49- story Carew Tower , which was the city's tallest building upon its completion. Cincinnati weathered the Great Depression better than most American cities of its size, largely due to a resurgence in river trade, which was less expensive than transporting goods by rail. The Ohio River flood of 1937 was one of the worst in the nation's history and destroyed many areas along the Ohio valley. Afterward

2812-505: The Ohio flood stage at Cincinnati has officially been set at 52 feet (16 m), as measured from the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge . At this depth, the pumping station at the mouth of Mill Creek is activated. From 1873 to 1898, the flood stage was 45 feet (14 m). From 1899 to March 31, 1922, it was 50 feet (15 m). The Ohio reached its lowest level, less than 2 feet (0.61 m), in 1881; conversely, its all-time high water mark

2886-450: The ULC "has a very loose structure", with those ordained being given "a set of instructions on how to form a congregation", but otherwise operating with complete autonomy. It further notes that those ordained "may perform any of the functions normally associated with the clergy, including the conducting of weddings, funerals, etc.", and that "[g]roup worship is not required, but local congregations are required to hold regular meetings". The ULC

2960-566: The ULC for a free-will offering of twenty dollars, including "ten free lessons explaining how to set up a church". By 1974, the church had ordained over 1 million ministers. Also in 1974, a federal judge declared that the ULC was qualified for a religious tax exemption. The Universal Life Church ran into difficulties as new branches of the ULC were granted charters and began moving off in different directions. The Modesto group struggled to maintain control over these other entities as ULC affiliates grew in number. There are multiple groups operating under

3034-501: The ULC issued more than 18 million ordinations worldwide. A large number of people seeking ULC ordination do so in order to be able to legally officiate at weddings or perform other spiritual rites. A 2007 article noted that "[a]bout 70 percent of people who become ordained through the Universal Life Church do so... to officiate at weddings". According to a 2016 internal survey conducted by wedding website The Knot and reported by

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3108-588: The ULC name, most of which are unaffiliated in practice. During this period, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) became suspicious about tax avoidance efforts within the church, eventually determining that Hensley, the Modesto ULC, and affiliated churches chartered under its name were promoting tax avoidance schemes within church periodicals. As a result, the IRS withdrew ULC Modesto's tax-exempt status in 1984. Over

3182-570: The United States until its sale to Norfolk Southern in March 2024. In 1884, outrage over a manslaughter verdict in what many observers thought was a clear case of murder triggered the Courthouse riots , one of the most destructive riots in American history. Over the course of three days, 56 people were killed and over 300 were injured. The riots ended the regime of Republican boss Thomas C. Campbell . At

3256-469: The Universal Life Church as wedding celebrants, and in jurisdictions in which Universal Life Church ministers are not authorized to solemnize marriages, the solemnization of a marriage by a minister of the Universal Life Church (who is not otherwise authorized) may result in questioning of the validity of the marriage. Professor Robert Rains, writing in the University of Miami Law Review , has warned that "even

3330-549: The beginning of the 20th century, Cincinnati had a population of 325,902. The city completed many ambitious projects in the 20th century starting with the Ingalls Building which was completed in 1903. An early rejuvenation of downtown began into the 1920s and continued into the next decade with the construction of Cincinnati Union Terminal , the United States Courthouse and Post Office , the Cincinnati Subway , and

3404-607: The border between the free state of Ohio and the slave state of Kentucky , made it a prominent location for slaves to escape the slave-owning south. Many prominent abolitionists also called Cincinnati their home during this period, and made it a popular stop on the Underground Railroad . In 2004, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center was completed along Freedom Way in Downtown, honoring

3478-579: The canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown ; by 1840, it had reached Toledo . Railroads were the next major form of commercial transportation to come to Cincinnati. In 1836, the Little Miami Railroad was chartered. Construction began soon after, to connect Cincinnati with the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, and provide access to the ports of the Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie . During

3552-468: The cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , and Cairo, Illinois . The downtown lies near the mouth of the Licking , a confluence where the first settlement occurred. Metro Cincinnati spans southern Ohio, southeastern Indiana, and northern Kentucky; the census bureau has measured the city proper at 79.54 square miles (206.01 km ), of which 77.94 square miles (201.86 km ) are land and 1.60 square miles (4.14 km ) are water. The city spreads over

3626-415: The city built protective flood walls . After World War II , Cincinnati unveiled a master plan for urban renewal that resulted in modernization of the inner city. During the 1950s, Cincinnati's population peaked at 509,998. Since the 1950s, $ 250 million has been spent on improving neighborhoods, building clean and safe low- and moderate-income housing, providing jobs and stimulating economic growth. At

3700-650: The city government does own several properties outside the corporation limits: French Park in Amberley Village and the disused runway at the former Blue Ash Airport in Blue Ash . Cincinnati has many landmarks across its area. Some of these landmarks are recognized nationwide, others are more recognized among locals. These landmarks include: Union Terminal , Carew Tower , Great American Tower , Fountain Square , Washington Park , and Great American Ballpark . Cincinnati

3774-483: The city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky . The population of Cincinnati was 309,317 in 2020, making it the third-most populous city in Ohio after Columbus and Cleveland and 64th in the United States . The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area , Ohio's most populous metro area, and

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3848-497: The city itself. Subsequently, substantial transformations unfolded, particularly in the process of gentrification within the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In 2018, MLS announced the inclusion of FC Cincinnati , becoming the city's third professional sports team. TQL Stadium , located on Cincinnati's west end, was subsequently constructed and opened its doors in 2021. Notably, the 2020 census revealed that Cincinnati had witnessed

3922-495: The city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. As of the 2022 census estimates , the Cincinnati metropolitan area had a population of 2,265,051, making it the 30th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country. It includes the Ohio counties of Hamilton , Butler , Warren , Clermont , Clinton , and Brown , as well as the Kentucky counties of Boone , Bracken , Campbell , Gallatin , Grant , Kenton , and Pendleton , and

3996-446: The city was 50.3% White , 41.4% African American , 0.1% Native American , 2.2% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 1.2% from other races , and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.2% of the population. There were 138,696 households, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.2% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had

4070-465: The city's involvement in the Underground Railroad. In 1859, Cincinnati laid out six streetcar lines; the cars were pulled by horses and the lines made it easier for people to get around the city. By 1872, Cincinnatians could travel on the streetcars within the city and transfer to rail cars for travel to the hill communities. The Cincinnati Inclined Plane Company began transporting people to

4144-536: The city, including restaurant names such as Blue Chip Cookies , and are not commonly used by locals in casual conversation, with the exception of Cincy, which is often used to refer to the city in absentia. "The City of Seven Hills" stems from the June 1853 edition of the West American Review , "Article III—Cincinnati: Its Relations to the West and South", which described and named seven specific hills. The hills form

4218-574: The city, with many retaining their former names, such as Walnut Hills and Mount Auburn . Westwood is the city's most populous neighborhood, with other significant neighborhoods including CUF (home to the University of Cincinnati ) and Price Hill . Downtown Cincinnati is the city's central business district and contains a number of neighborhoods in the flat land between the Ohio River and uptown. These neighborhoods include Over-the-Rhine , Pendleton , Queensgate , and West End . Over-the-Rhine

4292-596: The city: And this Song of the Vine, This greeting of mine, The winds and the birds shall deliver, To the Queen of the West, In her garlands dressed, On the banks of the Beautiful River. For many years, Cincinnati was also known as "Porkopolis"; this nickname came from the city's large pork interests. Newer nicknames such as "The 'Nati" are emerging and are attempted to be used in different cultural contexts. For example,

4366-667: The creation of the ULC Monastery (ULCM, also using the name Universal Life Church Ministries; now based in Seattle ), which remains unaffiliated with the Modesto group. The ULCM formally split from the ULC in 2006 following financial, legal, and philosophical disputes between the two bodies and began ordaining ministers independently. The U.S. Department of the Army publication, Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains , summarized

4440-534: The dawn of the 2000s, Cincinnati's population stood at 331,285. The construction of Paul Brown Stadium (currently known as Paycor Stadium) in the year 2000 resulted from a sales tax increase in Hamilton County , as did the commencement of construction for Great American Ball Park , which later opened its doors in 2003. The city experienced the 2001 Cincinnati riots , causing an estimated $ 3.6 million in damage to businesses and $ 1.5–2 million in damage to

4514-510: The doctrines of the ULC as follows: The Universal Life Church has only one belief. They believe in that which is right and in every person's right to interpret what is right. The Universal Life Church has no creed or authoritative book such as a Bible. Those wishing to learn about the Church can obtain its periodical Universal Life and other materials that it publishes from its international headquarters. No specific ethical guidelines except to do "what

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4588-556: The fall, at which the members and ministers meet for celebration and to conduct business. According to Lewis, Hensley personally believed in reincarnation , in a merely human Jesus , and "in the reunification of all religions and governments under the Universal Life banner during thirty years of turmoil around the year 2000"; however, none of these beliefs were doctrinal to the ULC, which allowed members to follow their own doctrines. The U.S. Army's Handbook for Chaplains also notes that

4662-589: The governor of the Northwest Territory , changed its name to "Cincinnati", possibly at the suggestion of the surveyor Israel Ludlow , in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati . St. Clair was at the time president of the Society, made up of Continental Army officers of the Revolutionary War. The club was named for Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus , a dictator in the early Roman Republic who saved Rome from

4736-545: The issue. The Universal Life Church was founded by Kirby J. Hensley , "a self-educated Baptist minister who was deeply influenced by his reading in world religion ". Religious scholar James R. Lewis wrote that Hensley "began to conceive of a church that would, on the one hand, offer complete freedom of religion , and could, on the other hand, bring all people of all religions together, instead of separating them". With this aim, he established "a new religion that would emphasize what all religions have in common", creating in 1959

4810-474: The local Keep America Beautiful affiliate, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, introduced the catchphrase "Don't Trash the 'Nati" in 1998 as part of a litter -prevention campaign. The city is undergoing significant changes due to new development and private investment. This includes buildings of the long-stalled Banks project that includes apartments, retail, restaurants, and offices, which will stretch from Great American Ball Park to Paycor Stadium . Phase 1A

4884-537: The next 16 years, Hensley and his family battled the IRS in court over disputed tax payments. The matter was eventually settled in 2000 when the Modesto group agreed to pay $ 1.5 million in back taxes. By 1999, the ULC had begun offering ordinations online. News coverage about journalists and celebrities getting ordained to perform weddings helped boost the popularity of online ordination. As more people became aware of non-traditional officiants presiding over wedding ceremonies, ULC membership rolls rose. Between 1962 and 2008,

4958-569: The population has begun recovering: the 2020 census reports a population of 309,317, representing a 4.2% increase from 296,943 in 2010. This marked the first increase in population recorded since the 1950 Census, reversing a 60-year trend of population decline. At the 2020 census, there were 309,317 people, 138,696 households, and 62,319 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,809.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,471.0/km ). There were 161,095 housing units at an average density of 2,066.9 per square mile (798.0/km ). The racial makeup of

5032-564: The rumor proved to be false. The ULC and its founder, Hensley, were also featured in several publications during this time, including Rolling Stone , which further increased public awareness of the church. In the late 1960s, Hensley "became something of a folk hero among the young", particularly with college students, whom he would mass-ordain at speaking events. In accordance with the Law of California that exempts religious schools from accreditation, he offered an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from

5106-465: The time, employers struggled to hire enough people to fill positions. The city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the next two decades, reaching 115,000 people by 1850. During this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City. Cincinnati's location, on

5180-596: The top of Mount Auburn that year.   In 1889, the Cincinnati streetcar system began converting its horse-drawn cars to electric streetcars . The Second Annual Meeting of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was held in Cincinnati in November 1875. In 1880, the city government completed the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Chattanooga, Tennessee . It was the only municipally-owned interstate railway in

5254-486: The warmer months, and tornadoes , while infrequent, are not unknown, with such events striking the Metro Cincinnati area most recently in 1974, 1999, 2012, and 2017. See or edit raw graph data . In 1950, Cincinnati reached its peak population of 503,998; thereafter, it lost population in every census count from 1960 to 2010. In the late 20th century, industrial restructuring caused a loss of jobs. More recently,

5328-620: The yearly 42.5 inches (1,080 mm) of precipitation, with rainfall peaking in spring. Extremes range from −25 °F (−32 °C) on January 18, 1977, up to 108 °F (42 °C) on July 21 and 22, 1934. While snow in Cincinnati is not as intense as many of the cities located closer to the Great Lakes, there have been notable cases of severe snowfall, including the Great Blizzard of 1978 , and more notable snowstorms in 1994, 1999 , 2007 , and 2021 . Severe thunderstorms are common in

5402-423: Was also important. The first established Methodist class in the Northwest Territory came 1797 to nearby Milford . By 1879, there were 162 documented church edifices in the city. For this reason, from the beginning, Protestantism has played a formative role in the Cincinnati ethos. Christ Church Cathedral continues the legacy of the early Anglican leaders of Cincinnati, noted by historical associations as being

5476-599: Was incorporated as a city on March 1, 1819. Exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830, the city's population nearly tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21, 1825, when it was called the Miami Canal, related to its origin at the Great Miami River . The first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827,

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