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Terms of Service for UnChurch

Last Updated: 4/03/2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a legally binding agreement between you and UnChurch (“UnChurch,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) governing your access to and use of our website, applications, digital platforms, online communities, forums, discussion spaces, content, communications, and any related services we make available (collectively, the “Services”).

By accessing, browsing, registering for, participating in, or otherwise using any part of the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Services.

1. Purpose and Nature of the Services

UnChurch provides a digital platform and community for discussion, reflection, education, dialogue, personal exploration, and related resources concerning spirituality, meaning, philosophy, community, values, and personal development.

The Services may include, without limitation:

  • written, audio, video, and visual content;

  • recorded talks, livestreams, workshops, and discussions;

  • member or user communities, chats, comments, forums, and discussion spaces;

  • newsletters, email communications, and updates;

  • downloadable resources, guides, or materials;

  • event information, announcements, or opportunities to participate in discussions or programs.

The Services are intended for informational, educational, expressive, and community-building purposes only. Nothing within the Services is intended as a promise of outcome, a professional recommendation, or a guarantee of any personal, emotional, psychological, religious, spiritual, or other result.

2. No Religious, Medical, Therapeutic, Legal, or Financial Advice

UnChurch is not a hospital, clinic, therapy practice, crisis service, law firm, investment adviser, or licensed financial institution. Unless expressly stated otherwise in writing, the Services do not constitute and should not be relied upon as:

  • medical advice;

  • mental health advice;

  • therapy or counseling;

  • psychiatric or psychological treatment;

  • crisis intervention services;

  • legal advice;

  • tax advice;

  • financial or investment advice;

  • fiduciary guidance;

  • clergy counseling in any licensed, ordained, or legally recognized professional capacity.

Any content made available through the Services reflects general information, opinion, discussion, commentary, user expression, or educational material only. You are solely responsible for determining whether any information is appropriate for your circumstances. You should consult qualified licensed professionals for advice specific to your situation.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, mental health crisis, or any situation involving immediate danger to yourself or others, do not rely on the Services. Contact emergency services or an appropriate licensed crisis resource immediately.

3. Eligibility

You may use the Services only if:

  • you are at least eighteen (18) years old, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater;

  • you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement; and

  • your use of the Services does not violate any applicable law, regulation, or court order.

By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet all eligibility requirements.

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to refuse access to any person or entity and to change our eligibility criteria at any time.

4. No Current Fees, Payments, or Donations

At the present time, UnChurch does not charge fees for access to the Services and does not currently accept payments, donations, or monetary contributions through the Services.

You acknowledge and agree that:

  • access is currently provided without charge, unless expressly stated otherwise;

  • UnChurch may, in the future, choose to offer optional paid offerings, event access, memberships, subscriptions, or opportunities to contribute financially;

  • if such features are introduced later, additional terms, disclosures, donation language, payment terms, or separate agreements may apply.

5. Nonprofit Status Disclosure

UnChurch may be in the process of seeking tax-exempt or nonprofit recognition. However, unless and until such status is formally granted by the relevant governmental authority, nothing on the Services shall be construed as a representation that:

  • UnChurch is already recognized as tax-exempt;

  • contributions are tax-deductible; or

  • users are entitled to any charitable deduction, tax benefit, or legal treatment associated with recognized nonprofit donations.

Users must not rely on any assumption of charitable or tax-deductible status unless expressly confirmed by UnChurch in writing after approval by the appropriate authorities.

6. Changes to the Services

We may, at any time and without liability, modify, suspend, discontinue, or restrict all or any part of the Services, including any feature, functionality, content category, community area, or method of access.

We do not guarantee that any specific content, feature, communication channel, or part of the Services will remain available for any particular period of time.

We reserve the right to impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.

7. Account Registration and Security

Some features may require you to create an account. If you register for an account, you agree to:

  • provide accurate, current, and complete information;

  • maintain and promptly update your information;

  • keep your username, password, and login credentials confidential;

  • not share your account or allow others to use your account;

  • notify us promptly of any suspected unauthorized use or security breach.

You are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not authorized by you.

We may suspend, investigate, restrict, or terminate your account if we believe, in our sole discretion, that:

  • your account information is inaccurate;

  • your account has been compromised;

  • your account is being used in violation of these Terms;

  • your conduct creates legal, reputational, technical, or community risk.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.

You must not, and must not attempt to, directly or indirectly:

  • violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right;

  • harass, threaten, stalk, abuse, defame, intimidate, or exploit others;

  • promote hatred, discrimination, violence, extremism, or illegal activity;

  • post, transmit, or share content that is obscene, sexually explicit, exploitative, abusive, or otherwise objectionable;

  • impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation;

  • submit false, deceptive, or misleading information;

  • interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers connected to the Services;

  • gain unauthorized access to accounts, systems, or data;

  • introduce malware, viruses, worms, spyware, or harmful code;

  • scrape, crawl, copy, frame, mirror, or systematically extract data from the Services;

  • use bots, scripts, or automated methods to access or interact with the Services without our prior written permission;

  • reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive source code from any portion of the Services, except where prohibited by law;

  • use the Services to advertise, solicit, spam, or promote third-party goods, services, schemes, or causes without our written consent;

  • collect or store personal data about other users without authorization;

  • bypass, disable, or interfere with security-related features or access controls;

  • use the Services in any way that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Services or our reputation.

9. Community Standards and Moderation

UnChurch may provide interactive areas such as comments, chats, groups, forums, community channels, livestream participation, or other spaces for user engagement (“Community Areas”).

Participation in Community Areas is a privilege, not a right.

We seek to maintain a respectful environment for inquiry, discussion, disagreement, and reflection. Accordingly, in Community Areas you agree that you will not:

  • engage in personal attacks, dogpiling, harassment, or bullying;

  • shame, degrade, or demean other participants;

  • target others on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or other protected characteristics;

  • threaten violence or encourage self-harm or harm to others;

  • post graphic, exploitative, or traumatic content without legitimate reason and appropriate context;

  • repeatedly derail conversations, provoke conflict, or engage in bad-faith conduct;

  • post private, confidential, or identifying information about another person without permission;

  • use the Community Areas as a substitute for emergency, crisis, or clinical support.

We reserve the right, but do not undertake the obligation, to monitor Community Areas. We may, in our sole discretion and without prior notice:

  • review, remove, edit, restrict, or refuse to publish any content;

  • issue warnings;

  • mute, suspend, or ban users;

  • close threads or disable features;

  • preserve records for safety, compliance, or legal purposes.

Our moderation decisions are final unless we choose otherwise.

10. User Content

“User Content” means any content you submit, upload, post, publish, display, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Services, including comments, messages, images, videos, usernames, profile information, and other materials.

You retain ownership of your User Content, subject to the rights you grant below.

By submitting User Content, you grant UnChurch a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, reproduce, display, perform, publish, distribute, adapt, modify for formatting or technical purposes, and otherwise use such User Content as reasonably necessary to:

  • operate, maintain, and provide the Services;

  • display User Content within community features;

  • improve, troubleshoot, secure, and administer the Services;

  • enforce these Terms;

  • comply with law or legal process;

  • promote the Services, only to the extent your User Content is intentionally submitted to public-facing areas or you otherwise permit such use.

You represent and warrant that:

  • you own or control all rights necessary to submit the User Content;

  • your User Content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third-party right;

  • your User Content is not fraudulent, defamatory, unlawful, or misleading;

  • you have obtained all necessary permissions from any identifiable persons appearing in your User Content.

We are not responsible for User Content posted by you or others. We do not endorse User Content and disclaim liability arising from it.

11. Sensitive Personal Information and Public Sharing

The Services may include interactive spaces where users choose to discuss personal experiences, beliefs, relationships, trauma, health, or spiritual matters. You acknowledge that anything you choose to disclose in public or semi-public areas may be seen, copied, shared, or used by others.

You agree that:

  • you will exercise discretion before sharing personal or sensitive information;

  • you will not post another person’s private or confidential information without their explicit permission;

  • UnChurch is not responsible for the consequences of information you voluntarily disclose in Community Areas.

12. Intellectual Property Rights

The Services, including all text, graphics, logos, trademarks, service marks, trade names, designs, icons, photographs, audio, video, software, code, compilations, arrangements, and other materials made available by UnChurch (excluding User Content), are owned by or licensed to UnChurch and are protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws.

Except as expressly authorized by us in writing, you may not:

  • copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute our content;

  • create derivative works based on our content;

  • modify, adapt, translate, or publicly display our content;

  • sell, license, lease, or commercially exploit our content;

  • use our name, branding, logos, or marks in a way that suggests endorsement, affiliation, or sponsorship.

We reserve all rights not expressly granted in these Terms.

13. Limited License to You

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, UnChurch grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Services for your personal, non-commercial use only.

This license does not include any right to:

  • resell or commercially use the Services;

  • download or copy account information for the benefit of another party;

  • use data mining, robots, scraping, or similar data gathering methods;

  • reproduce or exploit any portion of the Services without written consent.

We may revoke this license at any time.

14. Feedback

If you provide suggestions, ideas, comments, improvements, or other feedback regarding the Services (“Feedback”), you agree that we may use, disclose, reproduce, license, distribute, and otherwise exploit such Feedback without restriction, compensation, or obligation to you.

15. Third-Party Services and Links

The Services may contain links to, integrations with, or content provided by third-party websites, platforms, tools, services, or resources.

We do not control and are not responsible for any third-party services, including their content, policies, terms, data practices, availability, or security. Access to third-party services is at your own risk and subject to the third party’s own terms and policies.

UnChurch disclaims any responsibility or liability for loss or damage arising from your use of or reliance on any third-party service.

16. Educational and Community Content Disclaimer

The Services may include spiritual reflection, philosophical commentary, personal stories, community submissions, historical references, opinions, and interpretive material. Such content may be incomplete, evolving, contested, subjective, symbolic, or intentionally exploratory in nature.

You agree that:

  • reasonable people may differ in their interpretation of the content;

  • the content may not reflect consensus, orthodoxy, doctrine, or professional guidance;

  • your use of the content is voluntary and at your own risk;

  • UnChurch makes no promise that the Services will meet your expectations, align with your beliefs, or produce any desired result.

17. No Guarantee of Availability, Accuracy, or Outcomes

We do not guarantee that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, current, complete, or free of harmful components.

We do not warrant that:

  • the Services will always be available;

  • defects will be corrected;

  • content will be accurate or reliable;

  • the Services will achieve any intended or desired outcome for you;

  • community participation will be compatible, supportive, or beneficial in every instance.

Your use of the Services is at your sole risk.

18. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE,” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE.

UNCHURCH DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

19. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UNCHURCH, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, FOUNDERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, CONTRACTORS, REPRESENTATIVES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, GOODWILL, DATA, USE, OPPORTUNITY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO:

  • your access to or use of, or inability to access or use, the Services;

  • your reliance on any content;

  • your interactions with other users;

  • unauthorized access to or alteration of your data;

  • any interruption, suspension, or termination of the Services;

  • any bugs, malware, or harmful code transmitted through the Services;

  • any content, statements, conduct, or omissions of any user or third party.

TO THE EXTENT ANY LIABILITY IS NOT LEGALLY EXCLUDABLE, THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF UNCHURCH TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100), OR THE MINIMUM AMOUNT REQUIRED BY LAW, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

20. Release

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release UnChurch and its officers, directors, founders, employees, volunteers, contractors, agents, affiliates, successors, and assigns from claims, demands, and damages of every kind arising out of or in any way connected with disputes between you and other users or third parties in connection with the Services.

21. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless UnChurch and its officers, directors, founders, managers, employees, volunteers, contractors, affiliates, licensors, successors, and assigns from and against any and all claims, actions, demands, liabilities, losses, damages, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to:

  • your use or misuse of the Services;

  • your User Content;

  • your violation of these Terms;

  • your violation of any law or regulation;

  • your infringement or violation of any third-party rights;

  • your interactions with other users or third parties through the Services.

We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of such claims.

22. Suspension and Termination

We may, in our sole discretion and without prior notice, suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to all or part of the Services for any reason or no reason, including if we believe that:

  • you violated these Terms;

  • your conduct poses risk to other users, the community, or the Services;

  • your use may expose us or others to legal liability;

  • continued access is not in the best interests of the community or UnChurch.

Termination may include deletion of your account, removal of your User Content, revocation of permissions, and restriction on future access.

We are not liable to you for any suspension or termination decision.

Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including sections concerning ownership, licenses, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, disputes, and general provisions.

23. Privacy

Your use of the Services is also subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Services, you acknowledge that we may collect, use, and disclose information as described in the Privacy Policy.

24. Copyright Complaints

If you believe that content made available through the Services infringes your copyright or other intellectual property rights, you may notify us at [Insert Contact Email] with sufficient detail for us to investigate.

We reserve the right to remove allegedly infringing material and to terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

25. Geographic Use and Compliance

The Services are controlled and operated from Illinois. We make no representation that the Services are appropriate or available in every jurisdiction.

You are solely responsible for ensuring that your use of the Services complies with all laws applicable to you.

26. Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

26.1 Informal Resolution First

Before initiating arbitration or any formal proceeding, you agree to first contact us at [Insert Contact Email] and attempt to resolve the dispute informally by providing a written description of your concern and the relief requested. The parties agree to attempt good-faith informal resolution for at least thirty (30) days before commencing arbitration, unless emergency injunctive relief is necessary.

26.2 Binding Arbitration

Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if eligible.

The arbitration shall be administered by [Insert Arbitration Provider, e.g., the American Arbitration Association] in accordance with its applicable rules then in effect, except as modified by these Terms.

26.3 Individual Proceedings Only

You and UnChurch agree that any arbitration or proceeding shall be conducted only on an individual basis and not as a class, collective, consolidated, representative, or private attorney general action.

You waive any right to participate in a class action or class arbitration.

26.4 Waiver of Jury Trial

To the extent any dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, you and UnChurch knowingly and irrevocably waive any right to a jury trial.

26.5 Venue for Non-Arbitrable Claims

If a claim is found not subject to arbitration, then, to the extent permitted by law, exclusive jurisdiction and venue shall lie in the state or federal courts located in Illinois, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.

27. Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute arising from or relating to them or the Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict of laws principles, except where federal law governs.

28. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time in our sole discretion. When we do, we may update the “Last Updated” date and/or provide notice by posting the revised Terms through the Services or by other reasonable means.

Unless otherwise stated, revised Terms become effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Services after revised Terms are posted constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Services.

29. Electronic Communications and Consent

By using the Services or communicating with us electronically, you consent to receive communications from us electronically, including by email, platform notification, or website posting. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

30. Assignment

You may not assign, delegate, or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations under them without our prior written consent.

We may assign or transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without restriction, including in connection with a merger, restructuring, asset transfer, nonprofit conversion, or other organizational change.

31. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severed and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

32. No Waiver

No waiver by UnChurch of any provision or breach of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such provision or breach or a waiver of any other provision or breach.

33. Recording, Likeness, and Promotional Use

UnChurch may, from time to time, record, capture, or otherwise document audio, video, text, chat interactions, live sessions, events, community discussions, or other participation within the Services (“Recordings”).

By accessing or participating in any portion of the Services, including but not limited to live calls, group discussions, chat features, forums, or events, you acknowledge and agree that:

  • Your voice, image, likeness, name, username, statements, messages, and contributions may be recorded, captured, or otherwise documented;

  • Such Recordings may be edited, reproduced, distributed, published, displayed, performed, and otherwise used by UnChurch;

You hereby grant UnChurch a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and create derivative works from such Recordings, in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed, including but not limited to:

  • marketing and promotional materials;

  • social media content;

  • advertisements;

  • educational materials;

  • website and platform content;

  • email communications;

  • public-facing or internal content.

You further acknowledge and agree that:

  • You have no expectation of privacy in any public or group-based areas of the Services;

  • You are solely responsible for what you choose to say, share, or display;

  • You will not submit or share content you do not wish to be recorded or used as described herein.

No Compensation.
You expressly agree that you are not entitled to any compensation, payment, royalties, residuals, reimbursement, or other consideration of any kind in connection with the use of Recordings or your participation in the Services, whether now or in the future.

Waiver of Claims.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive any and all rights to inspect or approve the use of Recordings and release UnChurch from any claims arising out of or related to:

  • rights of publicity;

  • rights of privacy;

  • defamation;

  • misrepresentation;

  • or any similar claims.

If you do not agree to the recording and usage terms described in this section, you must not participate in recorded portions of the Services.

34. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any policies or guidelines expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and UnChurch regarding the Services and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and communications relating to the Services.

35. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms, you may contact us at [email protected] 

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.