In general, any church that is not a corporation is an unincorporated association. The term unincorporated association is defined as any group "whose members share a common purpose, and … who function under a common name under circumstances where fairness requires the group be recognized as a legal entity."[2] Barr v. United Methodist Church, 153 Cal. Rptr. 322, 328 (1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 973 (1980). One court has observed:
A church or religious society may exist for all the purposes for which it was organized independently of any incorporation of the body … and, it is a matter of common knowledge that many do exist and are never incorporated. For the promotion of religion and charity, they may subserve all the purposes ...
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