Students at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and High School District 214, initiated an investigation that uncovered a troubling line in Alvin Kulieke’s 1973 obituary: “A veteran of World War II, he was president of [the] Urantia Brotherhood.” What had once appeared as a benign biographical note about the school’s first principal is now prompting scrutiny, calls to remove his name from the Kulieke Theater, and a broader review of HSD 214’s naming processes.
The Urantia Brotherhood was a fraternal organization formed in Chicago in 1955 to support the teachings and dissemination of The Urantia Book. This spiritual and religious text purports to blend religion, science, and philosophy. It was not a new church but a fellowship of readers and study groups. Over time, the organization evolved, later becoming the Urantia Book Fellowship, comprising independent local societies that aimed to foster spiritual unity and study among readers.
Investigative reporting (most notably by student journalists, particularly Sage Gilliland) discovered that Kulieke co-authored Urantia movement materials, including “workbooks” clarifying passages of the book, and authored “science” exam questions for the Urantia Brotherhood School. These included discriminatory notions such as asking which “Urantian race was ‘most intelligent’ [or] ‘most belligerent,’” and included eugenicist content visible in those materials.
While these materials reflect the early movement’s doctrines rather than explicit statements of Kulieke’s personal beliefs, they do show his active leadership in producing them.
Many students, especially those who are neurodivergent or from minority communities, have expressed deep discomfort with honoring someone tied to eugenics. One neurodivergent sophomore remarked, “We can’t keep honoring somebody whose name alone actively puts other people down.” Another student added, “Why are we paying respect to a man who [was] actively disrespecting my entire person?” For Quanin Brooks, a Black student, learning of Kulieke’s ties makes an ongoing tribute especially painful.
In response, the HSD 214 administration is reviewing a recommendation from the superintendent to potentially rename Kulieke Theater. Concurrently, they’re finalizing a new transparent process for naming or renaming district facilities, with historian David Beery conducting a thorough historical review. After compiling background on namesakes, the district expects to determine next steps through publicly held board meetings, according to Sage’s write-up.
To clarify: the Urantia Brotherhood (later the Urantia Book Fellowship) was a social-fraternal association of The Urantia Book adherents, originally formed in 1955, not a church sect but a readers’ fellowship. It evolved organizationally over time, maintaining study groups and societies, and is not widely known outside of religious-studies contexts.