The Yuba-Sutter Church of Religious Science (in the former Tower Theater) is part of the Religious Science denomination of the New Thought spiritual movement, which was organized by Emma Curtis Hopkins in the late 1880s. New Thought is heavily influenced by the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Phineas Quimby, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Thomas Troward, as well as by Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Panentheism, Spiritism, Subjective idealism, and Transcendentalism. Religious Science is one of the three major New Thought denominations in the United States; the other two are the Church of Divine Science and the Unity School of Christianity.

The Religious Science denomination was founded in 1927 by Ernest Holmes, who originally intended it to be an educational institution rather than a church. Religious Science churches often refer to themselves as "centers" to indicate their continued purpose as educational institutions of a sort, attempting to blend religion, philosophy, and science into a unified worldview. The Yuba-Sutter Church of Religious Science is a member of International Centers for Spiritual Living, which is one of several major organizations for Religious Science.

New Thought churches have ordained women ever since Emma Curtis Hopkins founded the New Thought spiritual movement. They also ordain lesbian and gay people. Their ministers perform marriages for same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

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Yuba-Sutter Church of Religious Science International Centers for Spiritual Living Religious Science New Thought Ernest Holmes Emma Curtis Hopkins Ralph Waldo Emerson Phineas Quimby Emanuel Swedenborg Thomas Troward Religion Facts: New Thought