In some of the world’s most prominent religions, worshippers seek spiritual encounters with a deity, spiritual entities, or a certain level of knowledge and understanding. You’ll often hear adherents talk about their spiritual path as relationships or connections. Did you know that there are several new religious movements based on unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial creatures? Let’s look at these UFO religions and those who seek “close encounters” of a different kind.
What Is a UFO Religion?
A UFO religion is any faith or spirituality in which the existence of extraterrestrial beings operating UFOs is a tenet or an element of belief. Many of these religions believe these extraterrestrials (ETs) to be benevolent and concerned about the welfare of humanity. UFO religions tend to view humanity as already existing within or eventually becoming part of an ET civilization. Followers generally believe that the arrival or discovery of aliens, technologies, and spiritualities will help humans overcome social, environmental, and spiritual problems such as war, poverty, and bigotry.
What Are Some Examples of UFO Religions?
The concepts of “flying saucers” and UFOs have been around since the late 1940s, so religions based on these ideas are widely considered new. Most of these faiths originated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Japan. Some of the more notable religions include the following:
- Aetherius Society – Many historians view this religion as the first of its kind. In 1955, Founder George King of the UK claimed that he was contacted telepathically by an alien entity named Aetherius, representing an interplanetary counsel. Aetherians believe their society is a vehicle used by ETs to share information with humanity, usually as part of a UFO encounter.
- Heaven’s Gate – This group was founded by Marshall Applewhite, and members reportedly believed they were aliens waiting for spacecraft that would arrive with the Hale-Bopp comet. In 1997, Applewhite and 38 followers committed mass suicide, believing their souls would be transported onto the spacecraft.
- Raëlism – A global movement that originated in France in the 1970s, Raëlism is based on the idea that advanced ETs used genetic engineering to create life on Earth. Past religious figures such as Jesus, Muhammad, and Buddha were sent by these ETs to teach humanity.
- Scientology – Founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, this religion asserts that humans have lived past lives in advanced extraterrestrial societies. Traumatic memories from these past lives are the root cause of present-day ailments. Hubbard believed that after death, human souls return to a station on the planet Venus for programming to forget these past lives before returning to Earth in the Sea of Cortez.
Are There Other Faiths That Embrace UFOs?
There are other non-UFO religions that express a belief in UFOs or the existence of ETs or alien civilizations:
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – According to the Mormon faith, Earth is one of several inhabited worlds, and there are several governing heavenly bodies. Of these, the plant Kolob is believed to be closest to the throne of God. For 6,000 years, Earth was formed near Kolob before moving to its current position in the solar system.
- Nation of Islam – Founder Elijah Muhammad believed the great wheel witnessed by Ezekiel in the Bible was a type of UFO. According to Muhammad, this wheel was built in what is now Japan.
The subject of extraterrestrials and UFOs is somewhat controversial in other major religions. There are verses in the Qur’an and the Bible that suggest the possibility of other worlds and universes.
Religions and faiths are often based on questions of existence, purpose, origin, and an afterlife. These belief systems often attempt to make sense of things beyond mankind’s current comprehension. It should come as little surprise that questions about the heavens have led to religions based on the mysteries we call UFOs.