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Theories of religion
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Is there life out there in the great beyond? It is a question that many of us have asked, but there is no real answer, no tangible evidence to validate the existence of other intelligent beings. All we have are so-called experiences that earthly people have had with these beings, like me. I remember, as a child, I stayed awake late one night. I was lying in bed admiring the stars outside my window when I saw a bright light in the distance. It moved in impossible ways I could not explain, even to this day. It was only for a moment, but the memory of this unexplainable phenomena has stayed with me ever since. If there are other intelligent beings like us living in distant worlds, how do we explain their standing in religious history? Are they gods or angels? Are they our creators? In decades past, people who claim to have had ufological experiences have banded together to create religious societies in their quest to become closer to extraterrestrial life. While all of these societies support different views on UFOs and religion, all have one common belief – there is life out there and they are real and powerful beings far more advanced than humans in technology and psychic abilities. Throughout this research paper, I will establish how some of these religious societies were formed, and describe in detail how their belief system works and why they are considered religious in nature.
First and foremost, to achieve a better understanding of these societies, I must define what UFO religion means. According to the Wikipedia website, an online encyclopedia, “UFO religion is an informal term used to describe a religion that equates extraterrestrials with gods or other semi-divine beings and that humanity either currently...
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...en Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Content. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007.
Helland, Christopher. “The Raelian Creation Myth and the Art of Cloning: Reality or Rhetoric?” Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Content. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007.
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Cross, Anne. “A Confederacy of Fact and Faith.” Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Content. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007.
All of these definitions are exact and significant to this research because sometimes it is obvious people are unaware of the true meanings of these words. The meanings of extraterrestrials and aliens have been commonly misinterpreted. An extraterrestrial is something, living or nonliving, which is not from earth, while an alien can be something from earth, but is not native to its surroundings. An unidentified flying object is something that has never been officially recorded. In this case, the witnesses refer to th...
Annemaire de Waal Malefijt, “Religion and Culture An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion” The United States of America 1989
Ever look up at the sky and just wonder if there is life anywhere else? Have you seen anything in the sky that is almost unexplainable? What if your thoughts really came true? The thought of the existence of aliens seems to have been around since the beginning of time. There is one incident in particular that really hits home when talking about the subject, the UFO incident of Roswell, New Mexico.
Alien abduction stories have always held a strong interest among people all over the world, captivating our attention and curiosity as they propose yet another unsolved mystery of gigantic proportions and unthinkable consequences for humanity to contemplate. More so in modern times, and especially in the western world, where the media is a more significant part of culture, many science fiction novelists and screen writers brought out the issue to the public in the form of entertainment. This, due its widespread appeal, gave these stories a certain level of credulity among the masses, and sparked curiosity for closer investigation.
The UFO crash site in Roswell New Mexico in 1947 was the start of people’s interest in extraterrestrials, the discovery of military secrets and experiments kept from society, and the start, in search of answering are we alone in this universe.
Bainbridge, William Sims. Stark, Rodney. “Scientology: To Be Perfectly Clear.” Sociological Analysis. 41. 2. 1980: 128-135. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2013
Boyer, Pascal. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2001.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
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