Ufology - A Religion?

Just before i start, please don't just read the title and flame me. Read what i have to say, and the posts of others following it before you leave your own comments. Thanks.



It seems lately that more and more people are becoming interested in the UFO phenomenon. There are a group of more, for lack of a better word, fanatical UFO believers that make up the core of the group, as it slowly spreads out to believers, want-to-believers and general interested persons.

I think that there is enough content in UFOlogy and it's documentation to warrant it's status as a Religion. No, i would not class myself as a member, nor should i think UFOlogy should become a Religion, but my thoughts is that it could.

Religion has been defined in a wide variety of ways. Most definitions attempt to find a balance somewhere between overly sharp definition and meaningless generalities. Some sources have tried to use formalistic, doctrinal definitions while others have emphasized experiential, emotive, intuitive, valuational and ethical factors. Definitions mostly include:

* a notion of the transcendent or divine, often, but not always, in the form of theism
* a cultural or behavioural aspect of ritual, liturgy and organized worship, often involving a priesthood, and societal norms of morality (ethos) and virtue (arete)
* a set of myths or sacred truths held in reverence or believed by adherents

Source

That is a general definition of the 'requirements' of a Religion. I want to take it apart and address each point separately.



"a notion of the transcendent or divine, often, but not always, in the form of theism"

As yet, we don't know where UFO's (and their possible Inhabitants) come from. There are many theories, ranging from EBE's, time travelers, inter-dimensional beings etc.
The theory i am interested in here is that they are holy beings, "angels", or manifestations of "God" himself. I have read people on these very forums stating that they believe them to be messengers from God.
This could warrant a tick for point number 1.

"a cultural or behavioural aspect of ritual, liturgy and organized worship, often involving a priesthood, and societal norms of morality (ethos) and virtue (arete)"

This one is a little tougher.
Rituals could include 'watching the skies', 'keeping a camera with you at all times' etc.
Liturgy and Organized Worship. UFO conventions?
Priesthood: Closest I can come is UFOlogists.
Ethos: Fair skepticism, analysis of evidence, debunking hoaxes.

"a set of myths or sacred truths held in reverence or believed by adherents"

Now this one is easy. There is more myths about UFO's than nearly any other topic. Area 51, Roswell, J-Rod etc. Combine that with the documentation produced from Government Archives, The Disclosure Project and other sources and there you have a 'Sacred Text'.

As far as the reverence side is concerned, i know many people that wish to or have made a 'pilgrimage' to Area 51 or Roswell. Sacred Sites?


It is a fairly loose argument, i know, but i have been thinking about it and had to post something so i can spark discussion and further my line or thought.

Any comments, for or against, are welcome, but please remember i'm not attempting to belittle other Religions, or even create UFOlogy as their equal, i'm merely stating an idea.

All I can say is "PEOPLE WAKE UP ".
The whole system of our government wants us to think that we are powerless. That there's higher intelligent beings that can take over and rule us in an instant. I think they're doing it right now and it ain't alien. They want us to think that we are weak, fragile and evil as a society. Well if you turn it around and stop thinking the way they want you to, you'll realize that we are powerful, beautiful and extraordinary human beings that can do anything we want if we put our minds to it. So yes I think Ufology is becoming a religion. And until we can wake up and control our own destiny we will be an internet and television society who will believe anything we read and hear. We should all be doing experiments with electricity, gravity, science old & new, but instead we watch our tv and sports and all the rest of the intertainment that keeps our minds busy and empty of any power.

reply to post by Solarskye


Firstly... if you are doing anything with electricity, take care. It tends to be a tad unforgiving.

Secondly, thanks for the post. I'd really hoped for more of a response already, but it is late at night/ early in the morning everywhere but here so it's my own fault for living in the southern hemisphere.

Your point about us being mainly a multimedia-based group is very true, but it shouldn't be seen as a negative thing. It just means that we are using technology as a means of communication and a way of getting together. It is hard to have face-to-face contact with many members of 'UFOlogy', simply because it is such a distance-impaired interest. There are people all over the world interested in the topic and there isn't exactly local UFOlogy Churches to go and meet at. Conventions are as close as we get to any kind of constructed meetings.

I think that if it wasn't for technology such as forums / blogs etc the interest in UFO's would be no where near the height that it is today. The Internet was the Saviour of UFOlogy.

Every movement has its fanatics.

- The 9/11 "no planes" people who have a theory but no proof.
- The Aviation enthusiasts who talk of things like the "TR-3B" when theres no proof.
-Jingoistic Americans who believe that only the US has the right to do things in this world.

They're all absolutely convinced that they are right.

However, they don't advocate the belief in a God or superhuman controlling power.

Its the same with UFOlogy.

And while some UFO believers link religion and Ufology - that doesn't make UFOlogy a religion.

reply to post by neformore



Thanks, good post.

However, they don't advocate the belief in a God or superhuman controlling power.

Its the same with UFOlogy.

This is where my opinion differs. I think belief in supposed 'aliens' and 'God' is closer than many are willing to admit. There is very little physical proof of either, only faith. Also, 'Aliens' can also said to be responsible for Creation if the theory of 'planet-seeding' comes into play.

I think that the strength of some people's beliefs in ETs rivals the faith of many lay people of various Religions.

Greys and Reptilians are the fairies and leprechauns of the 21st century.

reply to post by DarkSide



So, excuse me for putting words in your mouth, are you basically saying that UFOlogy is the folklore for the modern era? Science slowly rules out more ancient myths and legends, so higher-tech ones come along to replace them.

Did i get that right?

If so, i think it is a very valid point. In saying that though, i don't think any previous folklore in history has had such a wide following.

Originally posted by fooffstarr
reply to post by DarkSide

 

So, excuse me for putting words in your mouth, are you basically saying that UFOlogy is the folklore for the modern era? Science slowly rules out more ancient myths and legends, so higher-tech ones come along to replace them.

Did i get that right?

Exactly. I think people in the past were fascinated, or at least found natural envirronments like forests or mountains to be mysterious, and imagined all kinds of magical creatures to live in them. But today we know what tree's are, we know how mountain's form and that there are no leprechauns and fairies living among the tree's so the magical beings must come from the stars because space is to us what the world was to our ancestors, mysterious. That's what I think anyway.

I think it's very possible that ET life exists but the common beliefs of greys and reptillians are modern folklore.

If so, i think it is a very valid point. In saying that though, i don't think any previous folklore in history has had such a wide following.

They didn't have internet and amazon.com

No, I think the recent interest in ufology is because people are waking up and realizing they have been lied to for many years.

Its not a religion in any way because there are no rules to follow and there is nothing spiritual about it. Believing in aliens is nothing like believing in a God. There is much evidence for aliens in our history and present time, even though the skeptics explain away everything as something else.

Maybe people are just becoming smarter and wont accept the lies anymore. They feel they are being lied to, and they are right.


[edit on 18-10-2007 by Copernicus]

I religiously brush my teeth as soon as I wake up. Seriously though, I have an intense interest in UFOs and all that goes with the subject but I don't worship anything. I have an inbuilt desire to explore my surroundings, my universe, and see UFO and paranormal events as a piece of adventure. It's quite scary sometimes but very very exciting.
I haven't seen Jesus, nor a vision of the Holy Mother and I don't pray to an invisible God but I have seen UFOs so I know there's something real to be researched.

Actually the interest in UFO related things isn't all that recent and sightings have been reported for generations including the time prior to the Wright Brothers making their first attempt at powered flight. It's not a religion but yes it does cause a polarisation of believers, non-believers and fence-sitters.

I was a fence-sitter (remaining openly sceptical) until I saw a UFO for myself (I wasn't looking for one BTW). It was unidentified and flying at least with nothing to suggest it was occupied by ETs but it defied any existing or imaginable tech development for the time I saw it .

So now I'm a believer which doesn't make me a fanatic worshipper, just had my concept of reality nudged enough to knock me off the fence.

[edit on 18/10/2007 by Pilgrum]

Originally posted by fooffstarr
I think that the strength of some people's beliefs in ETs rivals the faith of many lay people of various Religions.

They've even got their own prophets

Just look at some threads on here where some people believe with absolute faith what so-and-so poster puts up

I think what sperates UFOlogy from the rest is that its absolutely ludicrous to believe that we are alone in the universe and that intelligent life started when we did. Civilizations that have been around possibly millions of years prior to us ever existing is too bigger possiblity to ignore. Even arrogant.

Since time has neither a beginning or end, its would be insane to assume that we are the first.

Other religions such as Christianity and Islam have no basis in modern science as they cannot be proven and seems too reliant on documents that were written MANY years ago, yet none of this has been replicated in recent reliable history.

Ufology isn't the same at all as its based on evidence (sometimes poor evidence), not faith. I myself am only looking for what seems to be an obvious fact, but find the evidence to go along with it. I don't worship any "God", I simply want to find the facts and thats it.

You reasoning about "religion" could apply to anything in the entire world.

Even IF all ufo pictures are elaborate hoaxes, that still doesn't rule out the possibility of life on other planets.

[edit on 18-10-2007 by dodgygeeza]

[edit on 18-10-2007 by dodgygeeza]

Originally posted by dodgygeeza
Even IF all ufo pictures are elaborate hoaxes, that still doesn't rule out the possibility of life on other planets.

From what I can tell, the OP never dismissed the possibility of life on other planets, just the possibility that ET influenced life on Earth as dramatically as some ufologist seem to believe.

Thanks for some great posts!

Originally posted by dodgygeeza

You reasoning about "religion" could apply to anything in the entire world.

Possibly. I was simply putting forward the argument for discussion. As of late, and i'm sure many other posters will concur, there has seemed to be a rise in the more 'out-there' and fanatical sides of UFOlogy, the sects so to speak. It just got me thinking how far some people would take their belief in the ideas.

I think Darkside hit the nail on the head however, it is simply evolution. Ideas, myths and legends evolve with the people that create them. As we discover more and more about our planet these myths run out of earthly places to stem from, so they go abroad, into space.

From what I can tell, the OP never dismissed the possibility of life on other planets, just the possibility that ET influenced life on Earth as dramatically as some ufologist seem to believe.

Sort of. I'm personally a believer in the idea of some outside force giving humans a push in the evolutionary process. The book 'Chariots of the Gods' is where I got the idea, that space travelers thousands of years ago may have visited our planet and bred with/gave technology to the early humanoids, thus giving them an advantage in the game of 'survival of the fittest'. As you can guess from that, I am an Atheist, and the fact that i believe there may have been another species' hand in our creation sparked me to think that if that was the case, would they then be classified as 'God's?

Once again, thanks for some of the great posts above. Good to read some alternate opinions. Getting late here, so i'll check back tomorrow to see what the northerners have to say on it!





[edit on 18-10-2007 by fooffstarr]

Originally posted by fooffstarr
As you can guess from that, I am an Atheist, and the fact that i believe there may have been another species' hand in our creation sparked me to think that if that was the case, would they then be classified as 'God's?

They certainly would have been considered as god's to ancient people. Native Americans thought the Spanish were gods, or the return of Quetzacoatl, they had never seen horses or gunpowder before, and thought it was magic.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" A.C Clarke I think, is very true, even today.

Originally posted by DarkSide

They certainly would have been considered as god's to ancient people. Native Americans thought the Spanish were gods, or the return of Quetzacoatl, they had never seen horses or gunpowder before, and thought it was magic.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" A.C Clarke I think, is very true, even today.

My point exactly.

If you knew no better and saw a 'flaming chariot' land near you and unfamiliar beings exit, you'd be without many other options other than to run or bow down.

Kind of getting off topic a bit with the ancient visitors theories, but still, it adds to my original point that to some ET's could be classified as God-like entities in the right circumstances.

I don't see it as religion in of itself, it is not structured enough, unless you count Raelians.

It is the same as any scientific study, to find out the unknown.

There are clearly UFOs, what they are is not quite known, so we can't form a belief structure simply on them alone...yet.

Originally posted by Kacen
I don't see it as religion in of itself, it is not structured enough, unless you count Raelians.

It is the same as any scientific study, to find out the unknown.

There are clearly UFOs, what they are is not quite known, so we can't form a belief structure simply on them alone...yet.

But none of them are finding any truth. It's just an endless stream of CGI pictures and videos, and testimonies of crazy people.

There are many people on this forum that believe aliens are spiritual benevolent beings that are here to save us from destroying our planet. That's faith. Replace the angels by big headed grey-like beings and the demons by reptilians...

It's funny how some skeptics think people who study ufology come to their conclusions in the abstract. People don't just wake up one morning and say I think U.F.O.'s exist. This shows the skeptic is operating absent of any reason.

Many people examine the evidence that supports ufology and they draw a reasoned conclusion. With ufology you have both direct and circumstantial evidence. The skeptic just has their opinion. The skeptic gives more weight to their opinion because of their pre existing belief system because the skeptic has ZERO evidence to back their claims. So the skeptic is the one operating on a level of belief.

Direct evidence - eyewitness accounts from Presidents, pilots, military, astronauts, police officers and more.

Circumstantial evidence - cave paintings, painting, ancient manuscripts, picture and video.

The skeptic has zero evidence just their opinion. It turns logic and reason on it's head when you give more weight to your opinion than the actual evidence,