Is Ufology becoming a religion?

I pose this question for a few reasons. After years of interest in the UFO/Paranormal (entertainment value only)...it would seem to me that this hysteria is slowly becoming a pseudo-religion, this is scary, more scary than any conspiracy theory/threat of global doom, simply due to the power of faith. I say this because, barring any proof, any concrete existence of anything of this nature, people hang on to the ideals of said topics in a way that is comparable to any major religious faith.

Religion: absence of proof, tenets of the faith (books read religiously by most enthusiasts/UFO authors/paranormal texts), and the zealous behavior surrounding the absolute truth to these claims.

Anyone care to comment on my thoughts? The prospect of a faith developing globally terrifies me.

Sadly yes, or at least it has the traits of one.

You have people that believe in something that has no proof of it's existence...the belief of a zealots in many cases.

With no evidence all they have is faith...and there you have religion baby!!

I have thought that for some time that man has to believe in something...a better world than the one he is in. Religion filled the gap for a bit. Now it's Music, Sport and UFOlogy...well I suppose some loose this crap world reality through drugs and alcohol too.

So yeah....it is all hail to the new god or gods...from whatever star system your particular faith believe they came from

There are still many serious researchers such as Stanton Friedman and MUFON, unfortunately often times people who I believe are deliberately disingenuous like John Lear, sleeper, and zorgon make them look very bad. Also, religion is not necessarily a proofless intellectual exercise, there's plenty of intellectual arguments for the existence of God and the historicity of Jesus Christ.

reply to post by blueyedevil666


I tend to agree with your thoughts here. I have also noticed that people either tend to believe or not, just like any religion. Even if you have an open mind about it all, and question, you are treated like an idiot by both the believers and non believers. Maybe that is just me, though!

Originally posted by blueyedevil666
I pose this question for a few reasons. After years of interest in the UFO/Paranormal (entertainment value only)...it would seem to me that this hysteria is slowly becoming a pseudo-religion, this is scary, more scary than any conspiracy theory/threat of global doom, simply due to the power of faith. I say this because, barring any proof, any concrete existence of anything of this nature, people hang on to the ideals of said topics in a way that is comparable to any major religious faith.

Religion: absence of proof, tenets of the faith (books read religiously by most enthusiasts/UFO authors/paranormal texts), and the zealous behavior surrounding the absolute truth to these claims.

Anyone care to comment on my thoughts? The prospect of a faith developing globally terrifies me.

Your whole post shows that it's skeptics who a religious in their belief that U.F.O.'s can't exist.

This is shown when you say things like there is no "proof" is just a flat out lie.

You have both direct and circumstantial evidence that supports ufology and all the skeptic has is opinion.

The skeptic gives more weight to their opinion than to actual evidence and this is because of their pre-existing belief about ufology.

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

Circumstantial evidence - cave paintings, ancient manuscripts, paintings, pictures and video.

VS.

Opinion.

The skeptic is left with their belief and opinion.

So what if it's a religion to some people. Who cares? It's their business. Maybe they have nothing else. Maybe it gives them comfort.

I said this on another thread and I'll say it again: People here need to stop being so judgmental about those who are different or think differently.

Vanilla can be a great flavor, but who wants to eat it six billion meals in a row . . .

reply to post by PrplHrt


I just think it's harmful to those of us who are actually trying to find out the truth using empirical methods when people make wild claims with no proof. Believe what you want...but be prepared to present hard evidence when making claims of fact.

If there is a religion based on UFO's then I just do not understand it. That would be weired and I would not want to associate with those in such a cult. Curiosity and wanting to understand more of our world is what drives the majority of people to seek information out on ET's,UFO's. Nothing more and nothing less. I do not even see a spiritual side to this whole thing.Geez. LMAO!

[edit on 26-11-2007 by cloakndagger]

reply to post by PrplHrt


Ok, I don't get how you are JUDGING the OP to be judgemental? The person is just stating how they feel about this growing phenomena. I do not see the OP ridiculing anyone, and is only asking for peoples opinions. The only one who is judging on this thread is, you!

reply to post by Jim_Kraken

I agree. It does tend to cloud the issue. The government's reluctance to tell the truth has a great deal to do with it. The subject would have evolved very differently if the military had been honest with us from the start.

reply to post by Enthralled Fan

Having a little trouble with semantics? Read for comprehension.

reply to post by PrplHrt


I am not having any problem at all understanding what you have said and continue to do.

I think Ufology has it's " Holy Grail " in a sense. Physical evidence is the holy grail of ufology. Aliens are like the gods in religions. We have prophets, Freidman, Lazar, Good etc.. Rosewell, New Mexico has been pretty much a sacred sight by ufo believers. Debunkers are demons of the ufo world. Ufology has mentioned Gods and Religion has mentioned ufo's. People make money from both ufology & religions. Neither Ufology or God can be proven, you either believe or not. And that's ok for me. If people want to believe then that's their choice.
But it's a close call when it come to religion and ufology. There is some science in ufology, and technology has already enabled flying machines like the stealth bombers and other flying machines. I still haven't seen anybody walk on water or raise somebody from the dead etc.. Things like zero gravity and free energy are more likely to be real then to have a staff that turns into a snake or plits the sea in half. But to be fair it's all possible because we can't prove it isn't.

Ok, I don't get how you are JUDGING the OP to be judgemental? The person is just stating how they feel about this growing phenomena. I do not see the OP ridiculing anyone, and is only asking for peoples opinions. The only one who is judging on this thread is, you!

Just to step in, if you observed the wording of the OP you'd see that he follows the UFO/paranormal for entertainment purposes, which would seem to imply he finds it amusing and fake. Also he said there was no proof. To put it bluntly, that's idiotic. I even see another claiming lack of proof. I don't get it. Thousands of UFO videos, landing sites that have been examined, strange implants surgically removed from people, presidents and NASA employees and military pilots and millions of others as eye witnesses, and all that is no proof? A person has to be living with his head up his a** to say there's no proof.

However, some people do make a religion out of it. For instance the Raliens is a UFO based religion. Some people go far beyond the simple concept that UFOs have been visiting earth for centuries for unknown reasons, and instead start to fill in all the unknowns with made up fantasies about their agendas, their control of our govt, where they're from, the spiritual meaning of aliens, and so on. That's what puts me off. Just stick to the facts.

Yes it has become something definatly.

But it depends on the definition of religion.

Does religion require worship?

Now UFOlogists don't worship, they BELIEVE. It's a world view, but not even a philosophy.

Many times though UFOlogy is bound to these phenomenons -> Spirituality -> paranormality -> which makes it a kind of philosophy.

But i think it's not what a "religion" means.

[edit on 27-11-2007 by Paul the seeker]

reply to post by Elhardt


I understand your point of view. However, I am a fence rider on the whole topic of ufo's and aliens but find it fascinating. So, I also understand where the OP might be coming from when saying it is for entertainment purposes.

Yes, there seems to be a lot of evidence which might proove something, but there is also a lot of faked evidence as well. Even people who believe get burned by the fake stuff. Seems everytime I pull my head out of my rear to take a peek at the topic, sure enough, another hoax.

I sure would love to see 100% evidence some time, without all the new age woo woo stuff clouding it up.

Originally posted by Elhardt...Just to step in, if you observed the wording of the OP you'd see that he follows the UFO/paranormal for entertainment purposes, which would seem to imply he finds it amusing and fake. Also he said there was no proof. To put it bluntly, that's idiotic. I even see another claiming lack of proof. I don't get it. Thousands of UFO videos, landing sites that have been examined, strange implants surgically removed from people, presidents and NASA employees and military pilots and millions of others as eye witnesses, and all that is no proof? A person has to be living with his head up his a** to say there's no proof...

You can't just go around calling people idiots just because they don't agree with what you consider proof. Makes people wonder who the person with their head up his rectum really is.

UFO's exist. UFO as in unidentified flying object that is. Could be man made, could be a natural phenomenon, could be something else entirely. The fact is, we don't know. Until we do, people will always try to give some sort of meaning to the things they cannot understand. It's the "god of the gaps" argument but with ET's. Find a gap in our scientific knowledge and fill it up with god, aliens, whatever you want.

I have no problems with people coming up with theories for the unknown, in fact, all our knowledge started as a theory. I just don't like it when someone pops up claiming to have all the answers but fails to deliver any evidence that might back them up. No scientific method at all, you either believe them or you don't. People like that will only get us further away from the truth.

You certainly have an answer in the replies you've received on this topic. It's amazing to see the emotional rants against the skeptical point of view, for example. But I still think you are covering a vast and varied field with one blanket, and that's probably not a fair criticism. I think you can detect a gradation here. On the extreme side are the UFO Evangelical Cults. They've been here since the fifties with people like Adamski and are here now with people like Meier and Greer. They have their adherents, are very cult-like in their actions, very millennial, and virtually require belief beyond UFOs into other transcendent themes from reincarnation to [name your Jesus here]. Next down the list you have folks who rabidly believe that any lights in the sky prove aliens are here from other galaxies. And, I think majority opinion would have it that the government is behind some secrets, though some claim to know more about this than others.

But I also think there are many people in the 'UFO Community" who are sincerely interested in not jumping to conclusions, in amassing the data, and in trying to figure out the reality behind the sightings. I'm not including ONLY the nuts & bolts guys in this. There are some serious ideas on the inter-dimensional possibility of UFOs, not to mention serious attempts to reconcile what we know about the nature of the Universe and how UFOs could exist in such a situation.

So, my answer to your question is: No, not Ufology as a whole. It will always attract the fringe elements because it is not a rigorous course of study that insists on the scientific method and peer review for advancement. Those who can't or won't discipline themselves to do that will always gravitate to places where it is not required, hence the rate of hoaxes and charlatans is higher in Ufology than it is in, say, mathematics or physics, where you actually have to show your work and convince your peers that your ideas are worthy, repeatable, and sound. That's just the nature of the beast. If you're interested enough to pursue this course of study, you have to put up with it. Hopefully there are some diamonds in the rough here somewhere.

Well UFO's exist it's as simple as that. Once you've seen one and you know beyond any doubt in your mind what you saw it's deeper than any religon. Allmost as good a feeling as sex. I have proof but you won't like it so lets not bother with your game.

mikell

The problem here is the perspective that people have on the word RELIGION.

Religious beliefs are nothing to be look in a bad aspect, most of the people in this world practice many form of religions and is perfectly accepted. Faith is any particular doctrine is something very personal and is a personal decision to the person so who are we to denigrate those to choose to believe in a higher power.

What's saddens me the most is that many atheist try to push science and although ufology is not one I will include it too, as a way to show those who choose to believe that we are wrong for believe in what we believe

Ufology just has their case of nut jobs but for the most part and specially now we do a good job of policing ourselves, sadly some of the time is the nuts that get most of the attention.