Contact vs. The Arrival

As I saw it, the whole point of 'Contact' was the concept of faith in a higher power, be it religious or extraterrestrial, as well as the general public's (rather than the Intelligence Community's) inability to accept the more advanced scientific notions about the distorted perception of space/time necessary for Foster to reach the alien destination and return in a matter of less than a second from our POV.

Her atheism versus McConaughey's devout religious faith is replaced by her own personal faith regarding the veracity of her alien contact. She becomes her own religion with a growing mass of followers - like a female hippy version of Billy Meier? It's hardly a subtle message but Carl Sagan gets away with it IMO.

The twist in the tale is that the authorities knew the truth of her experience - because the visual recording (albeit just interference) she made inside the vessel during the full length of her journey DID indeed record for that length of time - rather than the negligible period witnessed by onlookers.

Why the IC never notified Foster is perhaps an example of them allowing her religion to thrive as disinformation (even though it is anything but) and continuing their own secret research.