Professor, Philosophy and Religion, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and the author of American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, and Technology<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIn many indigenous spiritualities, for example, extraterrestrials, often called \u201cstar people,\u201d exist and are even ancestors of certain tribes on Earth. Even in certain Western indigenous spiritualities, such as pre-Christian Irish, for example, extraterrestrials came from the clouds and provided humans with knowledge about how to live.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in the Western traditions\u2014take Catholicism for example\u2014talk of extraterrestrial life has been going on for more than one thousand years. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII established a space observatory (which was there already) to study \u201cunexplained flying objects.\u201d Buddhism also references the existence of other worlds. It is obvious that most religions and spiritualities have considered the existence of beings from other worlds. It is actually not new.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Buddhism was a popular choice\u2026<\/p>\n
Liz Wilson<\/p>\n
Professor, Comparative Religion, Miami University of Ohio<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cBuddhism, hands down. No other religion offers as vivid a depiction of what life is like on planets far from ours. In Buddhist texts we learn what it feels like, phenomenologically, to be on another planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen Pechilis<\/p>\n
Professor, Comparative Religions, Drew University<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI think Buddhism is a good candidate for being the religion most friendly to the idea of life existing on other planets\u2026.The universal Buddhist prayer is \u201cmay all beings be (unselfishly) happy,\u201d which is directed towards everyone, everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
This researcher included a couple of Christian sects\u2026.<\/p>\n
Douglas Vokoch<\/p>\n
President of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI), a non-profit research organization that creates and transmits interstellar messages to search for extraterrestrial civilizations<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cAdmittedly, some traditions will have an easier time than others in absorbing the news that we\u2019re not alone in the universe. Numerous schools of Buddhism and Hinduism posit countless celestial realms, populated by beings more or less spiritually advanced than humans. News of extraterrestrial neighbors would be welcome and easily assimilated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin Christianity, two prominent denominations arose recently enough to be informed by nineteenth-century astronomical observations of planets in our own solar system. The founder of the Seventh-day Adventists had visions of extraterrestrials, and the Latter-day Saint scripture The Pearl of Great Price claims the existence of other inhabited worlds than Earth. In these traditions, aliens are assumed to exist, so no adaptation will be needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Islam got a vote from this prof\u2026.<\/p>\n
Chris Taylor<\/p>\n
Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Drew University Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict (CRCC) at Drew University<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIn the Islamic tradition, for example, the great twelfth and thirteenth century mystical philosopher Ibn al-\u2018Arabi would have likely been very comfortable with contemporary theory in physical cosmology that our own universe may well be only one of multiple universes, likely occupying multiple and different dimensions of time and space. Once you can accept something as wild as that, getting your head around extraterrestrial life should be a breeze.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This lecturer knows which religion doesn\u2019t want any space aliens showing up\u2026.<\/p>\n
Christian Weidemann<\/p>\n
Lecturer, Protestant Theology, University of Muenster; recent papers include \u2018Did Jesus Die for Klingons, too?\u2019 and \u2018Is the Origin of Life a Fluke? Why the Chance Hypothesis Should Not be Dismissed Too Quickly\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cEvery major religion on Earth could easily accommodate the discovery of (intelligent) alien life, with one exception: Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n
And finally, let\u2019s not forget the space brothers\u2026<\/p>\n
Kelly Eileen Hayes<\/p>\n
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Indiana University<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWhile it might sound like the plot of a sci-fi novel, the idea that benevolent and highly advanced beings from other planets are secretly facilitating human evolution is common to a number of religions. Members of the Brazilian religion called the Valley of the Dawn (Vale do Amanhecer), for example, claim to be the spiritual descendants of a race of beings from the distant star Capella, sent by God to jumpstart Earth\u2019s evolution. According to Valley teachings, the elaborate pyramids built by various ancient peoples were actually technologically sophisticated structures for maintaining communications with Capella.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s always a tricky matter to ask academics about UFOs and not get a standard dismissive comment. After all, mainstream science doesn\u2019t recognize what many of us have seen and interpreted as something out of the ordinary. But if you … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[1698,2029,1138],"class_list":["post-33944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-synchronicity","tag-ets","tag-religion","tag-ufos"],"yoast_head":"\nReligions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Religions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s always a tricky matter to ask academics about UFOs and not get a standard dismissive comment. After all, mainstream science doesn\u2019t recognize what many of us have seen and interpreted as something out of the ordinary. But if you … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Welcome to The Mystical Underground\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/trishmacgregor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Trish and Rob\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Trish and Rob\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Trish and Rob\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dafc2c80b2d103bab7e8264483160918\"},\"headline\":\"Religions & UFOs\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944\"},\"wordCount\":767,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png\",\"keywords\":[\"ETs\",\"Religion\",\"UFOs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"synchronicity\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944\",\"name\":\"Religions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?p=33944#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Religions & UFOs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Welcome to The Mystical Underground\",\"description\":\"SYNCHRONICITY\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Welcome to The Mystical Underground\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/shift1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/shift1.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"Welcome to The Mystical Underground\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/trishmacgregor\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/trishandrobmacgregor\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dafc2c80b2d103bab7e8264483160918\",\"name\":\"Trish and Rob\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Trish and Rob\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/themysticalunderground.com\\\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Religions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Religions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground","og_description":"It\u2019s always a tricky matter to ask academics about UFOs and not get a standard dismissive comment. After all, mainstream science doesn\u2019t recognize what many of us have seen and interpreted as something out of the ordinary. But if you … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944","og_site_name":"Welcome to The Mystical Underground","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/trishmacgregor","article_published_time":"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Trish and Rob","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Trish and Rob","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944"},"author":{"name":"Trish and Rob","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dafc2c80b2d103bab7e8264483160918"},"headline":"Religions & UFOs","datePublished":"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944"},"wordCount":767,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png","keywords":["ETs","Religion","UFOs"],"articleSection":["synchronicity"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944","url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944","name":"Religions & UFOs - Welcome to The Mystical Underground","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png","datePublished":"2020-02-12T06:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-29T14:01:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1","width":1600,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?p=33944#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Religions & UFOs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/","name":"Welcome to The Mystical Underground","description":"SYNCHRONICITY","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#organization","name":"Welcome to The Mystical Underground","url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shift1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shift1.jpg","width":700,"height":768,"caption":"Welcome to The Mystical Underground"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/trishmacgregor","https:\/\/instagram.com\/trishandrobmacgregor"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dafc2c80b2d103bab7e8264483160918","name":"Trish and Rob","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d20cd13f9fba2c96ecb485d026ae626dff9793f92d1becd3eb1cfc20bee1695?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Trish and Rob"},"url":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/?author=5"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33944"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33948,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33944\/revisions\/33948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themysticalunderground.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themysticalunderground.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/09469B94-0CD9-45B2-AF02-D5067A099F95.png?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n