Summary
Title: The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions
Author: edited by James R. Lewis
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1573929646
Pro:
• Very comprehensive resource covering a wide variety of material and issues
Con:
• Expensive - not at all for the casual reader
Description:
• Collection of scholarly essays about UFO religions
• Explores psychological and sociological issues relating to UFO religious communities
• Argues that there are common themes in all UFO religious movements
Book Review
It is a good idea for anyone interested in the study of religion to gain a better understanding of this particular religious movement - one which has so many similarities to traditional religions but which is also an outgrowth of modern society and modern science. To that end, James R. Lewis has edited a volume of essays on these religious groups: The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions.
A noted expert in new religious movements, Lewis has created an authoritative resource for both scholars and students. The title is somewhat misleading, I think, because an "encyclopedia" brings to mind a comprehensive reference book, alphabetically organized and detailing the basic structure, history, and beliefs of various religious groups. This book isn't like that.
It is "encyclopedic" because it covers an incredible amount of ground and the extensive appendices explain basic beliefs and history to an amazing degree. The "meat" of the book, however, is in the nearly 400 pages and twenty articles that address all manner of issues relating to UFO religions: the role UFOs play in American society, how some of these religions see the world as a dangerous place, how believers react when prophecies fail to come true, etc.
Why have UFO religions become popular not just in America, but also in other places like Canada, Europe, and Taiwan? A great deal of insight can be gained from the study of the Cargo Cults of the South Pacific. In these religious movements, people look forward to an "End Time" when current inadequacies will be made up for when "cargos" of Western consumer goods are delivered. This delivery is expected to be simultaneously a resurgence of material prosperity as well as a spiritual salvation or liberation.
Followers of UFO religions have similar expectations. Current ecological, spiritual, and social problems will be resolved once superior aliens arrive and deliver to us not only their superior technology, but also their superior spiritual abilities which will allow us to overcome hatred, war, bigotry, and so forth. Also like the Cargo Cults, the UFO religions are millennarian in nature, looking forward to a time when a lost paradise can be recreated on Earth.
Although their most prominent feature is belief in aliens and UFOs, it shouldn't be assumed that these religious groups are entirely new in their orientation. On the contrary, they frequently incorporate much from other religions.
It's unlikely that they would be so successful otherwise. Some use beliefs from Theosophy and American spiritualism. Others make use of traditional Christian and Jewish ideas.
Raelians, for example, believe that many past religious teachers, like Jesus and the Buddha, were actually sent by aliens to teach humanity things we should know at culturally and historically appropriate times. Rael himself (an alien/human hybrid like Jesus) is simply the most recent (and final) prophet in a long line of prophets. Only now are we ready to understand that these teachers in the past weren't representing gods but, rather, beings from other planets - beings who plan to come to Earth soon and complete their revelation to and education of humanity.
This book is not for the casual reader or anyone with only a passing interest in UFOs and religion. It's expensive and it's not always an easy read. It is, however, the most comprehensive and scholarly resource out there in a single volume. So, for those who do have a serious interest in these issues, this is probably a must-have book; for people with a more casual interest in the subject, I recommend Lewis' earlier book Odd Gods, which includes a section on several UFO religious groups.
