Raëlism

Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism or Raelian Movement is a UFO religion founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël. Scholars of religion classify Raëlism as a new religious movement. The group is formalised as the International Raëlian Movement (IRM) or Raëlian Church, a hierarchical organisation under Raël's leadership.

Raëlism teaches that an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim created humanity using their advanced technology. An atheistic religion, it holds that the Elohim have historically been mistaken for gods. It claims that throughout history the Elohim have created 40 Elohim/human hybrids who have served as prophets preparing humanity for news about their origins. Among them are The Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, with Raël himself the 40th and final prophet. Raëlists believe that since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, humanity has entered an Age of Apocalypse in which it threatens itself with nuclear annihilation. Raëlism holds that humanity must find a way to harness new scientific and technological development for peaceful purposes, and that when this has been achieved the Elohim will return to Earth to share their technology with humanity and establish a utopia. To this end, Raëlians have sought to build an embassy for the Elohim that incorporates a landing pad for their spaceship. Raëlians engage in daily meditation, hope for physical immortality through human cloning, and promote a liberal ethical system with a strong emphasis on sexual experimentation.

Raël first published his claims to have been contacted by the Elohim in his 1974 book ''Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité''. He subsequently established an organisation devoted to promoting his ideas, MADECH, which in 1976 disbanded and was replaced by the Raëlian Church. Raël headed the new organisation, which was structured around a hierarchy of seven levels. Attracting more followers, the group obtained a country estate in France before relocating its operations to Quebec. In 1998, Raël established the Order of Angels, an internal all-female group whose members are largely sequestered from wider society and tasked with training themselves to become the Elohim's consorts. In 1997 Raël initiated Clonaid, an organisation engaged in research in human cloning directed by senior Raëlian Brigitte Boisselier. In 2002, the company claimed to have produced a human clone, a baby named Eve, bringing much critical scrutiny and media attention. The Movement has attracted further attention through its public protests endorsing causes such as women's and gay rights and against nuclear testing.

The International Raëlian Movement claims tens of thousands of members, the majority in Francophone areas of Western Europe and North America and parts of East Asia. Criticism of the philosophy has come from journalists, ex-Raëlians, and anti-cultists, while it has also been studied by scholars of religion.

Definition and classification

Raëlism is a religion that scholars of religion classify as a new religious movement. It has also been described as a UFO religion, a UFO movement, and an ETI (extra-terrestrial intelligence) religion. The organization promoting Raëlianism is the International Raëlian Movement (IRM), or the Raëlian Church. In France, where the religion originated, the government's Parliamentary Commission on Cults labels it a " ''secte''", a French term with negative connotations similar to the English word "cult". In 1997, a parliamentary inquiry commission issued a report through the Belgian Chamber of Representatives that also categorized the Belgian Raelian Movement (''Mouvement Raëlien Belge'') as a ''secte''.

Raëlism is possibly the largest UFO religion in existence, and in the mid-2000s, the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß called it "one of the most consolidated UFO groups internationally active today." In its beliefs, Raëlism differs from many other UFO-based philosophies, with the scholar of religion James R. Lewis terming it "the most thoroughly secular of all the UFO religions." Most other UFO religions, such as the Aetherius Society, Ashtar Command, and Heaven's Gate, use many of the beliefs of the late-19th-century religion theosophy; Raëlism does not. Raëlists have also been characterised as having a "belief in ufology", but Raëlians often stress that they do not regard themselves as ufologists.

Raëlism is materialistic and rejects the existence of the supernatural, endorsing atheism and rejecting the idea that gods exist. The religion's founder, Raël, characterises traditional religion as irrational and unscientific, presenting his alternative as a philosophy free from "obscurantism and mysticism". Raëlians call their belief system a "scientific religion", with the International Raëlian Movement using the motto "Science is our religion; religion is our science." The religion emphasizes the use of science to solve the world's problems, and practitioners regard Raël as a pioneer of science who will one day be regarded as a peer of Galileo and Copernicus. Many of its members call it an "atheistic religion" and compare it to Buddhism, which similarly does not promote belief in gods.

Along with science, the other main basis of Raël's ideas is the Bible. Noting the "central role" of the Bible in Raëlism, the scholar of religion Eugene V. Gallagher suggested that it was a "thoroughly biblical and thoroughly Christian" philosophy. Similarly, the sociologist of religion Susan J. Palmer characterised Raëlism as both fundamentalist and Abrahamic in its reliance on the Bible. Raël nevertheless criticised Christianity for what he believed was its role in perverting the Bible's message, presenting himself as an opponent of the Roman Catholic Church. Raëlism is not inclusive of other religions, with new members expected to formally renounce any previous religious affiliations.

Beliefs

During the early 2000s, the scholar of religion George D. Chryssides noted that Raëlism exhibits "a coherent worldview", but added that the movement remained in the "very early developmental stage". The religion is based on the teachings of Raël. Raël's claims are taken literally by practitioners of Raëlism, who regard his writings as scripture. From Palmer's extensive study of the philosophy and Raël himself, she thought that he genuinely believed his claims. The sociologist of religion Christopher Partridge noted that Raëlianism exhibits "a ''strong'' physicalist belief system".

Raëlism presents a form of the ancient astronauts theory which was well known at the time that the religion was formed. Several French authors, such as Jean Sendy, Serge Hutin, and Jacques Bergier, had already published books during the late 1960s and early 1970s stating that Earth was the outpost of an ancient extraterrestrial society. Swiss writer Erich von Däniken presented the same idea in his 1968 book ''Chariots of the Gods?'' Similar ideas had also been put forward in science fiction, such as the U.S. television series ''Star Trek''. Raëlians often deny the effect of von Däniken on the philosophy, instead believing that it derives entirely from Raël's revelations.

The Elohim

Raëlism teaches that there exists an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim. Raël has said that the word "Elohim", which is used for God in the Old Testament, is actually a plural term which he translates as "those who came from the sky." Raël calls individual members of the Elohim "Eloha". He claims that the Elohim gave him the honorific name "Raël", a term deriving from "Israel", which he translates as "the messenger of those who come from the sky."

In his first book, ''Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité'' (''The Book That Tells the Truth''), published in 1974, Raël claimed that he initially encountered these alien beings on 13 December 1973, when he was 27 years old. He wrote that he was walking along the Puy de Lassolas volcanic crater in the Clermont-Ferrand mountains when one of their spaceships appeared and an Eloha emerged, who asked him to return the next day and bring a Bible. Raël did so, and the over six days Eloha explained to him the true meaning of its contents, revealing more about the Elohim's involvement in human history. In his 1976 book ''Les Extra-Terrestres M'ont Emmené sur Leur Planète'' (''The Extraterrestrials Took Me to Their Planet''), Raël added that he was contacted by the Elohim again on 7 October 1975, when they took him aboard their spaceship and transported him to their home planet. Here he was offered six biological robot women with which to have sex, saw the Elohim create his clone, and taught the techniques of sensual meditation. The scholar of religion James R. Lewis noted that Raël's account of encountering the Elohim was similar to those of the "classic UFO contactees" of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Elohim are described as physically smaller than humans, with pale green skin and almond-shaped eyes, and divide into seven different races. Raëlians are forbidden from painting or sketching them. According to Raël, their planet is outside the Solar System but within the Milky Way. Raël says there are 90,000 Elohim on their planet, that they are all quasi-immortal, and that they do not wear clothes. All are permitted to engage in free love with one another, and sexual jealousy has been eliminated. All are regarded as feminine in manner; "the most feminine woman on Earth is only 10% as feminine as the Elohim." They are not allowed to procreate, and many undergo a sterilisation operation to ensure this. Raël also reports that the Elohim can communicate with humans because they understand all human languages.

The Elohim on Earth

Raëlism teaches that about 25,000 years ago the Elohim arrived at the Earth and transformed it so that life could develop. It states that the Elohim used their advanced technology to establish all life on the planet. Raël characterises humans as "biological robots" that have been created and programmed by the Elohim. Raëlism teaches that humanity is modelled physically on the Elohim; for practitioners, this is indicated by the passage at Genesis 1:26. Also representing his own interpretation of Genesis, Raël teaches that the Elohim scientist responsible for creating humanity was named Yahweh and that the first two humans to be created were named Adam and Eve. Raëlians believe that there were originally seven human races, modelling the seven Elohim races, but that the purple, blue, and green races have died out. In believing humanity was created by the Elohim, Raëlians reject Darwinian evolution and espouse creationism and intelligent design; Raëlians term their beliefs "scientific creationism." Raëlians believe that the Elohim were also created by an earlier species, and they before them, ''ad infinitum''. They believe that the cosmos expands indefinitely, both in time and space; infinity is an important concept for them.

Raëlians believe that accounts of gods in various mythologies around the world are misinterpretations of memories about the Elohim. The philosophy states that the sacred scriptures of many other religions describe the ongoing activities of the Elohim on Earth. The tale of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, recounted in Genesis, is for instance interpreted as representing humanity's difficult transition from the Elohim's laboratories to life on Earth, where they had to become self-sufficient. The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, as presented in the Gospels, is described as representing how the Elohim cloned Jesus to restore him to life after death. References to Satan are interpreted as referring to the chief of a group on the Elohim's planet who were opposed to genetic experiments on Earth and who argued that humanity should be destroyed as a potential threat. According to the Raëlians, the Great Flood narrative recounts an attempt by the anti-human aliens to wipe out humanity, but that humanity was rescued by an alien spacecraft which provided the basis for the story of Noah's Ark.

Various figures who established or inspired religions throughout human history, including Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and Joseph Smith, are portrayed by the Raëlians as having been guided by the Elohim. These are characterised as being 39 prophets sent to humanity at various times. Each is believed to have revealed information to humanity that they could comprehend at the given time, and Raëlism, therefore, emphasises the idea of progressive truth. Raël claims that he is the fortieth and final prophet of the Elohim, sent because humanity is now sufficiently developed to understand the truth about the Elohim. He initially claimed that he was chosen for this role because he had a Roman Catholic mother and a Jewish father and was thus "an ideal link between two very important peoples in the history of the world." He added that he was also selected because he lived in France, which the Elohim considered a more open-minded country than most others.

Raël subsequently stated that these prophets are themselves the result of a human mother breeding with an Eloha father, with the human mothers having been chosen for the purity of their genetic code, beamed onto an Elohim spacecraft, impregnated, and then returned to Earth with their memory of the event erased. In his 1979 book, ''Let's Welcome Our Fathers from Space'', Raël added that he was the biological son of the Eloha whom he first encountered, Yahweh. He noted that Yahweh was also the father of Jesus, making the latter Raël's half-brother. In 2003, Raël publicly identified himself as Maitreya, the prophesied future bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism. He maintains that he continues to be in telepathic contact with the Elohim, hearing Yahweh's voice guiding him in making decisions affecting Raëlianism.

The religion also teaches that the Elohim continue to monitor every human individual on Earth, remotely, from their planet. This is done so that the Elohim can decide which individuals merit being offered the opportunity of eternal life. It argues that the Elohim continue to visit the Earth, as evidenced by crop circles, which adherents regard as the landing spaces of the Elohim's spacecraft. Raëlians generally understand sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) as confirmation of their belief in the Elohim, although their opinion of Ufology is ambiguous. Raëlians also consider the appearance of " angel hair" as evidence of the Elohim's presence, stating that it has appeared at various Raëlian summer gatherings. They typically express scepticism regarding claims by alleged alien contactees other than Raël. Raëlians believe that they are all capable of linking telepathically with the Elohim but that only Raël is permitted to meet with them physically or receive their revelations.

The Age of Apocalypse and the Elohim's Return

Raëlism is a millenarian philosophy. Raël claims that since the U.S. military's use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, humanity have been living in the "Age of Apocalypse" or "Revelation". It states that the human species must now choose whether to use science and technology to enhance life or to use it to bring about nuclear annihilation. It claims that if humans successfully get through this present age, they will live in an era of advanced technology in which society will be tolerant and sexually liberated. Raël claimed that he was destined to help lead humanity away from its path of destruction.

According to Raël, beginning a peaceful age will cause the return of the Elohim to Earth. He added that they will bring them the 39 immortal prophets whom they had previously sent to guide humanity. Raël stated that humanity has to build an embassy for the Elohim prior to their arrival on Earth and that it must include a landing pad for their spaceship. He stated that it needed to be located on internationally recognised neutral territory so as not to indicate favour towards any one particular nation-state. Initially, Raël sought permission to build it in Israel, explaining this by reference to how the ancient Israelites were once in contact with the Elohim. He also stated that this embassy would constitute the "Third Temple" referred to in Jewish prophecy.

Receiving little help for this venture from the Israeli government, Raël instead suggested that a neighbouring country might be suitable, proposing Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt as possible locations. None of the governments of these countries were favorable. Senior people of the Raëlian Movement suggested Hawaii as a possible alternative, and in 1998 Raël stated that he had received a new revelation from the Elohim stating that this location would be acceptable. Chryssides noted that should the Elohim not arrive in 2035, the Raëlians will have to adapt to the new circumstance in which their eschatology remains unfulfilled.
On 16 April 1987, the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' estimated the funding for the "cosmic kibbutz" at $1 million. In 1997–1998, the funding had risen to $7 million.Weiss, Rick, uman Cloning's 'Numbers Game' ''Washington Post''. 10 October 2000. Retrieved 21 March 2011
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''Oak Ridger''. 2 January 1998. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
, ''PR Newswire''. 27 December 1997. Retrieved 17 July 2007. In 2001, group members claimed that they had saved $9 million had been saved for the embassy; and in October 2001, the funding had reached $20 million.Nichols, Hans S
Clones of Aliens Are Among US?
''Insight on the News''. 29 October 2001. Retrieved 17 July 2007
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Once on Earth, Raël claims, the Elohim will share their advanced technology and scientific understanding with humanity and will help to usher in a utopia. Raël teaches that the Elohim's arrival will herald a new and improved political system on Earth. This will be a single world government that Raël terms a "geniocracy," or "rule of geniuses," and which he discusses in his fifth book, ''Geniocracy''. According to this system, only those who are fifty percent more intelligent that the average person will be permitted to rule. Raël's proposed geniocratic system bears similarities with the style of governance that Plato promoted in his work ''Republic''. Raëlians thus reject democracy, believing that it fails to ensure that society has the best leadership. Raël claims that this future society will have no war, and crime will have been ended through genetic engineering. In this future, Raël states, humanity will be able to travel beyond the Earth to colonise other planets. He claims that robots will assume menial tasks, allowing humans to devote their time to pleasurable pursuits. He also argued that there would be biological robots which would serve as sex slaves, akin to those which Raël states he encountered on his visit to the Elohim planet. A single world currency will be introduced, as a prelude to the total abolition of money, while a unified world calendar will also be adopted.

Cloning and survival after death

Raëlians reject the existence of the ethereal soul that survives physical death, and instead argue that the only hope for immortality is through scientific means. The Raëlians claim that the Elohim will clone and thus recreate dead individuals, but only those particular individuals who they deem merit this recreation. In this, they believe in a "conditional immortality", with immortality for a minority and oblivion for the majority. The resurrection of Jesus, as recounted in the Gospels, is for instance explained as an example of Elohim cloning.

Raëlists advocate for the development of human cloning technology on Earth. Raëlians also believe that deceased individuals can be cloned so that they could be tried and punished for their crimes. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, in which the attackers killed themselves, the Raëlists proposed that they could be resurrected through cloning to be tried for their actions.Cloning solution to terrorism, some say
, ''The Maneater''. 21 September 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2007. Due to its emphasis upon attaining immortality, Raëlism deplores suicide; after the Heaven's Gate group engaged in a mass suicide in 1997, the Raëlian Church was among the new religions that issued press releases condemning suicide.

As opposed to the scientific definition of reproductive cloning, which is simply the creation of a genetically identical living organism, Raëlians seek to both genetically clone individuals, rapidly accelerate growth of the clone to adulthood through a process like guided self-assembly of rapidly expanded cells or even nanotechnology.Sect leader: Cloning is just the beginning
, ''Cable News Network''. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 2 August 2006. Raël told lawmakers that banning the development of human cloning was comparable to outlawing medical advances such "antibiotics, blood transfusions, and vaccines".

Morality, ethics, and gender roles

Raëlism insists on a strict ethical code for its followers. Members are expected to take responsibility for their own actions, respect cultural and racial difference, promote non-violence, strive for world peace, and share wealth and resources. They are also encouraged to uphold democracy, in the belief that humanity will ultimately make a democratic choice to introduce geniocracy. The Raëlian opinion is that everything should be permitted so long as it harms no one and does not impede scientific and technological advance. Members are nevertheless advised against using recreational drugs or stimulants so as not to harm their health, although some practitioners have acknowledged that they use alcohol and cigarettes.

John M. Bozeman characterized the religion's morality as "progressive," while Palmer referred to the group's "liberal social values", and Chryssides described Raëlist values as being "worldly and hedonistic". The scholar of religion Paul Oliver noted that the philosophy's ethics were "relativistic" in that practitioners were encouraged to act in a manner that they felt to be appropriate to the context. Several scholars have also argued that it is a "world-affirming" religion, using the typology established by Roy Wallis.

Raël considered gender as an artificial construct and emphasized its fluidity. Raël avoided a macho persona and is instead often described by his followers as being "gentle" and "feminine". Palmer suggested that Raël regarded women as being superior to men because they were described as being more like the Elohim. In Raël's account, the inhabitants of the Elohim planet "have 10 percent of masculinity and 90 percent of femininity." Raël also proposed that if women were in positions of political power across the world, there would be no war. The Raëlians have participated with public protests for women's rights. At its June 2003 "Joy of Being Woman" demonstration, Raëlian women danced naked through the streets of Paris. Palmer described the Raëlians as feminists, although Raël criticized mainstream feminism, arguing that it "copied the shortcomings of men". Generally adopting the belief that the human body is malleable, Raëlism has a positive opinion of plastic surgery to improve physical appearance.

Raëlism teaches that the Elohim created humanity to feel sexual desire as a panacea for their violent impulses. It states that through the pursuit of sexual pleasure, new pathways between the neurons in the brain are forged, thus enhancing an individual's intelligence. Raëlism encourages its members to explore their sexuality; while Raël is often photographed with beautiful women and appears to be heterosexual, he encourages homosexual experimentation. Adopting an accepting attitude towards different forms of sexual orientation and expression, Raëlism teaches that differences in sexual orientation are rooted in the Elohim's primordial genetic programming and are something to be celebrated. Researching about the Raëlians of Quebec, Palmer found that many of them avoided categorizing themselves by using terms like "heterosexual", "homosexual", or "bisexual", finding those labels to be too limiting.

The Raëlians have stressed the need for respect and mutual consent in sexual behaviour. The group places a strong taboo on incest, rape, and sexual activities involving children. Anyone involved in the Movement who is found to have been involved in these latter activities is excommunicated, while Raël has recommended that paedophiles be castrated or placed in mental institutions. Those believed to have forced unwelcome sexual attention upon another person are excommunicated from the Movement for seven years– the amount of time Raëlians believe it takes for all of a person's biological cells to be regenerated.

The Raëlists reject both enforced monogamy and marriage, regarding these as institutions that have been enforced to enslave women and suppress sexual expression. The religion discourages its members from marrying. Members are also discouraged from contributing to global overpopulation; members are urged not to have more than two children, and ideally none at all. Raël states that should two individuals wish to procreate, their psychic control during the act of conception can affect any child resulting. The Raëlists also believe that once human cloning has been developed, biological reproduction will be obsolete. As well as endorsing the use of birth control and contraceptives, Raëlists endorse the use of abortion to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Raël has also argued that if a woman does not want a child who has been born then she should give it up to be raised by society.

Some Swiss government authorities responded to Raëlians' opinions about Sensual Meditation with a fear that Raëlians are a threat to public morals for supporting liberalized sex education for children. They argue that such liberalized sex education that teaches children how to obtain sexual gratification would encourage sexual abuse of underage children.Cult leader Rael denied residence in Switzerland
, ''Agence France-Presse''. 19 February 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2007.

Religious symbol

The symbol initially used to signify Raëlism was a six-pointed star with a swastika in the centre. Raël stated that this was the symbol he originally saw on the hull of the Elohim's spaceship. Raëlians regard this as a symbol of infinity. Practitioners also believe that this symbol helps facilitate their own telepathic contact with the Elohim.
Raëlists typically wear a medallion of the symbol around their neck.

The Raëlian use of the swastika, a symbol that had been prominently used by Germany's Nazi Party during the 1930s and 1940s, resulted in accusations from the Montreal anti-cult organization Info-Cult that the Raëlians promoted fascism and racism. Outside Info-Cult's office, Raëlians spoke against the act of discriminating against a religious minority. On 2 January 1992, a dozen people protested against the use of the swastika in the Raëlian logo in Miami's Eden Roc Hotel. The use of the swastika and other Raëlian practices has resulted in criticism from the group Hineni of Florida, an Orthodox Jewish organization.Use of Swastika Logo Prompts Beach Protest
''The Miami Herald

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