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Are the World's Religions Ready For ET?

Posted by Soulskill on from the Alf-as-messiah dept.

Science_afficionado writes: At the current rate of discovery, astronomers will have identified more than a million exoplanets by the year 2045. That means, if life is at all common in the Milky Way, astronomers could soon detect it. Realization that the nature of the debate about life on other worlds is about to fundamentally change, lead Vanderbilt astronomer David Weintraub to begin thinking seriously about how people will react to such a discovery. He realized that people's reactions will be heavily influenced by their religious beliefs, so he decided to find out what theologians and leaders from the world's major religions have to say about the matter. The result is a book titled Religions and Extraterrestrial Life, published by Springer this month. He discovered that from Baptists to Buddhists, from Catholics to Mormons, from Islam to the Anglican Communion, religious views on alien life differ widely.

5 of 534 comments (clear)

  1. Yawn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...just as an example, the early Christian theologians worked out these questions over 1700 years ago.

    Not a big deal for the Christian worldview.

    1. Re:Yawn... by Nauglamir · · Score: 5, Informative

      Perhaps not 1700 years ago, but by mid 13th century, Thomas Aquinas had already pondered these questions

      --
      i *had* a low uid, but lost it in my lawn
    2. Re:Yawn... by LordLimecat · · Score: 3, Informative

      The illogic being that if you do not embrace Jesus, you cannot possibly do right.

      Actually, thats a misunderstanding. The proper view is provided by the bible:
      Romans 3:10 None is righteous, no, not one;
      11 no one understands;
              no one seeks for God.
      12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
              no one does good,
              not even one.

      Whats said is that if you appeal to Christ's sacrifice, then you are accounted as righteous in the court of God's justice.

  2. Note: Theologians by msobkow · · Score: 3, Informative

    Note that the article and book discuss what educated theologians think, not what the followers think.

    Philosophy and "what if" questioning are a big part of religious educations. The general public, not really.

    So while the Pope and Dalai Llama might be willing to welcome ET with open arms, wingnuts like Westoboro Baptist are going to have apoplectic fits about "devils" and "demons."

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  3. Re:Maybe the aliens are just as religious by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Informative

    How widely do you think that Hindus accept their ritual without belief as Hinduism?

    Very widely indeed, because it would be a major faux pas for one Hindu to ask a another "Do you really believe in all this? Say you do!" Instead, people are not asked about what they feel deep inside, so they are free to believe whatever they wish. This is what makes Hinduism so inclusive and, over time, so syncretic.

    Hindu fundamentalists vs. Hinduism: Column [usatoday.com]

    Being very familiar with the contemporary Hindutva phenomenon because I work in a field affected by it, I very strongly suspect that the amount of Hindus who do not believe in the supernatural is greater than the number of Karnataka-state demagogues and their followings. These sorts aren't quite at the microscopic level of a Westboro Baptist Church, but considering the population of India, they might as well be, they've simply learned to work the media and engage in some minor vandalism like similar groups abroad.