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Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism, 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.
Millenarianism or millenarism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes a transformation.
Raël is a French journalist who founded and leads the Raëlian Movement, an international UFO religion.
The Center for Studies on New Religions, otherwise abbreviated as CESNUR, is a nonprofit organization based in Turin, Italy that focuses on the academic study of new religious movements and opposes the anti-cult movement. It was established in 1988 by Massimo Introvigne, Jean-François Mayer, and Ernesto Zucchini.
Cult is a term often applied to new religious movements and other social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, and sometimes divergent or pejorative, definitions both in popular culture and academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.
The 2001 About–Picard law [abu pika:r], officially the loi n° 2001-504 du 12 juin 2001 tendant à renforcer la prévention et la répression des mouvements sectaires portant atteinte aux droits de l'homme et aux libertés fondamentales, is French legislation passed by the National Assembly in 2000. The law is targeted at movements deemed to be "cults" that "undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms", as well as "mental manipulation". The law has caused controversy internationally, with some commentators alleging that it infringes on religious freedom while proponents contend that it reinforces religious freedom.
Alain Vivien is a French Socialist Party (PS) politician, best known for chairing (1998–2002) the French Mission Interministérielle pour la Lutte contre les Sectes, MILS, a ministerial organization designed to observe the activities of various religious organizations defined as "Sectes" (cults).
The Nuwaubian Nation, Nuwaubian movement, or United Nuwaubian Nation is an American new religious and black supremacist movement founded and led by Dwight York, also known as Malachi Z. York. York began founding several black Muslim groups in New York in 1967. He changed his name, his teachings, and the names of his groups many times, incorporating concepts from many traditions as well as pseudoscientific theories, including Ancient Egypt, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, UFO religions, Nibiru, Sumer, Annunaki, New Age, and other esoteric beliefs.
A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfare of humanity which either already is, or eventually will become, part of a pre-existing ET civilization. Other religions predate the UFO era of the mid 20th century, but incorporate ETs into a more supernatural worldview in which the UFO occupants are more akin to angels than physical aliens, but this distinction may be blurred within the overall subculture. These religions have their roots in the tropes of early science fiction and weird fiction writings, in ufology, and in the subculture of UFO sightings and alien abduction stories. Historians have considered the Aetherius Society, founded by George King, to be the first UFO religion.
Jean-Marie Abgrall is a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult consultant, graduate in criminal law and anti-cultist. He has been an expert witness and has been consulted in the investigations of cults. Abgrall is known as a proponent of brainwashing theories.
The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. Government reports which have used these words include ones from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, and Russia. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe them.
Raëlian beliefs and practices are the concepts and principles of Raëlism, a new religious movement and UFO religion founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, an auto racing journalist who changed his name to "Raël". The followers of the International Raëlian Movement believe in an advanced species of extraterrestrial aliens called Elohim who created life on Earth. Raëlians are individualists who believe in sexual self-determination. As advocates of the universal ethic and world peace, they believe the world would be better if geniuses had an exclusive right to govern in what Rael terms Geniocracy. As believers of life in outer space, they hope that human scientists will follow the path of the Elohim by achieving space travel through the cosmos and creating life on other planets. As believers in the resurrection of Jesus through a scientific cloning process by the Elohim, they encourage scientific research to extend life through cloning; however, critics outside are doubtful of its possibility.
Fr. Jean Vernette was a French priest of the diocese of Montauban. He was considered a specialist by the Roman Catholic Church.
INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements) is an independent registered charity located in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College, London; from 1988-2018 it was based at the London School of Economics. It was founded by the sociologist of religion, Eileen Barker, with start-up funding from the British Home Office and Britain's mainstream churches. Its stated aims are to "prevent harm based on misinformation about minority religions and sects by bringing the insights and methods of academic research into the public domain" and to provide "information about minority religions and sects which is as accurate, up-to-date and as evidence-based as possible."
Jean Sendy (1910–1978) was a French writer and translator, author of works on esoterica and UFO phenomena. He was also an early proponent of the ancient astronaut hypothesis.
Raëlism is a UFO religion established in France during the 1970s. It soon spread to Quebec and then on to other parts of the world. There have been various attempts to estimate the number of Raëlians at different points.
Aliens Adored: Raël's UFO Religion is a book by Susan J. Palmer, published in 2004 by Rutgers University Press. The book is an ethnography of Raëlism, a UFO religion that gained notoriety in the year 2000 for its claims that it had cloned a human being. Palmer, a sociologist of religion, had studied the Raëlians for over a decade, and had personally interviewed both members of the group and its founder, Raël. The book analyzes many aspects of the organization, including its leader, members, ethics and theology.
The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la République, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects" is a book by Susan J. Palmer. It was published in 2011 by Oxford University Press. Palmer is a sociologist of religion who has authored several other books on new religious movements (NRMs), and is a professor in religious studies. The book focuses on what Palmer calls the "French sect wars" – the anti-cult efforts of the French government and anti-cult groups – placing it into historical context and analyzing it along with the French conception of secularism, laïcité.
References
- ↑ Alaton, Salem (1 January 2004). "It's the Rael thing" . The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- 1 2 Shepherd, Harvey (2 January 1999). "Cult wars give new religions a bad name". The Gazette . Montreal. p. G7. Retrieved 9 October 2024– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Dr. Susan Jean Palmer". Concordia University . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ↑ Riess, Jana (15 November 2004). "Aliens Adored: Raël's UFO Religion (Book)". Publishers Weekly . Vol. 251, no. 46. p. 17. ISSN 0000-0019 . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ↑ Palmer, Susan J. (2001). "Caught Up in the Cult Wars: Confessions of a Canadian Researcher". In Zablocki, Benjamin; Robbins, Thomas (eds.). Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. University of Toronto Press. pp. 99–122. ISBN 978-0-8020-8188-9.
- ↑ von Heyking, John (2005). "Groovy Cloned-Baby: Yah!". The Review of Politics . 67 (3): 565–567. ISSN 0034-6705. JSTOR 25046453.
- ↑ Stebbins, Robert A. (2006). "Review of Aliens Adored: Raël's UFO Religion". Canadian Journal of Sociology . 31 (3): 391–392. doi:10.2307/20058722. ISSN 0318-6431.
- ↑ de Borde, Melchior Pelleterat (2012). "Review of The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la République, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects"". Sociology of Religion . 73 (3): 346–348. ISSN 1069-4404. JSTOR 41679711.
- ↑ Adams, George (2014). "The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la Republique, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects."". Nova Religio . 17 (3): 119–120. doi:10.1525/nr.2014.17.3.119. ISSN 1092-6690.
- ↑ Possamai, Adam (2011). "Political Culture, the Nation of Islam, the Nuwaubian Nation and the Muslim Brotherhood: A Review Article". Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review. 2 (2): 355–367. doi:10.5840/asrr2011227. ISSN 1946-0538.
- ↑ Pace, Enzo (2011). "Review of The Nuwaubian Nation. Black Spirituality and State Control". Archives de sciences sociales des religions (in French). 56 (156): 243–245. ISSN 0335-5985. JSTOR 41336177.
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