Millions of people around the world believe in the existence of aliens. Considering the vastness of the universe and the huge number of stars and planets, most people think that we are unlikely to be the only intelligent species in space.
“The universe is pretty huge. If it's just us, then it's a terrible waste of space,”Carl Sagan once said. We know that there are billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, so it is inconceivable for many of us that we are alone. Someone must be out there somewhere. This is what many common people think.
But can religion and belief in aliens coexist? For many who believe in God, it is not a problem to think that there are other intelligent alien life forms in the universe. Those who think that God created humans often say that this powerful force could have created other beings as well.
Diana Pasulka, professor at the University of North Carolina and author of the new book American Cosmic, stresses that belief in alien life forms in space is becoming a new religion.
In her book, Pasulka recounts her encounters with leading scientists who believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. She also writes that some of them claim that we have reverse engineering technology, which they insisted was alien aviation. When Pasulka started writing the book, she did not believe in aliens, but was stunned to see how many were convinced that advanced aliens existed. She also elaborates on the role of the media, governments and other institutions in the discussion of aliens.
In an interview, Pasulka said that she is a scientist and her purpose in writing the book was not to judge religious people or those who believe in extraterrestrial life. The book is not an attempt to determine whether religious beliefs are true, but examines the influence of faith itself.
Throughout the history of many traditional religions, institutions, including governments, have participated in monitoring and often shaped interpretations of the contact event. This fact is becoming less controversial and suggests a conspiracy of believers in UFOs, and the focus is shifting. Now about how institutions track, and sometimes actively form, interpretations of contact events. Perceived contacts with non-human intelligence are powerful events with unpredictable social effects, Pasulka says in her book.
More than half of American adults and over seventy-five percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. This level of faith rivals faith in God. American Cosmic explores the mechanisms behind a thriving belief system in extraterrestrial life, a system that is changing and even replacing traditional religions.
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During a six-year ethnographic study, D. V. Pasulka interviewed successful and influential Silicon Valley scientists, professionals, and entrepreneurs who believe in extraterrestrial intelligence, thereby refuting the common misconception that only limited members of society believe in UFOs.
She argues that the widespread belief in aliens is due to a number of factors, including their ubiquity in modern media, such as The X-Files, which can affect memory, and the credibility of the media's search for planets that can maintain life.
The author in his book explores the intriguing question of how people interpret inexplicable events and argues that the media is replacing religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about inhuman intelligent life.
She explains that different types of belief in UFOs can be traced back to the cultural processes that evolve the modern UFO story.
The term "UFO religions" is now a widespread worldview, supported by digital infrastructure that spreads messages and beliefs "virally". Technological infrastructure has spawned new forms of religion and religiosity, and belief in UFOs has become one such new form of religious belief.
Pasulka admits that she is still not convinced that advanced aliens have visited our planet.
While visiting New Mexico, a scientist showed her peculiar materials, a kind of metal alloy that looked like the metal skin of a frog. She was told that these objects were found after the crashed UFO. The materials piqued her curiosity, but she cannot say with certainty if the objects she saw were not from this world.
However, according to Pasulka, "there is no doubt that the discovery of the non-human mind would be profound, and it is impossible to know how much it will change our perception of ourselves and our place in the universe."
MIKHAILOV ALEXEY