Religious and spiritual movements come in all shapes, sizes, and dispositions. There’s the mysterious kind, like the Falun Gong—are they a church, a cult, Qigong enthusiasts, or all of the above? There’s the uptight kind, like the Church of Scientology, who have a reputation for getting rather upset when their public image is threatened [Ed: please don’t sue us!]. And there’s the downright scary, like the Aum Shinri-kyo apocalypse cult—who must not have noticed the “100% Sarin-Free” signs in the Tokyo subway.
Then there’s the kind Douglas Adams would have labeled “mostly harmless,” like the Raelians. The Raelians, who have enjoyed so much free press lately following their claims of human cloning, seem rather inoffensive for a movement as “out there” as they are.
According to their website, the Raelians believe all life on earth was the result of genetic experiments by friendly, peace-loving aliens called the Elohim. Further, these aliens are the source of the world’s major religions. Not only did mankind worship them in former times as gods, all the prophets of the world’s major religions (like Moses, Jesus, Mohammad and the Buddha) were supposedly educated by the Elohim as messengers of peace and goodwill.
All the successful spiritual movements in history have at one time or another embraced existing religions to avoid alienating potential members. The Raelians are no exception, although it might be unfair to call “Raelianism” a religion. The Raelians espouse an atheistic worldview, focused on peace, individual expression, diversity, respect for others, and informing “without convincing”—they don’t want to twist anybody’s arm into joining.
The betterment of mankind, they say, is not to be gained through worship or mysticism, but through the application of science and rationality. World peace, the elimination of poverty, and eternal life can all be ours through better education and the application of genetic engineering and other technology. That, and the establishment of an embassy for the Elohim.
Putting questions of the safety and ethics of cloning aside for the moment, you have to hand it to them—any movement that says we should calm down and respect each other can’t be all bad. At the very least, we can probably rest assured the Raelians won’t bring any poison gas onto the public transit system. We can also probably rest assured that many aspects of the movement will be difficult for most people to accept—at least until a fleet of gleaming saucers lands on the UN building or something.
This Wednesday, the Raelian movement is coming to give a talk at the OISE auditorium. Doubtless it will be a packed house. It is, perhaps, possible that the Raelians are right about the origins of life on Earth. It’s also possible they’re a gang of well-meaning wierdos. Either way, the talk will definitely be an education in human nature.
