Book Catalog
The Gods have Landed
New Religions from Other Worlds
By James Lewis (Editor)
Our Price: $19.95
Our Item Code: GodsHaveLanded
Postage Code: book1.5
343 Pages, Mass-Market Paperback
Cover Size: 5 x 9 inches
State University of New York Press
Related listings: Sociology of UFO Claims
Date: March 1995
ISBN: 0-7914-2330-1
Added to Catalog: 6/16/98
WIRT: 55534145
Availability: This item is usually in stock and available for immediate
Priority Mail shipment. Order it today (by 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific),
and you will probably have it in 2-3 days (in USA).
Features: Index, Footnotes, Bibliography, Photos
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Our Review |
Opinion of the webmaster, subject to debate |
Credibility
5
Very High |
Research Value
5
Very High |
Cultural Interest
5
Very High |
Visual Information
3
Moderate |
Style
4
Stylish |
Silliness
1
Very Low |
Wow Factor
4
Surprising |
Bargain
5
Very High |
Explanation of Ratings
Credibility = Very High: Takes no position on UFOs themselves. In general, this catagory is a rating of the author's intellectual discipline
and the strength of his argument (which are very high), not the veracity of his claims (which could be false in spite of the strong argument).
Visual Information = Moderate: Includes 12 photos of UFO religious groups and their leaders: Rael, Uriel, Bo & Peep.
Bargain = Very High: Rich in bibliographic references, valuable to serious researchers.
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A series of articles
on the various religious movements that have been formed
around UFO beliefs,
including Rael, the Unarius Society, Heaven's Gate and
the Contactee movement.
This book is a fascinating study, not of UFOs, but of the
people who believe in them and have taken their belief to the
religious extreme.
Although a couple of the articles seem dry and academic,
the rest are fascinating, including histories
of the Raelian movement and the Unarius Society.
The most interesting article is a history of the Bo and Peep
cult -- written a couple of years before the group became
known as Heaven's Gate and committed suicide
in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Especially useful to researchers are the extensive
bibliographic references, including an 80-page bibliography
for the Contactee movement.
-- Glenn Campbell
Comparison to Other Books
This is the best book we have found on the religious aspects
of the UFO movement.
The editor, James Lewis, is also the author or editor of
Angels A to Z,
The Astrology Encyclopedia
and The Encyclopedia of Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena.
This catalog provides the sole financial support
for the Ufomind website
and our many free on-line services....
Your purchases keep us going!
If you find out about a book here, please order it here.
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Information from the Publisher |
Always supportive |
Publisher's Synopsis
Examines the religious meanings attached to UFOs by the larger society as
well as specific movements that claim inspiration from "Space Brothers" and
other extra-terrestrial sources. It addresses the religious dimension of
the phenomenon of alien abductions, particularly the impact of
extra-terrestrial life on Christian theology. Of special interest are the
surveys of primary and secondary materials that make The Gods Have Landed
the indispensable reference on the subject.
The included essays are The
Contactees - A Survey; Religious Dimensions of UFO Phenomena; Religious
Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience; Unarius - Emergent Aspects of an
American Flying Saucer Group; Women in the Raelian Movement - New Religious
Experiments in Gender and Authority; Waiting for the Ships -
Disillusionment and the Revitalization of Faith in Bo and Peep's UFO Cult;
Spiritualism and UFO Religion in New Zealand - The International
Transmission of Modern Spiritual Movements; ExoTheology - Speculations on
Extraterrestrial Life; UFO Contactee Phenomena from a Sociopsychological
Perspective - A Review; and The Flying Saucer Contactee Movement 1950-1994
- A Bibliography.
From the Book Cover
The Gods Have Landed
is a comprehensive account of the religions dimension of the
UFO/flying saucer experience.
It examines the religious meanings attached to UFOs by the
larger society as well as specific
movements that claim inspiration from "Space Brothers" and
other extra-terrestrial sources. It
addresses the religious dimension of the phenomenon
of alien abductions, particularly the impact
of extra-terrestrial life on Christian theology.
Of special interest are the surveys of primary and
secondary materials that make this book
the indispensable reference on the subject.
"The whole idea of taking seriously, in a scholarly sense,
a phenomenon that has a widespread following but has so far been
largely scorned by serious scholars is quite appealing:
It means that this book is breaking new
and important ground."
-- Thomas Miller, University of Kansas
"It provokes interesting intersections with ancient and modern
religious ideas. Its strength is in taking the religions dimension
and UFOs and abductees' experiences seriously. I particularly
like its historical framework and the extensive bibliography."
-- David Christopher Lane, Mount San Antonio College
James R. Lewis
is Senior Editor for the Center for Academic Publication and
Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for the Study of American Religion.
He is co-editor of Perspectives on the New Age,
also published by SUNY Press,
and editor of Syzygy: Journal of Alternative
Religion and Culture.
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Indexing Information |
Other Relevant Ufomind Pages |
Cross References
- New Zealand: Article: "Spiritualism and UFO Religion in New Zealand," by Robert Ellwood, p.167-186.
- Alien Abduction: Article: "Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience." by John Whitmore,
- Contactees: Several articles on the history and sociology of the U.S. contactee movement of the
- Heavens Gate: Article: "Waiting for the Ships: Disillusionment and the Revitalization of
- Ruth Norman: Article: "Unarius: Emergent Aspects of an American Flying Saucer Group,"
- Raelian Religion: Article: "Women in the Raelian Movement," by Susan Jean Palmer, p.105-135.
- Claude Vorilhon: Article: "Women in the Raelian Movement," by Susan Jean Palmer, p.105-135.
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