What effect would ETs have on religion?

[Srelex]

Let's assume that tomorrow intelligent extraterrestrials show up, and are able to communicate with us to some degree, apparently coming in peace. Or, if you prefer, SETI confirms recieving an obviously artificial signal. Now, what would be the reaction of various religious groups across the world? The Catholic Church, I believe, is fairly open to the existence of alien life, but what about the likes of redneck fundies or Islamic hardliners, for whom I believe this would be a rather more shattering event? Would their reactions depend on the precise behaviour and actions of the aliens, or are such variables irrelevant?

[wautd]

redneck fundies

Since most of them view aliens as demons, they'll be treated as such.

[Liberty]

I think this idea is very similar to what actually happened when Columbus stumbled upon the Americas. Everyone in Europe was like, what the fuck? And the Church suddenly had a problem - had Jesus died for the American natives too? But they couldn't ever hear about him - so how did that work? At least, this is my understanding of what happened. I could be wrong. But it makes sense that the discovery of a whole new continent with whole new people would be, well, freaky. And so would the discovery of a whole new planet with whole new people.

[Solauren]

Isn't the Catholic church also training missionaries for the possibility of ET contact anyway?

[Samuel]

I think it depends on the aliens. Space communists or ones who offer toys like massive body modification or immortality would get a different reception from more conservative ones.

[Channel72]

I think this idea is very similar to what actually happened when Columbus stumbled upon the Americas. Everyone in Europe was like, what the fuck? And the Church suddenly had a problem - had Jesus died for the American natives too? But they couldn't ever hear about him - so how did that work? At least, this is my understanding of what happened. I could be wrong. But it makes sense that the discovery of a whole new continent with whole new people would be, well, freaky. And so would the discovery of a whole new planet with whole new people.

The discovery of remote peoples who had never heard of Christ was not really a new theological problem for the Church. Even in Dante's 14th century poem Paradiso, Dante wonders how natives of the Indus valley who have never heard of Christ are ever to be saved. However, since no satisfactory answer is apparent, Dante simply decides to trust God that somehow it all works out.

[sketerpot]

If aliens landed tomorrow, theologians would spend a lot of time yapping about it and the mainstream religious people would continue to believe pretty much whatever they believed before. It already doesn't make sense, and they believe it anyway. Why would extraterrestrials change that?

[xerex]

what about the likes of Islamic hardliners, for whom I believe this would be a rather more shattering event?

actually the Quran and Hadiths state that God has scattered life throughout the heavens among a number of Earths.(paraphrase) . so Muslims beleive in aliens. They also believe that those aliens have thier own Prophets sent by God.

[Duckie]

Also, non-human creatures of free will aren't unknown in Islam. Jinni have free will, being formed by Allah with smokeless fire rather than out of the earth like humans. They can be good or wicked and accept Islam just like a normal person.

So it's not inconceivable non-earth non-humans could exist, since Allah could have made them too.

[Coyote]

Actually, what might be funny would be if it played out just like the Europeans' arrival in the New World-- aliens land, plant some odd symbol in the ground, and announce, "we have come to spread the word of the divine Xodap, god of all the galaxy. Step forward and be converted to Xodapism... or there'll be hell to pay!"

Wait a minute, that wouldn't be very fucking funny at all!

[Samuel]

Especially if they do it in their own language before they start killing people in their way.

[Jaepheth]

I cannot seem to recall the book or author, but one Christian author who was making end-times conjectures said he expected any extraterrestrial contact to be some sort of demonic hoax used as a catalyst to unify world governments or discredit Christianity, or give rise to the anti-Christ, or something like that.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Actually, what might be funny would be if it played out just like the Europeans' arrival in the New World-- aliens land, plant some odd symbol in the ground, and announce, "we have come to spread the word of the divine Xodap, god of all the galaxy. Step forward and be converted to Xodapism... or there'll be hell to pay!"

Wait a minute, that wouldn't be very fucking funny at all!

It would be funny. Well, I'd laugh.

But they wouldn't do that. Any species that cared about us would see us as nothing more than a potential rival for the future. And then they nuke the site from orbit, y'know, to be sure? I'm thinking of Ming's general take on ETs. If he toys around with a planet and the species inhabiting it interpret this as a threat and are smart enough to investigate, then he blows it to atoms. If they see it as divine intervention or some natural phenomenon, then he leaves it alone. It's not unlike the Inhibitors from Revelation Space, really.

I'd be more inclined to see it going the D9 route if aliens landed and didn't try to vape us from the start, or Alien Nation maybe.

[General Brock]

Depends on the religion and the motivations, beliefs, and capabilities of the ETs, I suppose. Its an interesting question, but one with a lot of variables and unknowables. It is possible, if human dominion of the earth were ever in the slightest doubt, or at least the dominion enjoyed by followers of the Abramic traditions, those religions and those influenced by them would not take it very gracefully.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Actually, what might be funny would be if it played out just like the Europeans' arrival in the New World-- aliens land, plant some odd symbol in the ground, and announce, "we have come to spread the word of the divine Xodap, god of all the galaxy. Step forward and be converted to Xodapism... or there'll be hell to pay!"

Wait a minute, that wouldn't be very fucking funny at all!

If you stop to consider how "religion" works upon us Humans, trying to apply it to an alien race may be truly terrifying. On our little world for the most part, a large amount of histories wars, conflicts, murders, violence etc, boils down to differences of religions. Eastern religions have not been AS bad in terms of fostering violence, but even they have darker areas.

Apply that now to an utterly alien species that is able to transverse the stars. As stated earlier, any sapient species that can achieve space travel is either going to see us as a potential threat, or is so far FAR beyond us that we won't become a threat, and simply ignore us. Now temper this with the horrifying idea that said aliens coming are "Religious". Not nuking us for religious regions means they would place SUCH a high value on converting sapients that they are willing to expend titanic amounts of resources just to gain more converts. A religion like that would NOT look kindly on any form of opposition or 'competition'.

The result would be forced mass conversion for Humanity, following that, expect Earths established religions to begin a holy war against said aliens. After all could you see the Pope, leaders of Islam, American christians actually forsaking their views even in the face of Alien ray-guns?
Earth would become a battleground in the middle of Holy War.

In truth if aliens landed on Earth, the absolute best choice we could hope for is simply one passive indifference. They see we are nothing special, perhaps a curiousity to study, and move. However the Religions of Earth may WISH to react, will be quite inconsequential.

[Buritot]

I'm more curious on if SETI picked something up (not like Contact, though) in the sense of the first powerful radio broadcasts of an alien civilization. I'm thinking in the vein of an announcement of "We have indisputable proof of intelligent alien life. If you don't belief us, the data was send to every newspaper and is accessible via this URL." I mean, sure, they could be Aliens who warp in, deface the Moon permanently and warp out, but that wouldn't sit well with most. What I'd like to know is the reaction of the knowledge of alien life being out there without knowing if its belligerent or benevolent.

[Kuroji]

If something were picked up by SETI, to actually be definitive it would need to be the Fibonacci sequence or something similar that absolutely cannot be found in nature. Even if it turned out to be some sort of navigational beacon... it would certainly be interesting.

However, I honestly do not imagine that organized religion would spaz too much. Perhaps the hardcore fundamentalists of certain faiths, but honestly... Abrahamic faiths would end up going 'and just why wouldn't God create life elsewhere? but we're special.' I don't know quite enough about others, but I don't think there's really anything in most faiths that says 'the powers that be made life here, and nowhere else in the universe'.

Never underestimate the ability of the human mind to rationalize things away, though. When religion is involved, rationality does not necessarily have any place no matter what the issue, no matter how glaring the evidence.

[Oskuro]

Abrahamic faiths would end up going 'and just why wouldn't God create life elsewhere? but we're special.'

And there's the big problem. We have enough shitstorms going on as it is with people claiming they are God's chosen, imagine the major clusterfuck that would result from applying that attitude to extraterresrial species, specially if they are of the "we have the technology to get to earth" variety.

[Temujin]

Actually, what might be funny would be if it played out just like the Europeans' arrival in the New World-- aliens land, plant some odd symbol in the ground, and announce, "we have come to spread the word of the divine Xodap, god of all the galaxy. Step forward and be converted to Xodapism... or there'll be hell to pay!"

Wait a minute, that wouldn't be very fucking funny at all!

That was exactly my first thought, classic Outside Context Problem.

The usual example given to illustrate an Outside Context Problem was imagining you were a tribe on a largish, fertile island; you'd tamed the land, invented the wheel or writing or whatever, the neighbours were cooperative or enslaved but at any rate peaceful and you were busy raising temples to yourself with all the excess productive capacity you had, you were in a position of near-absolute power and control which your hallowed ancestors could hardly have dreamed of and the whole situation was just running along nicely like a canoe on wet grass... when suddenly this bristling lump of iron appears sailless and trailing steam in the bay and these guys carrying long funny-looking sticks come ashore and announce you've just been discovered, you're all subjects of the Emperor now, he's keen on presents called tax and these bright-eyed holy men would like a word with your priests.

[Duckie]

If something were picked up by SETI, to actually be definitive it would need to be the Fibonacci sequence or something similar that absolutely cannot be found in nature. Even if it turned out to be some sort of navigational beacon... it would certainly be interesting.

Huh, pineapples, sunflowers, nautiluses, bees, pine cones and deciduous leaves are aliens? Who knew the Drake Equation had such a high solution value even when you take Fɫ to be one.