Aliens and Religion: Where Two Worlds Collide: Assessing the Impact of Discovering Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Religion and Theology

by Jonathan MS Pearce, Aaron Adair, James Fodor (Foreword)

How big is the universe? Does intelligent extraterrestrial life exist somewhere in the universe? If so, how much extraterrestrial intelligent life (ETI) might there be? And if it is there, is it moral? Would they have a religion? And what would their existence say about human religions, theology, and beliefs?

In short, is the existence of ETI incompatible with the belief in God, with certain religions and their theologies?

These are the questions that Pearce (a philosopher) and Adair (a scientist who has worked on SETI - the search for ETI) seek to answer in this book. They take a close aim at Christian theology, focusing on previous claims of prominent astrotheologians who claim that there are no considerable problems that ETI existence causes for their belief systems. Pearce and Adair, however, show in this wide-ranging book (that touches on science, philosophy, psychology, and theology) that Christian (and other religious) belief is indeed threatened by the existence of ETI.

Would aliens be fallen creatures, requiring salvation through atonement and the resulting incarnation of God? Would one Jesus suffice, or would the universe require trillions of Jesuses, many existing simultaneously? This, and many other such questions are discussed in this engaging book that adds to the growing discipline of astrotheology (and perhaps astro-atheology).


“This well-written and provocative book is a substantial contribution to studies of the societal impact of
astrobiology, and especially to the new field of astrotheology.”
- Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian, author of Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact

"I love definitive treatments of a subject. This is a definitive treatment of its subject. The impact and significance to religion of even the possibility of alien civilizations is much in need of a thorough look. Pearce and Adair cover every angle, and well."
- Richard Carrier, Ph.D., author of Jesus Christ from Outer Space

“The breadth and depth of knowledge in Aliens and Religion are truly impressive...”
- David E. Pritchard, Physics Professor of Physics, MIT, and editor of Alien Discussions

“An invaluable and highly entertaining resource for science fiction writers and readers alike, for both believers and
skeptics, and anyone who enjoys wrestling with high-end thought experiments.”
- David Fitzgerald, author of The Complete Heretic’s Guide to Western Religion Series

“This is an impressive work! It's an ingenious attempt to reach believers who are otherwise impervious to reason,
which has a good chance of succeeding. Bravo!”
- John Loftus, author of God and Horrendous Suffering and The Case Against Miracles

“...thoughtful, erudite, and deep dive... Highly recommended for anyone who has ever found themselves
wondering about the possibilities hidden among the stars, and about what might happen if those possibilities
came to Earth.”
- Eric Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Forrest S. Williams Teaching Chair in
Humanities, Ferrum College

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 11, 2023

About the author

Jonathan MS Pearce is an author, philosopher, blogger, and public speaker who has written Free Will? An Investigation into Whether We Have Free Will or Whether He Was Always Going to Write This Book as well as The Little Book of Unholy Questions and The Nativity: A Critical Examination. He blogs under the name “A Tippling Philosopher.” Working as a teacher, he lives in Hampshire, U.K., with his partner and twin boys.

Reviews

[Alan Dell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The AI generated cover image speaks of utter disregard for the art of book design and that takes away the vast majority of the stars I would've given this book. Some advice to the authors: If you're going to spend a sizeable portion of your book discussing ethics, don't use an art-theft machine for your cover, and don't work with people who are willing to do so.

I mean, they couldn't even be bothered to find a public domain image of THE MOON for crying out loud!

But I read the book anyway, because I was hoping to learn something. Sadly this didn't happen either.

The book is mind-numbingly repetitive, labouring its points to the extreme, and seems to treat the possibility of alien life more as another way to take down Christianity rather than actually exploring the topic I bought the book to learn about: That being how various religious groups (or people in general) might react to the discovery of alien life. It does touch on this topic, but only towards the end (and in one section between explaining the Fermi Paradox and launching into the arguments against Christianity).

Unfortunately, on the opening topics of the Fermi Paradox, and the Drake Equation, it adds nothing new.

Can't recommend this book as a treatment on the titular topic.

[Onionboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have thought about this topic a lot, and always wanted to read something about it. So when I stumbled across this book, I got it and dove in right away.

There weren't a lot of insights. It was approached more from a statistical point of view. I don't agree with much of the author's logic, even though I come to similar conclusions. I don't feel that every topic is a good fit for such cold statistical analysis.

The book seemed a lot longer than it needed to be, and I didn't come away with much more than I was able to come up with myself while thinking about this during my reading.