When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group

by Diana G. Tumminia

Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups. Founded in 1954 by "Cosmic Visionaries" Ruth and Ernest Norman (also known, respectively, as Archangels Uriel and Raphiel), Unarius is devoted to teaching the all-encompassing Uranian Science. Combining elements of pop psychology, new age thought, and science fiction, the Science asks its students to channel messages from the infinitely intelligent Space Brothers and to heal themselves through the practice of past-life therapy. Unarians await the arrival of spaceships, manned by the Space Brothers, that will bring to earth advanced intergalactic technology that will benefit all humankind. Tumminia has been conducting research on Unarius for over a decade - attending meetings, inteviewing members, and studying official Unarian literature and videos. Here she offers
an inside look at this fascinating movement. She pays particular attention to the ways Unarians adapt when their prophecies - and particularly their prediction that the Space Brothers would land in 2001 - don't materialize. This is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2005

Reviews

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a bit of a back story as to why I read this book. While visiting my older daughter in San Diego over the holidays, my younger daughter told us that one of her housemates back in Canada, a fellow who is studying belief systems, told her she should visit the Unarius Academy, since it is just over in neighboring El Cajon. It wasn't at the top of our list of things to do, but our last day there was overcast, threatening rain (an odd condition in SoCal!), so we decided it was a good day for an adventure. Unarius is a small but tenacious group of what the mainstream would call a "UFO religion", although Unarians themselves would say it is not a religion but a science. The group was begun in 1954 with the writings of Ernest Norman and his wife, Ruth. It expanded when they bought a storefront property in the 1970s in El Cajon. The group believes everyone has lived many lives and that channeling your past lives will help you deal with trials in this life. They also believe that extraterrestrial beings, the "Space Brothers", can be channeled and that one day they will land on earth in 33 interlocking (one on top of the other) space ships. They will come to impart their superior knowledge and to help earth improve, but only when earth is ready to accept their help. A landing was predicted in the 1970s, and again for 2001, but earth wasn't yet ready for the Space Brothers. No matter. They will come eventually, and in the meantime, members work through their problems by channeling past lives and studying the writings of the Normans and other members. Ernest died before the flowering of the community, but Ruth (who must have been quite charismatic) ably took charge. Members believe Ruth was actually the archangel "Uriel" and had lived as exemplary personages in past lives. She passed away in 1993 at the age of 93. If you search Youtube for "Uriel and Unarius", you will see old videos of her dressed as a sort of space goddess.
The day we visited the academy, we were nearly the only people there. An attractive older woman was seated at the side, minding the place. It looks something like a large reading room, but with lots of paintings of Uriel and of space-themed scenery. There is a model of a futuristic city made from small crystal beads. (You just have to see it. It doesn't lend itself to description.) After we looked around, I asked the woman how she had become involved with Unarius. She told me she became interested in the 1970s when the man she was living with gave her some Unarian literature. They sold their property in the Sierras and moved to El Cajon to study with the group. She believes channeling past lives has cured her of some major illnesses.
Having talked with that perfectly ordinary older woman (she told us she is 80 years old), I began to wonder how people come to believe things that are quite outside the mainstream and what keeps them with a group like that. When I searched online, I saw that an academic, a sociologist who teaches at California State University in Sacramento, had studied the group for years and had written a book about her research, published in 2005. Bingo! I ordered the book. Since it is an academic study, she often stops to tell you her methodology and how her conclusions are supported by other sociological studies. I skimmed some of that. The interesting thing about the book is that , from the late 1980s until the early 2000s , she insinuated herself into the group by joining their study sessions, staying with one of the members when in town, and interviewing many of the members over the years. In fact, there are big sections of her interviews with the very same woman with whom we spoke during our visit. She gets inside the life stories of many members, so that you can see what the group seems to offer these people. I really liked her respectful attitude. It would be all too easy to make fun of these people (and there were other books and articles published over the years that did just that), but in the end, these are human beings with their own problems, just trying to make sense of life.
We had an interesting visit that day, and this book was a way to flesh out what we saw. This old world is a strange and mysterious place. I don't at all begrudge the Unarians their way of making sense of and coping with the wonders of life on earth. How nice that they have found like-minded folk with whom to share the journey. I wish them well.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book, so it’s a pity it’s so expensive. Diana G. Tumminia’s study of Unarius is a non-judgmental ethnography of a fairly small religious sect. Honestly, unlike most nonfiction books, the introduction and conclusion are the most difficult to read because they become academic. Sandwiched between, however, are the fascinating content chapters that describe the what and how of what Unarians believe.

For those of us interested in religions, it’s a pretty rare privilege to watch a religion being born. We’re so used to having them handed to us that we think of such things as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, having sprung fully formed from the head of God. Religions develop over time. What’s crucial to them, and what is so fascinating about this book, is how belief persists. No matter what disconfirmation may come, believers believe. I discuss this aspect more here: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

Some fall away, of course. This book will take you into a science-fiction-heavy challenge to the ways the majority of people see things. Planets named for sci-fi materials, past life recognitions, a husband-and-wife team who forged a band of believers around ideas of science and flying saucers. You’ll find believers who see fictional movies as proving their points. And surviving after a failed landing of spaceships (thus the title). And all of this handled with respect. This is a remarkable book.

[Cynde Moya]

This book is the result of many years of participant observation and note-taking at the Costa Mesa headquarters of Unarius Academy of Science. I've read Diane Kossey's and Adam Parfrey's articles about this group, and they are entertaining and a bit mean. But this book is a respectful presentation that demonstrates the many techniques of accountability and social confirmation that helps shore beliefs, even these non-ordinary beliefs.

[john callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a sociological study of a UFO religion, the Unarius Academy. The author's work is good, but I found the topic a little dull. It seem to me that everyone in the group constantly receives messages from the space brothers with which the group is in contact, and that those messages are generally messages of approval.