UFO Religion: Inside Flying Saucer Cults and Culture

by Gregory L. Reece

Lines laid across the plain near the Peruvian site of Nazca have been explained as ancient roads or features of a long-forgotten religious calendar. So why did Erich von Daniken interpret these markings as the contours of a huge galactic spaceport? In his assessment of the uncanny and frequently eerie world of UFO-logy, Gregory L Reece travels deep into a mindset which believes that the gods of mythology were really visitors from the stars. Venturing into the Mojave Desert to watch the night skies for flying saucers; exploring Nevada's top-secret installation 'Area 51'; and visiting Roswell, famous site of a supposed saucer crash in 1947, the author's quest for the truth brings him more than he bargained for. He has his atomic structure recharged in a machine supposedly designed by extraterrestrial technology, encounters a whole galaxy of alien life-forms, and meets those who claim themselves to have been abducted by UFOs. Along the way, he tries to make sense both of the sinister 'Men in Black' and of lethal 'Tall Whites', deadly aliens who liquidate human beings without mercy.
What is it about flying saucer culture that speaks to people with an apparently religious intensity and fervour? For those looking for the answers, "UFO Religion" is the definitive guide and handbook to one of the most extraordinary and compelling cults of our times.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Paranormal

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember liking this book a lot more when I read it in 2015. No, I didn't become a UFO believer in the meantime: I just think this ends up being a lot like Scientifical Americans where I agree with the top-line conclusions but find the presentation a bit weak.

But whereas Scientifical Americans felt like a good graduate thesis blown up into a book with not enough editorial oversight, UFO Religion feels like a series of blog posts collected into a book with not enough editorial oversight. Reece doesn't hit hard enough for this to be a full investigation into the religious and quasi-religious elements of UFO culture. He's too chatty, and the asides after his capsule summaries of various UFO incidents are often more distracting than amusing or enlightening. I wish it were better, though, because he has a gentler tone than, say, Philip Klass, and it takes all kinds.

2.5 stars, rounded down - it's fine as a basic summary with some refutation, but I want better.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am really not sure what to make of this book as a person who really enjoys reading about the possibility of aliens and has an active fascination with religion. Some did mention UFOs in religions which is what I expected however this had more conspiracy theories than I would have liked to read.

[Ruby Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book to have gotten me more into UFOs and the culture of it a couple of years ago. I thought it was pretty interesting and that it had some cool ideas. I think it's a good book to be introduced to the culture of UFOs or aliens.

[Arthur B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview not of UFOs, but of the UFO subculture associated with them. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Eric Wojciechowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In my childhood both Jesus and UFOs were absolutely terrifying."

And with that opening sentence on the second paragraph, I thought I must get to the end of this book.

This is more of a short encyclopedia of major themes and players in the UFO contactee, nuts and bolts, crash, ancient astronaut theory than a narrative or study on UFO religions. It's as if the author took Wikipedia articles on each of the topics, summarized them and made this book. It's pretty much a good start for anyone interested in the major themes of UFOs but not an in-depth exploration of what turned some people from the curious/scientific "What the hell is going on?" to the "Let's worship them for they will save us."

I'd recommend that for a more in-depth study of UFO religions, get "The Gods Have Landed: New Religions from Other Worlds" by James R. Lewis. That is more of a scientific study of the UFO cults than this present volume.

I did give the present volume, "UFO Religion", four stars, however. I did with the assumption this was geared towards a beginner crowd and if that is the case, then it should spark an interest for a more in-depth study from any reader willing to give this a review.

The best part of the book was the author's own story interspersed among the chapters where he described his own experience at a UFO conference among the attendees and a journey to the desert with some to look for UFOs. The problem was this story kind of dropped off somewhere in the middle of the book and failed to round out at the end, which I thought would be so. Too bad. Would have made for a good ending with some reflection, staring out the airplane window on the flight home. Or bus window. Or car. Or whatever got him out of the desert in the end.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had long been interested in flying saucer culture and UFO religions (the UNARIUS group in particular) when I came across this particular volume in an Amazon search. As it happens, the author is a former professor of mine, and was one of my favorites in my time as a student at the University of Montevallo.

I had known of his book on Elvis religion, so I was pleased as punch to see that he'd tackled something in my wheelhouse, and over all I thought it was excellent. More of an overview than an intensive study, the volume provides an excellent education not only on aspects of UFO culture but where and how those aspects came to be (i.e., everyone "knows" about Roswell, but most of the elements of that legend were lifted from an earlier "flying saucer crash" story that was a transparent hoax), and also on the myriad streams in esoteric and occult thought that both flowed into and out of the flying saucer phenomenon.

By no means exhaustive (I must continue my quest for in depth kookery!), it was a great survey written in an engaging and sympathetic manner. While the author is obviously on the outside looking in, he never gives in to the temptation to rob these folks of their humanity and turn them into sideshow attractions.

[Cynde Moya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few pages each on various important sigtings (Arnold's "flying saucer"), crashes (Area 51, Roswell), contactees (Betty & Barney Hil, George Adamski), and religions (Heaven's Gate; Unarius; Scientology). A nice summary of familiar cases.

Each closes with a snarky little comment that is usually a reasonable critique of the story. For example, Reece quotes messages from aliens that are channeled through the contactees, which are usually of the sort 'love one another, and stop destroying the planet' -- and asks us, did the aliens really come all the way across the universe to tell us these platitudes?

In short, a skeptical and readable review of the literature, but not enough on what makes these instances of religious or cult organization.

[H. Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of this book is encyclopedia-style entries about different sightings and people, but it's a very interesting topic. I liked Reece's commentary, and especially liked his outlook on the whole issue: a healthy skepticism, a horror for the abduction stories people tell (whether they've really happened or betray psychological trauma), and an admiration for the sheer optimism on which so many UFO religions are based.

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a particularly well written book. The title was pretty misleading - it's very little about UFO religions. I was hoping, based on the initial story about his time in the desert looking for UFOs, that there would be a lot of participatory ethnography. Not the case.

I was pretty excited by his bibliography. It gave me a lot of good reading ideas.

[Glenn Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting (and highly skeptical) look at the "history" of UFOs, especially of people who claim to have been contacted by aliens. But not much depth too it, just a recitation of various alleged encounters.