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The Gods Have Landed: New Religions from Other Worlds
This is a comprehensive account of the religious dimensions of the UFO/flying saucer experience.
The Gods Have Landed is a comprehensive account of the religious 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." -- Timothy Miller, University of Kansas
"It provokes interesting intersections with ancient and modern religious ideas. Its strength is in taking the religious dimension of UFOs and abductees' experiences seriously. I particularly like its historical framework and the extensive bibliography." -- David Christopher Lane, Mount San Antonio College
The Gods Have Landed is a comprehensive account of the religious 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." -- Timothy Miller, University of Kansas
"It provokes interesting intersections with ancient and modern religious ideas. Its strength is in taking the religious dimension of UFOs and abductees' experiences seriously. I particularly like its historical framework and the extensive bibliography." -- David Christopher Lane, Mount San Antonio College
- GenresReligionNonfiction
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First published March 1, 1995
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About the author
James R. Lewis
77 books22 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 21, 2025
A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES DEALING WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS, AND TOPICS
Editor and philosophy professor James R. Lewis (1949-2022) wrote in the Introduction to this 1995 book, “The present anthology is a comprehensive account of the religious dimension of the UFO/flying saucer experience. Chapters range from analyses of the religious meanings attached to this phenomenon by the larger society to surveys of specific movements that claim inspiration from ‘Space Brothers’ and other extraterrestrial sources. Although the wealth of existing sociological, psychological, and anthropological articles suggests that this is an important phenomenon, few book-length studies exist. [This book] fills this gap, providing readers with a richly textured, interdisciplinary approach to UFO religions.” (Pg. xiii)
The article by Diana Tumminia and R. George Kirkpatrick on the Unarius group reports of a sample of its followers taken in 1986: “Women, 65% of the sample, outnumber men, but not overwhelmingly so… A little over half of the students (55%) were under forty years old… all the students … were white. Unarius seems to primarily interest whites. Some exceptions have been noted. By 1989, a black woman moved to an apartment near the center after having been a home-study student since 1961. In 1992, she died of cancer. One student who became full-time in 1992 is Hispanic. One home-study student, featured in the Unarian newsletter, lives in Nigeria.” (Pg. 99)
Robert S. Ellswood wrote about UFO religion in New Zealand: “During the late sixties and early seventies several other New Zealand groups appeared, but most lasted only a few years. One exception is the Tauranga UFO Investigation Group… Founded as an Adamski Correspondence Group in 1957, it has since become intellectually much more diversified, and it organized New Zealand UFO conventions in 1972 and 1975. The Cosmic Centre in Whangarei… has published ‘Kosmon News’ since 1971. This interesting paper contains UFO and spiritualistic perspectives freely, interpreting the UFOnauts essentially as spirit-communicators… Again we see that the visiting lecturer is best able to generate enthusiasm, but is ill-prepared to sustain a movement over the long haul. The transcendence of ordinary rationality, both in message and format, excites but does not wear well. Yet the recurrence of episodes such as … [George] Adamski, has kept New Zealand alive to alternative spirituality. This is a land where conventional religion has also failed to sink deep and enduring roots.” (Pg. 182-183)
J. Gordon Melton and George Everhart say of George Adamski, “The modern era of the extraterrestrial contact movement began… with George Adamski’s alleged encounter in the California desert with a long-haired man from Venus named Orthon… Fame brought Adamski not only loyal followers but determined critics…. The reaction to a 1979 attempt to conduct a sympathetic appraisal of Adamski by sociologist David Stupple showed the strong opinions, pro and con, that Adamski could still generate. Sifting out the fraud and fantasy from what Adamski really believed and experienced may well be impossible.” (Pg. 259)
This anthology will be of great interest to those studying such ‘UFO Religions.’
Editor and philosophy professor James R. Lewis (1949-2022) wrote in the Introduction to this 1995 book, “The present anthology is a comprehensive account of the religious dimension of the UFO/flying saucer experience. Chapters range from analyses of the religious meanings attached to this phenomenon by the larger society to surveys of specific movements that claim inspiration from ‘Space Brothers’ and other extraterrestrial sources. Although the wealth of existing sociological, psychological, and anthropological articles suggests that this is an important phenomenon, few book-length studies exist. [This book] fills this gap, providing readers with a richly textured, interdisciplinary approach to UFO religions.” (Pg. xiii)
The article by Diana Tumminia and R. George Kirkpatrick on the Unarius group reports of a sample of its followers taken in 1986: “Women, 65% of the sample, outnumber men, but not overwhelmingly so… A little over half of the students (55%) were under forty years old… all the students … were white. Unarius seems to primarily interest whites. Some exceptions have been noted. By 1989, a black woman moved to an apartment near the center after having been a home-study student since 1961. In 1992, she died of cancer. One student who became full-time in 1992 is Hispanic. One home-study student, featured in the Unarian newsletter, lives in Nigeria.” (Pg. 99)
Robert S. Ellswood wrote about UFO religion in New Zealand: “During the late sixties and early seventies several other New Zealand groups appeared, but most lasted only a few years. One exception is the Tauranga UFO Investigation Group… Founded as an Adamski Correspondence Group in 1957, it has since become intellectually much more diversified, and it organized New Zealand UFO conventions in 1972 and 1975. The Cosmic Centre in Whangarei… has published ‘Kosmon News’ since 1971. This interesting paper contains UFO and spiritualistic perspectives freely, interpreting the UFOnauts essentially as spirit-communicators… Again we see that the visiting lecturer is best able to generate enthusiasm, but is ill-prepared to sustain a movement over the long haul. The transcendence of ordinary rationality, both in message and format, excites but does not wear well. Yet the recurrence of episodes such as … [George] Adamski, has kept New Zealand alive to alternative spirituality. This is a land where conventional religion has also failed to sink deep and enduring roots.” (Pg. 182-183)
J. Gordon Melton and George Everhart say of George Adamski, “The modern era of the extraterrestrial contact movement began… with George Adamski’s alleged encounter in the California desert with a long-haired man from Venus named Orthon… Fame brought Adamski not only loyal followers but determined critics…. The reaction to a 1979 attempt to conduct a sympathetic appraisal of Adamski by sociologist David Stupple showed the strong opinions, pro and con, that Adamski could still generate. Sifting out the fraud and fantasy from what Adamski really believed and experienced may well be impossible.” (Pg. 259)
This anthology will be of great interest to those studying such ‘UFO Religions.’
January 16, 2024
Extremely outdated; there's a chapter in here on Heaven's Gate pre-suicides that might be of interest but the authors have published elsewhere.
October 18, 2016
What Carl Jung argued in, "Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky" and Bill Ellis argued in, "Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live", the present volume of "Gods Have Landed" looks not entirely into whether or not there actually are flying saucers with occupants from outer space or different dimensions, but what people have interpreted the phenomenon to be. Some keep quiet about their experiences. This book is not about them. This book is about those who turn their experiences into religious movements.
From Unarius to George Adamski to Heaven's Gate (eerily, this book published just two years prior to their mass suicide), the present volume exams the similarities UFO cults share with other religions and perceived contacts with the "other".
In the end, there is no difference. Students of religion and mythology will immediately recognise UFO religions to be old themes/archetypes with a fresh paint of the space age. This does not belittle the movements. It helps students of religion and myth understand that when people come in contact with something they don't entirely understand, there is a tendency to see a higher meaning whether one exists or not. And, to paint it in a language they understand. This, of course, does not apply, in my opinion to the out right frauds. It may apply to their followers who believe a contactee's story but not necessarily to the contactee. (Adamski is a fraud by all accounts but all of his followers surely are not).
In summary, this is great if you're into either religion, myth, UFOs or both. An excellent contribution to all these fields of study.
From Unarius to George Adamski to Heaven's Gate (eerily, this book published just two years prior to their mass suicide), the present volume exams the similarities UFO cults share with other religions and perceived contacts with the "other".
In the end, there is no difference. Students of religion and mythology will immediately recognise UFO religions to be old themes/archetypes with a fresh paint of the space age. This does not belittle the movements. It helps students of religion and myth understand that when people come in contact with something they don't entirely understand, there is a tendency to see a higher meaning whether one exists or not. And, to paint it in a language they understand. This, of course, does not apply, in my opinion to the out right frauds. It may apply to their followers who believe a contactee's story but not necessarily to the contactee. (Adamski is a fraud by all accounts but all of his followers surely are not).
In summary, this is great if you're into either religion, myth, UFOs or both. An excellent contribution to all these fields of study.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews