Raëlism Is The Religion That Holds Beautiful People In High Regards
Raëlism is considered the largest UFO religion in the world. According to poll numbers from 2006, there were 60,000 members of the religion worldwide.
Those numbers continue to fluctuate up and down, with the most recent poll having the number closer to 10,000 now. Similar to Scientology, Raëlsim has an impressive marketing department that sells the idea of the religion very effectively. Let's take a closer look at this little-known religion, and the interesting stance it takes on everyday issues.
The Alien Whisperer
The beginnings of Raëlism are rooted in the experiences of a former French race car driver named Claude Vorilhon (called Raël). He has written a fair share of books, with his most popular and influential pieces being The Book Which Tells The Truth, and Extraterrestrials Took Me To Their Planet.
In the books, he claimed that he was beamed up to a spaceship in 1973, and was chosen as a conduit to translate messages from the aliens.
Half Human, Half Alien
The aliens were known as the Elohim. These beings were humanoids from a faraway planet. They're 25,000 years more advanced in science and technology and they were the ones who created human life. Not by procreation, but scientific experiments in their laboratories.
According to the religion, Jesus, Mohammed, and now Raël, were actually half-Elohim, after male aliens impregnated chosen human women. Unless you're half-Elohim, which is a small sample size, you’re considered not pure.
Cloning Is An Alien Intervention
Raël named the religion after himself and modeled its leadership and doctrines after the Catholic Church. Raël kind of acted as the pope of the religion. He would appoint bishops and priests. But, the Raëlians didn't just believe in one creator — they believed in many.
One of the ways they kept their religion very modern was by claiming that cloning was taking place on earth, and it was actually an Elohim intervention.
Published In 25 Different Languages
The movement really started picking up steam when Claude held a 1974 convention which 2,000 people attended. He was going to be speaking about his alien encounter. With Raël's books being published in 25 different languages, his message and story were resonating.
He preached world peace and a sensual permissiveness that was appealing to many of the people that attended the convention. His religion's take on sex is incredibly unique.
Gender Is Irrelevant
As I mentioned before, Raëlians do not believe in god, they believe in extraterrestrials. Therefore, they have some fairly nuanced opinions on sex. According to Raël, the human gene pool had been clouded.
He saw it as his job to purify it, and in the beginning, that meant treating sex only for pleasure and not procreation. A designer cloning would soon eliminate the need for traditional childbearing. To Raël, gender was completely irrelevant.
Stretching The Boundaries
The anatomical differences between man and woman were just designed for sexual pleasure, and nothing else. In fact, the religion would plan several seminars with the objective of ensuring everyone forgets their preconceived opinions of sexuality.
Stretching one's sexual boundaries away from a monogamous mindset was an actual exercise for any Raëlians. This idea of sexual meditation would become a core element of the religion and even replenish brain cells.
The Women Were Supposed To Dress Seductively
Even though the Raëlians had a significant gender indifference, they saw women as enlightened lovers and playthings. The Raëlian women would often dress very seductively and would be very flirty within the community.
One woman who attended one of the "awakening ceremonies" remembers seeing all of the women in short skirts, twirling their ponytails and licking a lollipop. Raël would actually encourage the men to be more like the women.
He Was Known For His Feminity
Raël was described as someone who was very soft-spoken and feminine. He was affectionate, he would sing and dance at all the events, and would dress in flower clothing. He also always had long hair which he said was acting as an antenna to help communicate with the aliens.
As the religion started to grow, so did the message of pansexuality. It spread to Canada, to South Korea and Austrailia. Despite that, Raël only entered long-term heterosexual relationships.
She Needs To Be Beautiful And Intelligent
He was married three times, all of which lasted many years. He even married a 16-year-old in the late 1990s with the mother's permission. Many of his partners were gorgeous, but he said that beauty only goes so far.
They have to be intelligent or else he gets bored very quickly. He likes a girl who can play chess and have some intellectual conversations about the topics of the day.
The Order Of Angel
One of the most unique aspects of the religion is the Order of Angels. It was established in the 1990s. An alien vision insisted that Raël gather the most beautiful female followers into their own little group to act as hostesses for when the aliens arrive to earth.
Women submitted thousands of applications that had to be accompanied by a headshot. After all was said and done, Raël had selected 165 of the best looking ones.
eautiful Women Only
He said that the Elohim "preferred to be surrounded by individuals of great beauty corresponding to the absolutely perfect original models of the different races we once created on earth."
The Elohim went on to say, "physical flaws are all due to the errors of generations past, which have damaged our genetic code." So, now the Raëlians have some of the most beautiful women in the world ready to welcome their alien creators.
The Elite Pink Angels
But, Raël didn't stop there. He slimmed down that 165 number of White Angels, to six elite Pink Angels. They were the cream of the crop. They had to follow strict diets in order to maintain genetic purity and were permitted to have sex with no other humans— other than their fellow Pink Angels and Raël, who they believed was half Elohim.
The Angels believed that when the Elohim came to earth, they would be the only ones allowed to talk to them.
The Extraterrestrial Embassy
The Elohim would be in the Extraterrestrial Embassies around the world, and Raël, with the help of the Angels, would be the only ones allowed to go in and talk to them. This was very exciting for the girls.
One of them even said that all the mundane tasks they have to do for Raël will all be worth it because they'll act as the ambassadors or PR people for the aliens.
Sacrificing For The Cause
The Angels made headlines in 2000 when they appeared for a press conference and said that eight of them have volunteered to be cloned. A new company, called Clonaid, was on a mission to foster eternal life.
The Angels were going to "partner" up with Raël, and figure out how to create the perfect human clone. The company announced, three years after the press conference, that they had created the first human clone.
"Show Us The Baby"
The media erupted and demanded that Clonaid show their proof. Raël founded Clonaid in 1997, and it was handed over to a Raëlian bishop named Brigette Boisselier (pictured here).
The company was unable to provide proof that they had successfully cloned a human, but to this day, say that they did. The Vatican and Pope John Paul II condemned the idea of human cloning. The Raëlian church responded by saying the opinion was just an "accumulation of religious prejudices."
Wasn't Allowed In Asia
In response to Raël's affiliation with Clonaid, he ran into a bit of trouble in Asia. South Korean immigration authorities at the airport denie him entry into their country in 2003. This decision led to many cancellations of speaking events and seminars that Raël was supposed to do.
He was ordered to leave the country altogether and head back to North America. The people who were supposed to see Raël took to the streets to express their distaste.
A Feminist Message?
Many people are conflicted as to whether Raëlism empowers women, or just objectifies them. While the Pink Angels caucus seems like something that simply ranks women based on their looks, there are many women who are appointed to leadership positions.
The religion is strongly against female genital mutilation, but it's hard to look past how much emphasis they put on the physical appearance of just the women. Just based on looks alone, you could move up in the religious hierarchy.
Go Topless Day
In 2014, the church organized a march through New York City in which dozens of women bared their breasts. It was dubbed Go Topless Day. It was an event that looked to de-stigmatize, and desexualize the female body.
There's also a website that encourages women (only) to embrace sex work. It should also be noted that in an interview, Raël said, "All our women try to do their best, even if they are not beautiful. Like, Brigette here, she does her best but she's not young anymore."
Known For Their Activism
The group is also known for their activism. They routinely advocate sex-positive feminism and genetically modified food. They've also been known to protest wars and the Catholic Church.
Unsurprisingly, anti-conventional religion and pro-GMO stances are rampant in the church. In 2003, the church was vocal in their support for Monsanto. They were adamantly against the Brazilian's government to put a ban on GMOs. They've also gone against the Catholic Church.
Their Anti-Catholic Stance
In 1992, Catholic schools in Montreal objected to putting condom vending machines in their schools. The Raëlian response was to put on an event called "Operation Condom" which gave tens of thousands of condoms to Catholic school students across the city.
The Commissioner of the Catholic School Board in the area said that there was nothing they could do to stop the event. It's events like these that helped the religion recruit their membership.
Some Notable Converts
Since the Raëlian religion follows the same hierarchy as the Catholic Church, naturally there are some converts. Most notably, two Catholic priests, Victor Legendre, and Charles Yvan-Giroux converted to Raëlianism.
Also, a former bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined the Raëlian movement so that he could be openly gay. It was stated that nearly 8% of Raëlians worldwide are former Latter-day Saints which is interesting.
The Controversial Symbol
Raëlians believe in reclaiming the swastika. Most people see that symbol and immediately think about the Nazi movement from World War II. But, the Raëlians want to restore the meaning to its original roots of peace and good luck.
While this obviously sparked some serious controversy from around the world saying that the religion is endorsing fascism, that's not the message Raël wants to portray. He preaches about the negative effects of preaching against the religious minority.
He Did Change It
After protests, the Raëls decided to change their symbol to a Swastika mixed with a Star of David. This would also help in their effort to be allowed to build an Extraterrestrial Embassy in Israel. That request was denied, but the new symbol change stuck regardless.
Up until 2007, the Raëlian symbol in America and Europe didn't include the Swastika at all. The movement's goal of reclaiming the original meaning of the Swastika was failing.
The Mixed Reviews On Seminars
One of the most controversial aspects of the cult, or religion, or whatever you want to call it, is the seminars. The meditation discovers "playing fields" where "radical self-construction", "new forms of authority", and "new modes of self-relating" were encouraged.
These seminars are often attractive to the sexually adventurous. Some observers of the seminars say that they're a cross between a nudist camp and a new-age retreat. Others say it's basically just men and women cross-dressing.
"Perverted And Brainwashing"
Some other observers say that the group was all about observing someone's genitals. There was some self-pleasure freely happening as well. One journalist who went into one of the seminars reported seeing couples having intercourse in tents.
These reports were widespread and made the religion look perverted and brainwashing. Despite all of these happenings, these infiltrations by the press are openly encouraged by the church who look to clear up the myths.
The Induction Ceremony
The baptism ceremony, or as the Raëlians call it, "the transmission of the cellular plan," is performed by upper members. It requires an upper-level member to lay water onto the forehead of the new member. If this is sounding like the Catholic Church, it's because it is.
Raëlians believe that their genetic information is recorded by a remote computer and would become recognized during their final hour when they will be judged by the extraterrestrial Elohim.
The Raëlian Calendar
What makes the ceremonies odd is that they can only be performed on specific dates. There's a Raëlian calendar that the followers adhere to.
The four dates that people are allowed to get "baptized" are August 6th, which is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. December 13th, which was Raël's first personal encounter with the Elohim. October 7th, which is when the Elohim, according to Raël took him into their spacecraft. And, the first Sunday in April, which is the date believed that dark-skinned extraterrestrials created Adam and Eve.
The Hierarchy
As I mentioned before, the member hierarchy of the Raëlian church is similar to that of the Catholic one. But, there are some major differences. There are seven levels of the church ascending from 0-6. The top four levels consist of "guides" with the "level 6 guide" being the top.
Level five is the Bishop Guide, four is the Priest Guide, three is the Assistant Priest, two is the Organizers, and one is the Assistant Organizer.
Cloning Adolf Hilter
Raëlians do not believe that an ethereal soul exists free of physical confinement. They believe that advanced supercomputers of the Elohim are recording memories and DNA from people right NOW. When the aliens release their information before the big resurrection, people would be brought back from the dead and judged on their actions.
Raël even expressed the idea of cloning Adolf Hilter and then judging him on the war trials. He also mentioned cloning as the solution to terrorism by suicide attacks.
Life On Other Planets
Raël claims that the perpetrators would not be able to escape punishment by killing themselves if the Elohim recreated them after they had already died. It's also interesting to note that the Raëlians think humans can easily create life on other planets.
If humans can somehow maintain world peace, and continue to engineer more technology in the cloning sector, it should be manageable to create life from scratch on a different planet.
