The Raelians
Join Claire, a youtube commentary creator on Claire View, and Chris Atlee of Hereticals, a Historian with a personal connection to "The Raelians" for an entertaining and informative discussion on this UFO, Free Love Cult.
Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism, is a UFO religion [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_religion] founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Vorilhon], now known as Raël.[b] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism#cite_note-4] Scholars of religion [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_studies] classify Raëlism as a new religious movement [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement]. The group is formalized as the International Raëlian Movement (IRM) or Raëlian Church, a hierarchical organization under Raël's leadership.
Raëlism teaches that an extraterrestrial species [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life] known as the Elohim created humanity using their advanced technology. An atheistic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism] religion, it holds that the Elohim have historically been mistaken for gods. It claims that throughout history the Elohim has created 40 Elohim/human hybrids who have served as prophets preparing humanity for news about their origins. Among them are The Buddha [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buddha], Jesus [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus], and Muhammad [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad], with Raël himself the 40th and final prophet. Raëlists believe that since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki] in 1945, humanity has entered an Age of Apocalypse in which it threatens itself with nuclear annihilation. Raëlism holds that humanity must find a way to harness new scientific and technological development for peaceful purposes and that when this has been achieved the Elohim will return to Earth to share their technology with humanity and establish a utopia. To this end, Raëlians have sought to build an embassy for the Elohim that incorporates a landing pad for their spaceship. Raëlians engage in daily meditation, hope for physical immortality through human cloning [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_cloning], and promote a liberal ethical system with a strong emphasis on sexual experimentation.
Raël first published his claims to have been contacted by the Elohim in his 1974 book Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité. He subsequently established an organization devoted to promoting his ideas, MADECH, which in 1976 disbanded and was replaced by the Raëlian Church. Raël headed the new organization, which was structured around a hierarchy of seven levels. Attracting more followers, the group obtained a country estate in France before relocating its operations to Quebec [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec]. In 1998, Raël established the Order of Angels, an internal all-female group whose members are largely sequestered from wider society and tasked with training themselves to become the Elohim's consorts. In 1997 Raël initiated Clonaid [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonaid], an organization engaged in research in human cloning directed by senior Raëlian Brigitte Boisselier [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Boisselier]. In 2002, the company claimed to have produced a human clone, a baby named Eve, bringing much critical scrutiny and media attention. The Movement has attracted further attention through its public protests endorsing causes such as women's and gay rights and against nuclear testing.
The International Raëlian Movement claims tens of thousands of members, the majority in Francophone areas of Western Europe and North America and parts of East Asia. Criticism of the philosophy has come from journalists, ex-Raëlians, and anti-cultists [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-cult_movement], while it has also been studied by scholars of religion.
You can find Chris on Hereticals here https://www.youtube.com/@Hereticals [https://www.youtube.com/@Hereticals]
and Claire on Claire View here https://www.youtube.com/@ClaireView307 [https://www.youtube.com/@ClaireView307]
Intro/Outro artwork and concepts by: Mocking Media https://www.youtube.com/@mockingmedia [https://www.youtube.com/@mockingmedia]
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