1996 10 00 Journal of Contemporary Religion - Vol 11 No 3 - Porter

Magazine Overview

Title: Journal of Contemporary Religion
Issue: Vol. 11, No. 3
Publication Date: 1996
Article: Spiritualists, Aliens and UFOs: Extraterrestrials as spirit guides
Author: Jennifer E. Porter
Affiliation: Department of Religious Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Abstract: This article explores the contemporary phenomenon of Spiritualists adopting extraterrestrials as spirit guides. It argues that this represents a unique fusion of the New Age fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrials with Spiritualist beliefs, where these entities symbolize the successful union of spirituality and science. Extraterrestrials are perceived as spiritually superior due to their advanced science, which is believed to incorporate spiritual truth. This adoption is seen as both a rationalization of Spiritualist belief through an idealization of science and a critique of orthodox science for neglecting the spiritual realm.

Introduction

The author notes that while the New Age Movement's debt to Spiritualism is recognized, the reciprocal influence of New Age elements on Spiritualism has been less explored. This paper focuses on the incorporation of extraterrestrials as spirit guides within contemporary North American Spiritualism, drawing on two years of fieldwork in southern Ontario and the Upper New York State area. This integration is presented as a striking innovation where UFO sightings and alien abductions are given a uniquely Spiritualist form, with extraterrestrials representing the ultimate Spiritualist goal of uniting spirituality and science.

Spiritualism and Science

Spiritualism, originating in the mid-nineteenth century United States, emerged partly as a response to rapid technological and scientific changes that challenged established religious doctrines. Communication with spirits offered a way for people to re-anchor themselves and made the miracles of science seem less incredible. The movement began in 1848 with the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York, and rapidly grew, with an estimated one million Spiritualists in the US within five years. Early on, Spiritualists sought scientific validation for their phenomena, with investigations involving mediums and scientists like Sir William Crookes and Charles Richet. Initially, phenomena were limited to 'rapping', but by the 1850s, 'materialisations' emerged, leading to more rigorous and sometimes extreme skeptical investigations.

The article highlights the core Spiritualist aim to unite 'science' with faith in a spiritual realm. However, as the scientific establishment grew, Spiritualist claims were increasingly excluded from orthodox science. Despite this, many contemporary Spiritualists maintain that the existence of spirits and communication with them are scientifically verifiable. Those who incorporate extraterrestrials into their beliefs do so with the assumption that these entities are compatible with 'science'. The perceived scientific and technological superiority of extraterrestrials leads to a perception of spiritual superiority, as their science is thought to incorporate spiritual truth. This phenomenon is thus viewed as a 'rationalisation' of Spiritualist belief and a critique of orthodox science.

Spiritualism and the New Age

The research was conducted over 19 months in Hamilton, Ontario, and Lily Dale, New York. Hamilton is a working-class steel mill town with two Spiritualist churches, while Lily Dale is a dedicated Spiritualist community. The fieldwork revealed a general consensus among Spiritualists regarding core beliefs, but disagreement on issues like reincarnation and extraterrestrial belief. The adoption of extraterrestrials as spirit guides was an unexpected finding, representing a fusion with the 'UFO religion' component of the New Age Movement. While some traditional Spiritualists rejected this, citing tradition, others, like medium Abby, rejected it on 'scientific' grounds, questioning the lack of proof for UFOs.

Conversely, other Spiritualists, like Lily Dale healer Joel, consider personal experience of contact with such beings as 'scientific proof'. The article notes the connection between nineteenth-century Spiritualism and the development of UFO cults in the New Age movement, with David Hess arguing that New Age thought shifted from an 'other-worldly' focus on spirit communication to a more 'rationalised' focus on extraterrestrials and UFOs. This is seen as a 'rerouting' of religious mystery, where concepts like E=MC2 and Von Daniken replace traditional religious frameworks.

UFOs

The interpretive emphasis on the scientific and technological aspects of UFOs dates back to Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting. Tens of thousands of UFO reports have been made worldwide, with about 10% defying conventional explanations, lending credence to the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Scientific investigations, such as the US Air Force's Project Blue Book and the Condon Report, have attempted to explain UFOs through natural phenomena, misidentifications, or extraterrestrial origins. The Condon Report's emphasis on the first two explanations led to a decline in orthodox scientific investigation, though consensus remains elusive. Even skeptical scientists acknowledge the possibility of other intelligent species, like astronomer Carl Sagan, who estimated a million advanced civilizations in the galaxy. This ongoing debate and the 'scientific' legitimization of extraterrestrial life have kept the UFO hypothesis alive in popular perception.

Extraterrestrials, UFOs and Orthodox Science

The failure of orthodox scientists to definitively dismiss the extraterrestrial hypothesis allows some Spiritualists to view extraterrestrial existence as scientifically plausible. Medium Michael from Toronto expressed that it would be naive to think humans are the center of the universe. The perceived scientific and technological capabilities of extraterrestrials, such as faster-than-light travel, are seen as evidence of a science far exceeding our own. Medium Richard from Hamilton described UFOs as having shapes conducive to space travel, like spheres that flatten into disks at lower speeds, suggesting a sophisticated understanding of physics.

From the perspective of Spiritualists like Richard, the 'scientific' knowledge and technology of alien visitors are vastly superior. Folklorist Thomas Bullard notes that UFOs appear to surpass the limitations of present technology and physics. Orthodox scientific objections regarding physical impossibilities, like right-angle turns at high speeds, are dismissed because extraterrestrial scientific understanding is assumed to be far beyond ours. This perception of superior scientific and technological prowess leads to a corollary perception of spiritual superiority. Lily Dale healer and medium Joel described his first contact with extraterrestrials as being of a completely different, higher vibrational energy than any other spiritual beings he had encountered, surpassing even angels in spiritual development. He recounted an experience where a being from a distant galaxy, of exceptionally high vibration, offered to be his guide when he was ready.

Michael, another experienced Spiritualist healer, recounted an impression of two beings in his room, visually similar to 'Star Trek' transporter beam particles, who indicated they would be there when he was ready to work with them. Every Spiritualist who reported contact with extraterrestrials identified their vibrational energy as 'strange', 'odd', or 'different' from earthly entities. This perceived superiority, both spiritual and scientific, distinguishes extraterrestrial entities from spirits of the dead typically encountered by Spiritualist mediums.

Discussion

The article posits that the 'alien quality' of extraterrestrial entity contacts is significant within the Spiritualist context because it reveals an alternative interpretation of experiences. Anthropologists like Felicitas Goodman suggest that spirit possession entities are 'culture specific'. Similarly, studies by Spanos et al. on UFO contactees indicate that these experiences are also 'culture specific', with pre-existing beliefs in UFOs and alien life forms influencing interpretation. This suggests that anomalous contact experiences are shaped by prior cultural expectations.

Within Spiritualism, there is no inherent need to label contacted entities as 'extraterrestrial' because the tradition already provides a framework for interpreting communication with spiritual beings as guides or teachers. The incorporation of extraterrestrials as spirit guides is notable because it represents a departure from this traditional framework, offering an alternative interpretation. This phenomenon is more prevalent among New Age channellers than traditional Spiritualists. Figures like Phyllis Schlemmer and Mauritio are proponents of this New Age spirituality, which some traditional Spiritualists distinguish from 'true' Spiritualism. Edith, a third-generation Spiritualist, stated that some churches were more interested in New Age spirituality, which encompasses Spiritualism but branches out into areas like extraterrestrials, rather than being purely Spiritualist.

The adoption of extraterrestrials as spirit guides is considered religious for many contemporary Spiritualists. This inclusion may be driven by the perception that New Age movements have greater appeal and acceptance among mainstream North Americans compared to the relative obscurity of Spiritualism. The article references studies by North and Grayson, suggesting that religious traditions often undergo syncretic borrowing when in contact with traditions that hold greater political power, prestige, or moral suasion. Contemporary 'New Age' movements are seen as leveraging this dynamic.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this article revolve around the intersection of Spiritualism, the New Age movement, and belief in UFOs and extraterrestrials. It explores how these beliefs are interpreted through a lens of scientific and spiritual superiority, and how cultural expectations shape the experience and understanding of anomalous phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be analytical and observational, presenting the phenomenon of extraterrestrial spirit guides as a significant development within contemporary Spiritualism and a reflection of broader cultural trends in the interpretation of the unknown.

This document is an excerpt from an academic article titled "Spiritualists, Aliens and UFOs" by J. E. Porter, published in April 2013. It delves into the reasons behind the incorporation of extraterrestrials into the belief system of contemporary Spiritualism.

The Incorporation of Extraterrestrials into Spiritualism

The author posits that the incorporation of extraterrestrials into Spiritualism is not merely an attempt to align with the perceived popularity of New Age spirituality. Instead, it is argued that this trend stems from a longstanding effort within Spiritualism to achieve scientific legitimacy for its beliefs. Unlike the abstract concept of spirits, extraterrestrials are seen as representatives of a scientifically and technologically advanced species, making their existence potentially acceptable within orthodox science. This perceived scientific plausibility lends a degree of 'scientific' credibility to Spiritualist beliefs.

Scientific Legitimacy and 'UFO Religion'

The article highlights the difference between spirit entities and extraterrestrials, emphasizing that the latter are believed to be part of a scientifically advanced civilization. This scientific aspect makes communication with extraterrestrials more compatible with a scientifically acceptable worldview than pure spirit communication. The existence of extraterrestrials, while debated, remains a point of scientific discussion, offering a perceived 'scientific' proof for Spiritualist faith. This leads to a 'rationalised' emphasis in contemporary 'UFO religion,' where extraterrestrials are conceptualized as 'technological angels' (Jung, 1959), embodying a form of salvation through technology rather than the supernatural.

Critique of Orthodox Science and the Fusion of Realms

Furthermore, the adoption of extraterrestrials as spirit guides suggests a critique of the 'disenchanted' rational world of orthodox science. Spiritualists perceive extraterrestrials as possessing superior scientific, technological, and spiritual abilities. This superiority is linked to their mastery of both scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, fusing these realms in a way that orthodox terrestrial science cannot comprehend. This fusion is exemplified by the concept of faster-than-light technology displayed by UFOs, which Hamilton Richard suggests requires both 'scientific' and 'spiritual' knowledge. The author argues that Spiritualists implicitly criticize the narrow limits of orthodox science by idealizing extraterrestrials, who represent the possibility of a successful union between spirituality and science.

Spiritual Superiority and the 'New Age' Connection

Philosopher of science Nicholas Rescher (1985) is cited, questioning the concept of 'superior' extraterrestrial science, arguing that science can only be different, not superior, if it operates under different principles. However, for Spiritualists, the difference itself makes extraterrestrial science superior. The article notes that many contemporary Spiritualists are aware of environmentalist concerns but find them incompatible with the other-worldly focus of Spiritualist spirituality. While some Spiritualists see the New Age Movement as a source of potential converts, many remain critical of practices like 'channelling.' The incorporation of extraterrestrials is presented as a coherent and consistent development towards a 'New Age' for Spiritualism, seen by some as the 'next phase of Spiritualist evolution.'

References

The document includes an extensive list of references, citing numerous works on Spiritualism, UFOs, religion, science, and related phenomena, including authors such as T. Bullard, C. G. Jung, Ted Peters, Nicholas Rescher, Donald Menzel, J. Allen Hynek, and Carl Sagan.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this article are the intersection of Spiritualism and UFO beliefs, the quest for scientific legitimacy in religious movements, the critique of orthodox scientific paradigms, and the evolving nature of spiritual beliefs in response to technological advancements. The author's stance is analytical and academic, exploring the sociological and theological implications of these phenomena, presenting arguments supported by scholarly references and citations.