Customer comments on this selection.
 Good, but not the best on the market
Yet another anthology about UFO religions, written by and for members of the realm of higher education, has seen the light of day. The anthology is divided into sections dealing with specific movements, certain elements or directions within the movements, and general analyses of different religious interpretations of the UFO phenomenon. And it is the latter sections that perhaps are most appealing to the "normal" reader, since the other sections do not offer an understanding of the whole picture, but instead focus on specific areas of religious research.
However, when it comes to religious research (and other research, as well), it's often necessary to understand all the little pieces in order to gain an understanding of the larger one, and thus all contributions in the anthology has something to offer, even if the "normal" reader is likely to be able to deal with long and thorough discussions about the different karma-relations found in UNARIUS, how the recently deceased psychiatrist Dr. John Mack makes parallels between shamanistic visions and alien abductions, or the history behind the not-so well known movement The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.
For us Europeans, two sections are of particular interest. These sections deal with the history of UFO spirituality in Germany and our neighboring country of Finland. Even though most books in the genre don't focus on North America exclusively; it's still a welcome change to find an in-depth discussion about the European scene. Unfortunately, no critical voice is raised against Finnish ufologist Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, which is rather strange since she has been one of the most severely criticised New Age ufologists. Another dilemma is the date of the founding of The Aetherius Society. One chapter says it's 1954 (the same year the movement itself claims it was founded), while another chapter argues for it to be 1956. The proof-reading has missed several typos here and there, but luckily they aren't too many and overall impression remains unaltered.
Famous psychologist Carl Jung and his theories about flying saucers being a modern myth is thoroughly discussed, which I must say is a welcome change, since his theories are often mentioned briefly in other books but seldom is discussed more thoroughly. His ideas about UFOs and extraterrestrials being "technological angels" are definitely worth a closer look.
Another excellent chapter rationally (and easily understood) deals with apocalyptic tendencies within the alien abduction phenomenon and also the UFO phenomenon in general, even though the author Daniel Wojcik from time to time has a tendency to repeat himself. It's still, though, a contribution worth reading several times, and that is not always the case with certain other contributions.
UFO Religions is, overall, an anthology very much worth reading, and it's a much cheaper alternative to The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions, the other anthology about UFO religions to have been published recently.
Good, but not the best on the market
Yet another anthology about UFO religions, written by and for members of the realm of higher education, has seen the light of day. The anthology is divided into sections dealing with specific movements, certain elements or directions within the movements, and general analyses of different religious interpretations of the UFO phenomenon. And it is the latter sections that perhaps are most appealing to the "normal" reader, since the other sections do not offer an understanding of the whole picture, but instead focus on specific areas of religious research.
However, when it comes to religious research (and other research, as well), it's often necessary to understand all the little pieces in order to gain an understanding of the larger one, and thus all contributions in the anthology has something to offer, even if the "normal" reader is likely to be able to deal with long and thorough discussions about the different karma-relations found in UNARIUS, how the recently deceased psychiatrist Dr. John Mack makes parallels between shamanistic visions and alien abductions, or the history behind the not-so well known movement The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.
For us Europeans, two sections are of particular interest. These sections deal with the history of UFO spirituality in Germany and our neighboring country of Finland. Even though most books in the genre don't focus on North America exclusively; it's still a welcome change to find an in-depth discussion about the European scene. Unfortunately, no critical voice is raised against Finnish ufologist Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, which is rather strange since she has been one of the most severely criticised New Age ufologists. Another dilemma is the date of the founding of The Aetherius Society. One chapter says it's 1954 (the same year the movement itself claims it was founded), while another chapter argues for it to be 1956. The proof-reading has missed several typos here and there, but luckily they aren't too many and overall impression remains unaltered.
Famous psychologist Carl Jung and his theories about flying saucers being a modern myth is thoroughly discussed, which I must say is a welcome change, since his theories are often mentioned briefly in other books but seldom is discussed more thoroughly. His ideas about UFOs and extraterrestrials being "technological angels" are definitely worth a closer look.
Another excellent chapter rationally (and easily understood) deals with apocalyptic tendencies within the alien abduction phenomenon and also the UFO phenomenon in general, even though the author Daniel Wojcik from time to time has a tendency to repeat himself. It's still, though, a contribution worth reading several times, and that is not always the case with certain other contributions.
UFO Religions is, overall, an anthology very much worth reading, and it's a much cheaper alternative to The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions, the other anthology about UFO religions to have been published recently.
 Useful if slightly overlong overview
Although this book simply consists of a number of articles by various academics around the world it is quite entertaining and covers the sociological and psychological (if not the neuroscientific) aspects of this minor but interesting phenomenon rather well. However, there are a number of irritations: firstly, the Editor (Christopher Partridge) should have had a quiet word with Garry Trompf and politely but firmly encouraged this 'Professor in the History of Ideas at Sydney University' to re-draft his contribution. It may contain an intriguing comparison of UFO religions and Cargo Cults but is written in an absurdly convoluted style that is replete with unnecessary jargon like 'apotropaic', 'mythological macrohistory', 'sectlet'and 'scientismic'. You'll need to borrow the Universal Translator from Star Trek to cope with this kind of gibberish. Secondly, Jodi Dean's article is just plain pompous and should have been left out altogether for its quite laughable assertion that Independence Day is homophobic. However, Partridge's introductory overview is lively and informative and other conributors have been particularly perceptive on matters such as, for example, the relationship between Heaven's Gate and established New Age thinking. Finally, the book may be about a fringe phenomenon but I found myself rethinking my ideas about mainstream religion as a consequence. In other words, the book as a whole leaves you with plenty to reflect on.
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