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b'Belief in aliens could be America\\u2019s next religion Article Link: https://theoutline.com/post/7215/american-cosmic-review-aliens-are-extremely-real?zd=2&zi=losn7tju \\u2018American Cosmic\\u2019 explores how the once-fringe phenomenon has taken root among the powerful The aliens have landed. Or at least, they\\u2019re about to. That\\u2019s a reasonable takeaway when a renowned Harvard astronomer publicly declares, without apparent fear of repercussion, that he believes\\xa0an alien spaceship may be orbiting our planet. Belief in the little green men (or tall, suspiciously Nordic, hyper-enlightened space brethren, depending on whose accounts you believe) has long been a one-way ticket to social disrepute. But that seems\\xa0to be changing. A new book by D.W. Pasulka \\u2014 professor and chair of the department of philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington \\u2014\\xa0American Cosmic: UFOs Religion, and Technology, focuses not on grassroots investigative societies or marginal cults, but on UFO believers in the halls of power. Polling shows\\xa0that 35 percent of Americans believe that extraterrestrials came to earth in the past, and 26 percent believe that aliens have visited in modern times. This in itself does not necessarily make a new religion. Americans also believe, to varying degrees, in ghosts, Atlantis, and telekinesis. But according to Pasulka, UFO beliefs display other classic indicators of religion: sacred sites, sacred revelations, and testimony by credible witnesses to miraculous events. To the degree that alien religion is parasitic on established scriptures and traditions, it resembles what sociologist Daniel O\\u2019Keefe calls a magical protest sect. These sects arise when dominant organized religion\\xa0feels too restrictive or lifeless. They expropriate aspects of the religions they protest, and repurpose them in ways that allow participants to directly manipulate the sacred. Whether ufology will fully morph into what we currently recognize as religion is still an open question. For one thing, the completion of the process would detract from its current appeal. Pasulka points out that the now-famous dictum \\u201cI want to believe\\u201d is a credo for agnostics: Show Stuff\\xa0 TeePublic Store - Get your UBR goodies today!\\xa0http://tee.pub/lic/2GQuXxn79dg UBR Trurh Seekers Facebook Group:\\xa0https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 Manny Moonraker:\\xa0https://www.facebook.com/MannyMoonraker/ UFO Buster Radio:\\xa0https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio\\xa0 YouTube Channel:\\xa0https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA\\xa0 To contact Manny:\\xa0manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on\\xa0www.ufobusterradio.com\\xa0For Skype Users: bosscrawler'