Even without scientific evidence that life exists on other planets, extraterrestrials are beings that remain constant in our daily lives.
But how do religions see these little creatures that we barely know?
Judaists
Jews believe there are no limits to God’s power, they are open to the idea that He is free to create more than one form of conscious species in the cosmos. Rabbi Norman Lamm recently proposed that “man may well accept a new scientific discovery” and that “man is not the only intelligent, bio-spiritual resident in God’s world.”
Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventism emerged in the 19th century as part of a solution to theological problems arising from the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The prophetess Ellen White described visions of extraterrestrial beings in different worlds. They would be tall, majestic and entirely sinless beings.
Creationists
Most fundamentalist Christians are committed to a literal interpretation of scripture. As there is no mention of extraterrestrials in the Bible, they conclude that this proves their non-existence. Creationists even deny the Theory of Evolution of Species, and the existence of intelligent life on other planets is completely outside their beliefs.
Catholics
Many Catholic leaders take the possible existence of aliens seriously, and tend to agree that extraterrestrials are sinful. However, they disagree about why aliens are sinful and disagree about whether they should participate in the Catholic Mass if one of them lands on Earth. In the 20th century, the Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin caused controversy when he indicated that sin did not arrive in the world with the errors of Adam and Eve, but with creatures from across the Universe.
Islamists
Muslims would not be surprised by news of intelligent life coming from beyond Earth, especially if the extraterrestrial is sentient – which has the ability to consciously feel sensations and feelings. Islamic scriptures even suggest that there are intelligent life forms that inhabit other worlds. The Quran states that all beings in the universe serve Allah, and that “He took care of them all and numbered them exactly. And each of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Judgment.”
Buddhists
Buddhists see the universe as infinite, ancient, and full of living things everywhere. Within this infinity, reincarnation allows a soul to transmit upward or downward through the multiple levels of living beings.
The very existence of extraterrestrials is embedded in the Buddhist worldview, and therefore an alien presence would not pose a challenge to its principles.
