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Alien Life Wouldn’t Destroy Religious Belief Systems

Alien Life Wouldn’t Destroy Religious Belief Systems

Last updated on: June 15, 2026 at 1:59 am by Henry Karlson

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Alien Life Wouldn’t Destroy Religious Belief Systems 2026-06-15T01:59:06-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Jirka Matousek: Grey Aliens And Roswell UFO Museum/ Wikimedia Commons

With the release of Steven Spielberg’s newest movie, Disclosure Day, I see, in part because of how the movie badly presents it, the media is once again bringing up the question of alien life and how encountering it could affect religion. Many believe that earthly religions would not be able to handle it. And, while it is true, there are many who are religious whose ideologies would come crashing down as a result of such an encounter, that has happened many times throughout the centuries as science advanced human knowledge. Those advances never destroyed religion; they undermined bad religious takes while religion remains an remains an active force in the world, often working with and assimilating the knowledge science has discovered just as well as those within the secular sphere (where we often find scientists challenging previously held views).

Catholic tradition welcomes the possibility of alien life; Pope Francis famously said he would be willing to baptize an alien if an alien asked for it. Catholic theologians, throughout the centuries, have raised the question of non-terrestrial life in the universe, with some important ones, like Nicholas of Cusa, believing that it exists. Of course, there were others, also sometimes influential ones, who believed otherwise, often because of their limited understanding of the cosmos (such as those who lived before the Copernican revolution) and the implications that cosmological understanding had upon them. The question was taken seriously, even by those who didn’t believe in the existence of other worlds, and most did not deny the possibility of their existence; what they thought, based upon their understanding of the universe, the existence of such life was not fitting. Within Protestantism, there has also been the full spectrum of beliefs, with some denying aliens because they question what it would mean about the incarnation, and others, like Catholics, find no problem with their existence (with C.S. Lewis providing one way to view them in his Space Trilogy). Having studied and read on the debates, seeing how Christians (Catholic and Protestant alike) did not have a single, dogmatic answer to the question, I know that Christianity would be able to adapt itself if alien life was ever proven to exist (or, if, however improbable it might seem, we encountered such life). And, my studies of other religions, suggests most of them would not find the notion challenging at all (indeed, it would fit some of their cosmologies).

It seems to me that the media likes to raise up the voices of those who object to the notion of extra-terrestrial life, using them as authoritative, so that it can make the claim alien life would serve as an existential threat to religion. And, since this has happened for decades, without much indication that reporters know the history of Christian thinking on the topic, I think those who write this way believe what they write. It also seems to a popular topic, one which get attention, such as readers for newspapers, or clicks on the internet. But again, the main presentation given is the way Christianity (and other religion) cannot deal with the possibility of alien life, leading many to believe this claim to be true, and so they believe religion will not be able to survive contact with other forms of intelligent life (and why disclosure of such contact would be hidden from the populace). Reinforcing this suggestion are those who deny the possibility of such life and so suggest any encounter with supposedly alien life would actually be a form of demonic deception. I heard such theories as a Protestant, and afterwards, I found out it is something many Catholics also believe. But, I was glad to hear one Cardinal, Cardinal Robert McElroy, recently told a popular exorcist who was promoting such a view that he went too far with his speculations, leading the Cardinal to tell the priest he was not welcome anymore as an official exorcist in his diocese. Sadly, there are too many dioceses, too many bishops, who put up with such nonsense, and in doing so, bring ridicule upon Catholics.

Catholic teaching is flexible, and, over time, has been able to adapt to scientific advances, albeit slowly, and sometimes, with too much controversy before such adaptations became fully embraced. If alien life exists, Catholic theologians have long provided us the means to deal with the situation. Sadly, we no matter how sound a theological (and philosophical) view can be raised, there are too many who have been led to believe it is not possible that they will fight against it no matter what. Tradition, authentic tradition, is a living tradition which is constantly developing, but many who view themselves as traditionalists look only backwards, and want things to remain as they were in an idealized (and false) past; they will fight against any discipline, any theological development, which goes against their own comfort zone, that is, anything which goes what they already believe (and their aesthetic preferences). I think this is why, within so-called traditionalist groups, where we find many who still reject to the notion of evolution and other elements of modern cosmology, we find the belief that aliens must be demons holds the most sway. Like Protestant fundamentalists, such Catholics will not reject their ideology, and so, if they find evidence against it, they will do what they can to reinterpret the evidence to support their bias, which is what happens they they say such aliens must be demons.

I understand this fundamentalistic mentality because I was raised Southern Baptist; nonetheless, it is something which I strongly object to. While it manifests itself when the possibility of alien life is raised, the issue transcends such discussions. It is about trying to create, maintain, and even force upon others, a simple cosmology, one which cannot and will not change, and so once which is centered upon the understanding of the ancient world (especially pre-Christian times). In the end, it is about promoting a false vision of tradition, one which seeks to preserve the past as in a museum where everything is frozen instead of seeing the church is a living institution that will develop and grow until the end of time. It is the same spirit which the church has consistently faced, and had to deal with, such as when, before Nicea, it had to find a way to welcome back and show mercy to the lapsed once Christianity was no longer being persecuted. The Novatians said that traditional church discipline, and Christ when he said anyone who denied him will be denied by him, proved that the lapsed, those who denied the faith, could never be forgiven and welcomed back into the church. It is as if they committed the unforgivable sin. When Popes rejected this claim and welcomed those who repented of their denial of the faith, their conflict with the Novatians led the Novatians to split from the church. The Popes, of course, had reasons for promoting such mercy, among which, Christ gave the church the power to “loosen sins,” and because Christ himself showed mercy to Peter, who denied Christ during Christ’s passion.

Popes (and others) recognized that pastoral needs, mercy, trumps legalistic, unbending discipline. Engaging the needs of the people and their needs will lead to various developments in the church. Throughout history, I see the same spirit which was found in the Novatians rising up again and again in subsequent generations, each version of that spirit having people hold a bad conception of tradition, one which did not allow the church to live, that is, change as needed. Every time, when the Novatian spirit arose, the pope (and official church theologians) responded to it by pointing out the authority Christ gave to the church makes no sense if their view of tradition was true. In recent times, I find the so-called Traditionalist movement to be among those who follow the spirit of the Novatians today. And, like the Novatians of old, they often find themselves cut off from the church.

In light of other, more important concerns, such as global warming and war, the question of the existence of alien life, and its ramifications for religion, is not very important. It is something which we will face if and when we ever encounter such life. It is not wrong for some to speculate about it, to provide answers in advance if it ever happens, and I have been one who has done so, because it is a topic I find interesting. It is also one which others like to talk about, so it is a question will not go away. It is fine to discuss it, to go into speculative tangents, so long as we understand our other responsibilities and concerns, and do not get so caught up in a diversion we ignore the major issues of our day. For, if anything is demonic, it is what we see in the world today, with the rise of racism, misogyny, war, domination, power grabs, and with it all, the careless treatment of the earth by those who often say they are religious. This is what needs to be exorcised before it is too late.

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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