Sharing a Church Pew with a Space Alien

Sharing a Church Pew with a Space Alien

“I’d share a church pew with a space alien any day,” is one response I found among the 1300 returns of the Peters ETI Religious Crisis Survey. Along with a graduate student, Julie Froehlig, I asked self-identified adherents of many of the world’s religions: would confirmation of the existence of an extraterrestrial intelligence civilization cause a crisis in your faith? “No,” was the most prevalent answer. One even added, “I’d share a church pew with a space alien any day.”

UFOs and ETI at Patheos

Along with two US presidents, some of our Patheos columnists are showing interest in UFO (or UAP) sitings, the extraterrestrial hypothesis, and the likelihood that we share our universe with intelligent space neighbors. “Would the Existence of Space Aliens Threaten Christianity?” asks Richard Ostling. Ostling then retraces the arguments raised by the venerable C.S. Lewis three quarters of a century ago. No, said Lewis, we’re not likely to lose God in space. But, warned Lewis, we are not likely to find God in space if we have not previously found God here on Earth.

Oxford sockdolager James McGrath would doubt the sanguine approach of Richard Ostling and C.S. Lewis. McGrath, well-versed in matters relating natural science to Christian faith, fears that science-deniers will come out of the woodwork to deny the existence of space aliens too. If a religious nut can deny the protean insights of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, certainly such a numbskull could deny scientific evidence for ETI.

Dan Peterson, writing in Patheos, ponders a curious fact – or fake fact? – regarding the possibility of ETI belief as religious rather than scientific. “People who report low levels of religious belief but a high desire for meaning in life also tend to report greater belief in ETI, while religious believers (primarily Christians) are less likely to report belief in ETI.” Is this true? I wonder. The Peters ETI Religious Crisis Survey did not test for this.

The Religious Dimension to the UFO Phenomenon

I’ve been studying the UFO phenomenon since it began in 1947. Well, almost since it began. I did have to get born and learn to read.

Over this length of time, I’ve become frustrated by the media and the scientific community for their use of the term, belief. “Do you believe in UFOs?” is the most frequently asked question. My answer is usually a variant of the following. “No. I believe in God. I study UFOs as a scientific inquiry.” We need to get clear on our epistemology here.

Nevertheless, there are definitely religious dimensions to both sightings of unknowns in the sky and the wider culture that ponders the existence of ETI. Elsewhere, I’ve suggested that the UFO phenomenon tickles our religious sensibilities with the dimensions of transcendence, omniscience, perfection, and redemption. I’ll spare you the details here.

In some ways, it seems to me, people who find it difficult to believe in God as Spirit are delighted to think that salvation could come to earth from the heavens in the form of advanced technoscience. This advanced technoscience, allegedly, would come to us from an off-Earth civilization that has evolved longer than we have. This appears to me to be the operative though clandestine theology of the so-called believers.

Astrobiology, UFOs, ETI, and Theology

I just finished teaching an evening course for the Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) on Astrobiology, UFOs, ETI, and Theology. The students who enrolled were already experts in ufology, so I could not teach them much that they did not already know. It became a seminar discussion in which we explored paths hitherto blocked by ignorance and bias. What fun!

Let me announce an online event which just might interest readers of this Patheos post. The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), along with the dean’s office at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California, will host a one-day workshop on April 17, 2026. The topic? “The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence: Why It Matters for Science, Ufology, and Theology.” Publicity is not yet up. So, just watch the GTU website. Join us in person or online.

Conclusion: Sharing a Church Pew with a Space Alien

Are we ready to share a church pew with a space alien? And, of course, are we ready to invite that space alien to join us for coffee and cookies following worship?

Patheos SR 2015. Sharing a Church Pew with a Space Alien

“Muslims, Christians, Scientists, and Extraterrestrial Aliens”

Are UFOs our Celestial Saviors?

UAP Transparency Act

UAP’s Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis

UFO 17 Scientizing Ufology

UFO 18 Are UAP from outer space?

UFO 19 Are UAP from future time?

UFO 20 Are UAP Extradimensional?

UAP and Ancient Alien Theology

UAP, ETI, and David Bohm’s Physics

Ufology is a new religion! Really? D.W. Pasulka on UAP as Techno-Religion

UFOs are Demonic! Really? Is Daniel O’Connor correct about UAP and Satan?

UAP disclosurism compromises US national security! Really? The warnings of Jeremy McGowan and Jensine Andresen

Ufology is Corrupt! Really? Luis Cayetano is skeptical of ufology

James Madden’s Uber-Umwelt UFO HypothesisETI Myth at SETI video

UFOs, Presidents, and Disclosure

VIDEO by Tripp Fuller: “Flying Saucers, Deep Incarnation, and the Covered Dish Dinner: Astrotheology with Ted Peters”

▓

Ted Peters directs traffic at the intersection of science, religion, and ethics. Peters is an emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union, where he co-edits the journal, Theology and Science, with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, in Berkeley, California, USA. He authored Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom? (Routledge, 2^nd ed., 2002) as well as Science, Theology, and Ethics (Ashgate 2003). Along with Martinez Hewlett, Joshua Moritz, and Robert John Russell, he co-edited, Astrotheology: Science and Theology Meet Extraterrestrial Intelligence (2018). Along with Octavio Chon Torres, Joseph Seckbach, and Russell Gordon, he co-edited, Astrobiology: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Scrivener 2021). Along with Arvin Gouw and Brian Patrick Green, he co-edited Religious Transhumanism and Its Critics (Lexington 2022). He is also author of UFOs: God’s Chariots? Spirituality, Ancient Aliens, and Religious Yearnings in the Age of Extraterrestrials (Career Press New Page Books, 2014). Look for his newest book, The Voice of Public Theology, a collection of previous articles. See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com.