Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact

by Diana Tumminia

Overview

This intriguing collection of essays presents reflections upon the birth, proliferation, enduring appeal, and future of UFO mythology. Highly respected authors and researchers, representing the varied and sometimes competing perspectives of ufology and the sociology of religion, provide a fascinating and instructive voyage into the exotic social worlds of UFOs, abductees, and contactees. Reports of aliens and the changing nature of abduction experience, especially in the sexual dimension are explored in relation to literature, culture, and ideology. The influence of abduction therapy and support groups is considered, as are new religious movements (NRMs) within the UFO community. The book offers rich insights into psychology, human behavior, and religion, melding issues of race, politics, and gender. Finally, it evaluates the existing dynamic of UFOS in the age of the Information Super Highway and ever-increasing globalization.

Alien Worlds will enlighten anyone wanting to understand what and how the academic world thinks about UFOs, UFO groups, and UFO phenomena.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815608585
Publisher:	Syracuse University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2007
Series:	Religion and Politics Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.07(d)

About the Author

Diana G. Tumminia teaches sociology at California State University, Sacramento. She is author of When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group.