The Prophet and the Space Aliens is a recent video documentary from Vice about the "UFO religion" of Raëlism, a cult founded in the 1970s (not long after Heaven's Gate) by Claude Vorilhon (b. 1946), known to followers as "Raël." The cult was previously documented in the film Rael and the Clones (2006). It's an interesting example of how the UFO phenomenon has not only been received by individuals as a type of spiritual vocation or quest, but has also been used as the basis for organized religious systems built around a shared set of beliefs (including, in the case of Raëlism, that humans were created by alien scientists) and practices (including non-violence, sexual experimentation, meditation, and human reproduction through cloning). The documentary covers all aspects of the man, the religion, and its followers. I especially liked hearing about Vorilhon's past as a race car driver and journalist and the origin story of his religion. A wild ride.
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