Monday, August 10th, 2:30 - 4:00 pm EST
UFOs aren't just a sci-fi obsession — they're one of the fastest-growing religious movements in America.
This lecture will examine the close relationship between religion and extraterrestrial belief, with special attention to examples drawn from modern American culture.
A popular assumption, when UFOs and aliens enter public conversation, is that they belong to science — or science fiction. Yet alien belief creates profound meaning, community, and ritual for millions of people. From Theosophical flying ships to government UAP files, stories about extraterrestrial life have shaped a distinct and growing form of contemporary religion, one that intersects with politics, conspiracy, and the end of the world as we know it.
In this lecture we will cover how UFO and alien belief intersects with topics like millenarianism, digital influencer culture, government secrecy, and metaphysical spirituality. Key concepts from religious studies will be introduced to analyze key movements and figures, such as the Theosophical Society, Heaven's Gate, Scientology, and the starseed influencer community.
In this course, participants will explore questions like:
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When does belief in aliens become a religion?
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What does disclosure promise — and why does it feel like the end of the world?
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What connects Theosophical flying ships to TikTok spirituality today?
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Is conspiracy theory a form of religion?
About Dr. Susannah Crockford:
Susannah Crockford is a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Exeter, where she teaches and advises in Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology.
As a scholar of religion and anthropology, her research examines the intersection of spirituality, environment, and health, with a special emphasis on new age and metaphysical movements. She is the author of Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona (University of Chicago Press, 2021) and is currently completing her second book, A Perturbed System: Religion and Climate Change at the End of a World, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press in 2026. She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and has held positions at Ghent University, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
About the Religion Department:
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