Philosophical and religious implications of extraterrestrial intelligent life

Abstract

If any evidence of extraterrestrial intelligent life were ever to be discovered, what would the likely reactions of our society be, and how should we manage such a discovery? The answer depends largely on the following question: What are the implications of such a discovery for our religious beliefs? This issue is the core subject of this chapter. Two basic assumptions are made: (1) There will not be direct contact with extra-terrestrials (ETs) or with intelligent probes, only indirect contact via electromagnetic waves, as in the “classic” SETI scenario. (2) The contact will take place in the “near” future (i.e., in a few decades), which very likely means within a range of some hundreds of light years, due to the limits of our present technology.