page_title: Raëlism
section_title: The Elohim
hierarchical_section_title: Raëlism / Beliefs / The Elohim
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Pendentif raélien
context_page_description: Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism, is a UFO religion that was founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël. Scholars of religion classify Raëlism as a new religious movement. The group is formalised as the International Raëlian Movement or Raëlian Church, a hierarchical organisation under Raël's leadership.
  Raëlism teaches that an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim created humanity using their advanced technology. An atheistic religion, it believes that the Elohim have historically been mistaken for gods. It holds that throughout history the Elohim have created forty Elohim/human hybrids who have served as prophets preparing humanity for news about their ultimate origins. Among those listed as prophets are The Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, and Muhammad, with Raël himself being the fortieth and final prophet. Raëlists believe that since the Hiroshima bomb of 1945, humanity has entered an Age of Apocalypse in which it is threatening itself with nuclear annihilation.
context_section_description: Raëlism teaches that there exists an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim. Raël stated that the word "Elohim", which is used for God in the Old Testament, is actually a plural term which he translates as meaning "those who came from the sky." Individual members of the Elohim are referred to as "Eloha" by Raël. He alleged that these aliens gave him the honorific name of "Raël", a term deriving from "Israel", and which he translates as meaning "the messenger of those who come from the sky."
  In his first book, Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité ("The Book That Tells the Truth"), which was first published in 1974, Raël claimed that he initially encountered these alien beings on 13 December 1973, when he was 27 years old. He stated that he was walking along the Puy de Lassolas volcanic crater in the Clermont-Ferrand mountains when one of their spaceships appeared and an Eloha emerged. He stated that the Eloha asked him to return the following day and to bring a Bible with him. Raël did so and the over the course of six days Eloha explained to him the true meaning of its contents, thus revealing more about the Elohim's involvement in human history. In his 1976 book Les Extra-Terrestes M'ont Emmené Sur Leur Planete ("The Extraterrestrials Took Me to Their Planet"), Raël added that he was contacted by the Elohim again on 7 October 1975, when they took him aboard their spaceship and transported him to their home planet. Here he was offered six biological robot women with which to have sex, saw the Elohim create his clone, and taught the techniques of sensual meditation. The scholar of religion James R. Lewis noted that Raël's account of encountering the Elohim was similar to those of the "classic UFO contactees" of the 1950s and 1960s.
  The Elohim are described as being physically smaller than humans, with pale green skin and almond-shaped eyes, and divide into seven different races, although Raëlians are forbidden from painting or sketching them. Their planet, Raël stated, is outside our solar system but within our own Milky Way galaxy. Raël alleged that there are 90,000 of these Elohim on their planet and that they are all quasi-immortal. He commented that on their world, they do not wear clothes. He added that they are all permitted to engage in free love with one another, and that sexual jealousy between them has been eliminated. All are regarded as fairly feminine in their manner; Raël states that "the most feminine woman on Earth is only 10% as feminine as the Elohim." They are not allowed to procreate to have children and many undergo a sterilisation operation to ensure this. He also reported that the Elohim are able to communicate with humans because they have an understanding of all human languages.
caption: A medallion displaying the Raëlian symbol; practitioners typically wear these medallions to identify their beliefs[42]
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