page_title: Raëlism
section_title: Later development
hierarchical_section_title: Raëlism / History / Later development
caption_attribution_description: http://www.raelian.com/ Image Specific: http://raelian.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=raelian&amp;id=raelian_199807_2 July 1998 Valcourt Quebec Canada Summer seminar at UFO Land With Francoise
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: In 1980, the Raëlians launched their mission to Japan, followed by one to Africa in 1982, and one to Australia in 1990. In the early 1980s the Movement also bought a campground near Albi in southern France, which they named Eden. In 1984, Raël underwent a year's retreat in which he avoided public appearance. The following year, his first wife left both him and the movement; he subsequently embarked on a relationship with a Japanese Raëlian, Lisa Sunagawa, for several years. In the mid-1990s, Raël returned to his hobby of motor racing, competing in the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix and the 1998 Motorola Cup in Miami before retiring from the sport in 2001. In 1992, a schism appeared in the movement as a group of around forty practitioners were expelled. They formed a rival, smaller group, the Apostles of the Last Days, espousing the belief that Raël had been the original mouthpiece of the Elohim but had been taken over by Satan.
  In 1992, the Raëlian Movement bought 115 hectares of land near Valcourt in Quebec, naming this property Le Jardin du Prophète ("the Garden of the Prophet"). It was on this property in 1997 that the organisation opened UFOLand, a museum about ufology. Its purpose was to raise money for the Elohim Embassy, but in 2001 it closed to the public, having proved financially unviable to maintain. It was also in 1997, a month after Ian Wilmut announced the birth of Dolly the Sheep, a successful clone, that Raël established Valiant Venture as a company to explore the commercial applications of cloning technology. Through it came Clonaid, of which the Raëlian Bishop Brigitte Boisselier was co-founder, director, and spokesperson. The launch of this group and its promotion of human cloning incited much debate among other religious figures, scientists, and ethicists. Raël and Boisselier both spoke before US President Bill Clinton's Congress hearing on the topic of human cloning in March 2001.
  At the July 1998 training camp in the Jardins des Prophètes, Raël announced that in December 1997 he had received another revelation from the Elohim, commanding him to form a new grouping within the Raëlian Movement, the Order of Raël's Angels. This was to be a secret society, open only to women who would become the consorts of the Elohim after their arrival on Earth. A newsletter, Plumes d'Anges (Angel Feathers), was then issued containing information about the Order. Palmer noted that by emphasising the unique qualities of women, the formation of this group challenged the established Raëlian view that men and women are wholly equal and interchangeable.
  In 2001, Raël toured Asia, giving seminars. That year he married for a second time, to a 16-year old ballet student. Raëlism discourages marriage, and this instance was done for expediency, because he had been questioned by customs officials when traveling with her across borders. They subsequently divorced but continued to live together as a couple. In November 2002, a local man vandalised the group's Jardins des Prophètes property, causing significant damage. Raël stated that this had been a preliminary test of the "Abraham Project," a joint operation between the Central Intelligence Agency and the French intelligence agencies to assassinate him using schizophrenics under a form of mind control.
  In December 2002 Boisselier announced that Clonaid's work had resulted in the birth of a baby, Eve, which she claimed was the world's first human clone. The child was not presented for scrutiny by scientists; thus, the IRM's allegations regarding Baby Eve were never substantiated by the scientific community. Many commentators believed that the announcement had been a hoax, and it brought much ridicule of the Raëlians. In January 2003 the Raëlians declared that the parents of Eve had gone underground to evade attention. The appearance of Baby Eve gained the Raëlians much international press coverage, with the group claiming this publicity brought it around 5000 new members. Boisellier periodically announced that further clones infants had been born, in the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea
caption: Two Raëlians visiting UFOLand, the Quebec museum which the Raëlians established in 1997
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