Inside the world of the Raëlians - a cult that believes humans are descended from ALIENS | Mail Online

I was hoping for a bit more meat tot he article, but a good primer,,,

Angel ancestors, embassies for extraterrestrials and advanced supercomputers recording all human memory and DNA: Welcome to the often strange world of the Raëlians.

Now the sect, which was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, a French retired racing journalist, has thrown open its doors to the cameras for the first time, after presenter Darren McMullen travelled to Croatia to meet the Raëlians living there.

But, as Glenn Carter, the man responsible for the UK's Raëlian population reveals, there's more to Raëlian life than alien ancestors.

'Being Raëlian means that I believe in the fact that all life on earth was created by the Elohim; a society who came to earth 25,000 years ago specifically to create life,' explains Mr Carter of his beliefs.

'We also believe that Raël [Vorilhon's Raëlian name] is their messenger, here to tell the world of these facts and to open the people of the world’s minds to the idea that we are in fact an intentional scientific creation.

'The main goal of Raëlians at this stage is to create an embassy in order to facilitate and welcome the return of the Elohim to Earth.'

Like Scientology, Raëlianism is considered a 'UFO religion' with similar theories on intelligent design and extraterrestrial life as the American sect.

Unlike the Scientologists, however, Raëlians are famous for espousing sexual freedom and scientific development, and even claimed to have produced the world's first cloned human baby in 2002.

The cult hit the news again in 2012, when they staged a 'Go Topless' protest in Toronto in a bid to persuade city authorities to allow women to go braless in public.

Other controversies have included their use of the swastika as a symbol of peace which, until 1991 when it was replaced by another motif, meant that the Raëlians found themselves banned from opening 'extraterrestrial embassies' in Israel and Lebanon.

Inside the world of the Raëlians - a cult that believes humans are descended from ALIENS | Mail Online