History of Raëlism

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Part of a series of articles on Raëlism

Beliefs & Practices

Geniocracy Sensual Meditation Raëlian Cosmology Economic Humanitarianism

History & People

History of Raëlism Raël • Glenn Carter • Nayah Honoraries • Susan J. Palmer

Associations

Raëlian Church • Clonaid Raelian Foundation

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The History of Raëlism concerns the origins of Raëlism and activities associated with its followers, members of the Raëlian Movement (formerly known as MADECH). Purported accounts of the movement's history and founding beginning in 1973 are mainly written in Claude Raël's books first two Raëlian books, The Book Which Tells the Truth (1974) and Extraterrestrials Took Me to their Planet (1975).

Another notable source of Raelian History is Aliens Adored, a book by Canadian sociologist Susan J. Palmer. This book contains harder to find information about Raelian History of the 1980s and 1990's.

Contents 1 Raëlian messages 2 Before 1980: The movement's beginning 3 1980-1989 4 1990-1999 5 2000-2009 6 Further reading 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Raëlian messages

Raëlian books have been published in multiple languages. There have been numerous republished versions. Some of the books include the contents of multiple Raelian books and have testimonials, footnotes, updates, and/or hyperlinks appended to them.

[edit] Before 1980: The movement's beginning

In the morning of December 13, 1973 (Julian Date 2442029),^[1] Claude Vorilhon who was at the time, a professional test driver for the Autopop Magazine which he founded as an automobile journalist, had a first meeting with an extraterrestrial humanoid, an Eloha (plural: Elohim), who landed a UFO within an inactive volcano called Puy de Lassolas near the capital of Auvergne, France (Clermont-Ferrand).^[2]

Two days later, in the third meeting, an Eloha referred to similar insignias: one engraved his spaceship and one on his spacesuit. Both were formed by interlocked triangles which according to the Eloha, means "as above, so below" enclosing swastika which means "all is cyclic in infinite time". In Raëlism, the swastika symbolizes, "The choice between paradise, which the peaceful use of science makes possible, and the hell of returning to the primitive stage where humanity submits to nature instead of dominating and benefiting from it." This is the original emblem of the Raelian Movement which is used primarily in the African and Asian continents.^[2]

Three days later, Claude Vorilhon meets Yahweh Elohim for the last time that year on a Tuesday. On that day, Vorhilon was given the name for the religious movement which he was to establish. The six-letter name is "MADECH", which stands for "mouvement pour l‘accueil des Elohim créateurs de l’humanité" or "movement for welcoming the Elohim, creators of humanity". It also stands for "Moise a devancé Elie et le Christ" meaning "Moses preceded Elijah and the Christ". The "New Commandments" presented to him on that Tuesday concerned the estabilishment of Geniocracy, Economic Humanitarianism, World Government, and his mission to catalyze these endeavors and to hasten the return of the Elohim^[3] to Earth.^[2]

In September 19, 1974, Claude Vorilhon held his first public conference Paris, France which attracted 2000 people.^[4]

In 1975, MADECH held 170 members.^[4]

In July 31, along with his wife Marie-Paul and a devoted MADECH member, François, Raël sights a UFO near his new home in Clermont-Ferrand. The glowing craft performed aerial start-and-go maneuvers along a zigzag path. Raël thought that this was a verification that the new location that he and his wife were now living in was the right place and time.^[5]

In October, the Elohim authorizes Claude Vorilhon to gradually replace MADECH, whose structure resembled a pentaque club or war veterans association, with the International Raelian Movement, which was to align itself with the principles of Geniocracy.^[5]

In October 7, 1975, an hour before midnight,^[1] after having a sudden urge to observe the night sky, Claude Vorilhon decides to go Roc Plat, an uninhabited place between two brooks surround by a forest. Claude Vorilhon then meets the same Eloha he first met almost two years ago (December 13, 1973) whose spacecraft landed behind a bush. He is taken up that spacecraft with the Eloha and sent to a remote base relatively close to the solar system where he is given a resort-style relaxation treatment.^[5]

In the morning of October 8, Yahweh Elohim gives a lecture to Claude Vorilhon about his current achievement towards the foundation of MADECH, the need for geniocracy, Buddhism, and about the ideas of God and Soul. After travelling to the Planet of the Eternals, which orbits around a very large star and has a climate similar to the rainforests of Earth, Claude Vorilhon and the Eloha have a meal with the major prophets including Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed. A guide then showed Claude Vorilhon the installations which houses machines for creating biological robots. He gives a picture of his mother which the machine uses to create similarly-appearing biological robot. In the night, Claude Vorilhon is introduced to bedroom his other house at the Planet of the Eternals and then is presented young, mature female biological robots. Before having reaching a climax, Claude Vorilhon wears a helmet which plays music controlled by his thoughts which the females danced to. Then the climax happens.^[5]

In the morning of October 9, Claude Vorilhon takes a scented bath and that soon after, Yahweh Elohim (an extraterrestrial) presents Claude Vorilhon to a machine which maximized his faculties. Yahweh Elohim then gives advice to the one who has become Claude Raël. Claude Raël then spends a few more hours taking advantage of what that world had to offer while he was there, including meeting with the past messengers of the Elohim.^[5]

In the midnight of October 10 (Julian Date 2442695),^[1] six hundred threescore and six days after the first meeting with the Elohim and minutes after the last one, Claude Raël is back on Roc Plat.^[5]

In the afternoon of October 7, 1976, at la Negrerie of France, fifty Raëlians witnessed cotton-like substances falling from the sky^[6] which Rael says has a historical relationship to manna.^[2] Rael says that manna was a pulverized synthetic chemical food made by the Elohim, and that it was sent to Israelites on the ground in similar manner during their journey through an artificial passage in Red Sea formed by a repulsion beam.^[2]

In 1979, the Raëlian Movement held 3000 members.^[6]

[edit] 1980-1989

Recent copy of Sensual Meditation (since 1980) - Claude Raël's fifth book about Raëlism. Published by AOM Corporation of Japan.

In May 1983, Claude Raël stood in front of the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima, Japan.[7]

In 1980 Claude Raël's fifth Raelian book Sensual Meditation was published for the first time. It was also 7 years after Raël's purported first encounter with an Elohim that formal publication of the Raelian Messages in the Japanese language began.^[8]

In May 1983, Claude Raël visited a famous landmark that survived the atomic bombing at Hiroshima, Japan called Genbaku Dome.^[7]

[edit] 1990-1999

In Februrary 1991, the Raëlian symbol was finally modified to remove the swastika to help in negotiations with building the "Third Temple of Israel". The official reason given was a request from the Elohim to change the symbol in order to help in negotiations with Israel for the building of a Raëlian "embassy" or "third temple of Israel" to greet the anticipated Elohim space vessels, although Israel still denies their request.^[9]

In 1992, Montreal Catholic schools refused to put a condom vending machine on school grounds deeming it contrary to their mission. The Raëlians in response began distributing condoms to the students. The Commissioner of Catholic schools for Montreal accepted that they could do nothing to stop the distribution of condoms, which was dubbed by Raelians as "Operation Condom".^[10]

In July 1993, Betty Dodson came to a Raelian meeting titled "Yes to Masturbation" at a place in Montreal, Canada.^[11]

In 1994, rich Japanese Raëlians rented a race car and showed it to Raël. They believed that it would generate publicity for the movement. Raël accepted the offer on the condition that the funding must not come from member tithes or embassy funding. So the funding of Rael's races which took place in the 1990s and early 2000s came mostly from well endowed European and Japanese people.^[12]

In January 26, in emergency proceedings by the Appeal Court of Reims, Myriam Assan was accused of defamation by claiming in his book that "Raël was often sentenced for corruption of minors". Assan was given a sentence of 10,000FF in damages, provisionally, the withdrawal of the book, a penalty of 300FF per infringement, 5,000FF in proceedings costs and judicial publications in 'Le Monde' and 'Le Figaro'.^[13] In December 13 (21 years after the first encounter), Gérard Chol, director of 'Le Maine Libre', was declared guilty by the High Court of Le Mans for public defamation by claiming that the Raelian Movement was laundering dirty money coming from drug trafficking, prostitution, arms dealing, and the sale of pornographic videotapes. Gérard Chol was sentenced to pay 1FF in damages 3,000FF in proceedings costs and publication of the penal judgment in "Le Maine Libre".^[13]

In two separate court dates of September 2, 1994 at the High Courts of Paris and October 1, 1996 at the Appeal Court of Paris, journalists Jacques Cotta and Pascal Martin of Flammarion Publishing were found guilty of attributing racist statements and distorted quotations to Raël in their book "Dans le secret des sectes". They were fined 10,000FF in damages, 13,000FF in proceedings costs, insertion of stickers mentioning the sentence on copies not yet distributed, suppression of the passage in the next editions, and 100FF for each non conform copy.^[13]

[edit] 2000-2009

In June 2001, Raël's book Yes to Human Cloning was published by the Raelian Foundation.

In November, Rael retired from professional auto racing.^[12]

In December 26, 2002, a Raëlian inspired project called "Clonaid" announced its intention to clone a human being for the first time in history, though this goal was seen by medical professionals and scientists as unlikely given current technology. On December 26, 2002, French scientist and Raëlian Bishop Brigitte Boisselier claimed the Clonaid project had assisted in the birth of a girl through Cesarean section, the first of a supposed five total cloned babies.

By New Year 2003, the Clonaid story had spread like wildfire throughout the mainstream press. Claiming the possible destruction of the babies' right to live normally, they did not provide the press or authorities with proof of this birth, such as a chance to obtain DNA samples. Boisselier says that such evidence would lead to her incarceration in her country of birth, France, due to a new law that was introduced there, while putting at risk the parents and cloned babies.

In February 9, the purported birth of the first human clone (Eve) was celebrated by Japanese Raelians in Hiroshima.^[14]

In August 6, the first day of Raelian year 58 AH,^[15] a tech article on the USA Today newspaper mentions an "unlikely ally" of the Monsanto company, the Brazilian Raëlian Movement.^[16] Raelians in general are supporters of genetically modified food as well as other forms of genetic engineering.

In October 15, Clonaid says that five baby clones were born between 26 December 2002 and February 4, 2003 which are developing normally.^[17]

The year 2004 was promoted by the Raelian Movement as the year of atheism.^[18]

A full year after celebration of Eve's birth in Japan, Clonaid stated that a sixth clone baby was born in Australia on February 4, 2004.^[19] In March 28, Clonaid stated that eight new baby clones have been brought to term for a total of thirteen baby clones.^[20]

In March 13, 2005, according to Japan Today, "Japan is home to the largest chapter among 60,000 followers around the world claimed by the Raelian group."^[21]

In April 12, the Tuesday after the release of Raelian Contact 268,^[22] Rael and a few of his partners met with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. This meeting was reported on Raelian Contact 269.^[23]

In May 2006, the Associated Press in Seoul, Korea, reported thirty Raelians participating in a anti-war rally with some women, half-naked, wearing pasties.^[24] In that same year, the International Raelian Movement founded a public fundraising effort, Clitoraid, to pay for repairs of clitorises, especially for women in Africa where excision is rampant.^[25] IRM is a vocal advocate of the concept of a "United States of Africa" following a more honest and complete "decolonization" involving the disbanding of corrupt rulerships as a result of Africans returning to their non-Christian religious and territorial roots which existed before colonization by Europeans.^[26] In December 28, an article in Raelian Contact 325 suggested that the name of Africa be changed to "The United Kingdoms of Kama" to reflect the "need" to unite as a continent and to use traditional name given to the continent rather than the one given by colonizers.^[27]

In January 2007, two female Raëlians Lara Terstenjak and Nadine Gary present themselves for Clitoraid at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo.^[28][29][30] A month later, the UFOland headquarters compound in the small village of Maricourt, Quebec was put up for sale for $2.95 million (Can.), with the announced intention of shifting the headquarters to somewhere in the southern United States, possibly to Palm Springs, California.^[31][32]

[edit] Further reading

• Raël, Geniocracy. The Raelian Foundation, 2004.
• Raël, Maitreya. The Raelian Foundation, 2003.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Article on Raelians by the University of Virginia