| Worldwide Modern era |
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| Full name | Claude Vorilhon |
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| Birth | September 30, 1946 Vichy, Allier, France[1] |
| School/tradition | Raëlism |
| Main interests | auto racing, Universal morality |
| Notable ideas | Sensual Meditation, Geniocracy, Raëlian cosmology |
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Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon[2] (born September 30, 1946 in Vichy, Allier, France)[1] is the founder and leader of the recent religion known as Raëlism.
Raël was a singer at a young age and soon became a sports-car journalist and test driver for his own car-racing magazine, Auto Pop.[3][4] Following an alleged extraterrestrial encounter in December of 1973, he formed the Raëlian Movement and changed his name to Raël (allegedly meaning "messenger of the elohim"). He later published several books, which detail his claims of an encounter with a being called Yahweh in 1973.[5] For some 30 years he has traveled the world promoting his books.[6] His movement now claims that it has approximately 80,000 members in 90 countries.[7]
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Vorilhon born in Vichy, France. He was raised in Ambert in the home of his maternal grandmother, who was atheist.[8] He attended a Catholic boarding school with Le Puy-en-Velay, and caused a scandal by taking part in communion without being baptized. His parents withdrew him from the boarding school to put him in the school of Ambert.[8]
At fifteen Vorilhon ran away from boarding school and hitchedhiked to Paris, where he spent three years playing music on the streets and in the cafés and cabarets of Paris. He then had a fateful meeting with Lucien Morisse, the director of a national radio program, who was scouting for young talent. Claude signed a record contract and became a rising teen pop star on the radio. He took on a new identity, assuming the name Claude Celler, put out many records, and wrote a hit song, "La miel et la cannelle" (Honey and Cinnamon).[9] He was saving up his money to buy a racing car, a dream he'd had since he was a young boy, but his prospects as a singer came to an abrupt end. Lucien Morisse, his sponsor, committed suicide in September 1970.[10] Vorilhon had a passion for songs of Belgian singer Jacques Brel, and tried to imitate his singing style.[8]
Vorilhon decided to work as a sports journalist to gain access to the exclusive world of car racing. He met Marie-Paul Cristini, a nurse.[10] In 1970 they were betrothed in Paris, France with Marie-Paul assuming the new name Christine Vorilhon.[11] They moved to Clermont-Ferrand where Vorilhon began his own publishing house.[12] He created a sports car magazine entitled Autopop whose first issue began in May 1971.[13] One of the tasks for his new startup was the position of testing new automobiles, which enabled him to enter the motor racing world.[12]
In the book Le Livre qui dit la vérité ("The Book Which Tells the Truth"), Vorilhon claimed he had an alien visitation in December 13, 1973. According to Vorilhon, in a secluded area within a French volcanic crater, an extraterrestrial being came out of a craft which had descended gently from the sky, and told him, in French, that he had come for the sole purpose of meeting with him. Vorilhon claims he was given a message by this alien and told that it was his mission to pass this message on to the people of Earth.[14]
The book claims that advanced human scientists from another planet with 25,000 years of scientific advances created all life on Earth through DNA manipulation.[15][16] These scientists, Vorilhon says, were originally called Elohim or "those who came from the sky"[17] and that some forty[18] prophets in Earth's history were sent by Elohim,[19] but their messages were distorted[20] by humans, largely because of the difference in the level of civilization between the advanced race and our primitive one.[21]
Vorilhon claims he was given the mission of informing the world of humanity's origins in anticipation of the return of these extraterrestrials by building a residential embassy in neutral territory.[22] He claims that certain mysteries were explained to him based on new interpretations of sacred texts such as the Bible.[23] He made the claim that on October 7, 1975 he was contacted by an Elohim who took him to another planet where he met Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and received teachings passed on in his second book Les extra-terrestres m'ont emmené sur leur planète ("Extraterrestrials Took Me To Their Planet"). In this book, Vorhilhon describes harmonious and peaceable beings who were free of money, sickness, and war.[24]
Vorilhon has married different women over time.[25]
In 1973, Marie-Paul Cristini was pregnant with her first child by Vorilhon, a daughter named Aurore. Cristini later stated, "I was married to clone cult leader Raël 15 years. He wrecked my life and our children's." In 1974, Vorilhon decided to give up automobile magazine Autopop.[3] On that September, the last issue, number 34, was published.[13] Vorilhon then devoted himself to the task allegedly given by his "biological father", an extraterrestrial named Yahweh.[26] Shortly after a first public conference, Vorilhon founded MADECH - a group of people interested in helping him in his task, which later became the International Raëlian Movement.[27] Vorilhon and Marie-Paul had 2 children.[11] Marie-Paul became upset as a result of women having sex with him in their house.[11]
Vorilhon's marriage with Marie-Paul continued to worsen as he would only be home half the time.[11] Eventually Marie-Paul gave Vorilhon an ultimatum, "You have to choose between me and the movement." He chose the movement, and by 1985 the two divorced after 15 years of marriage.[11] However, sociologist Susan J. Palmer, said nurse Marie-Paul diagnosed Vorilhon as clinically depressed, after he appeared at her door step in 1987, being burned out from the tasks he carried out within the movement.[28]
Vorilhon focused on spreading his message in Japan in the 1980s, and by 1987, he and Lisa Sunagawa met. Lisa soon began accompanying Vorilhon during his travels to Lima, Miami, Brazil, and Martinique. In a television documentary, They're Coming! (1990) by Radio Canada, Vorilhon was seen with four women,[29] while Lisa, in slow-motion, wore a pink tutu and held hands with him.[25]
Vorilhon separated from Lisa some time between 1990 and 1992. Around that time, Sophie, whose mother and aunt were both Raëlians, was convinced of the authenticity of the messages. Sophie received a Raëlian baptism at age fifteen. When she turned sixteen years of age, Sophie married Vorilhon at Montreal's city hall. This was done with her mother's permission. During a December 2001 interview with sociologist Susan J. Palmer, Sophie spoke positively regarding Vorilhon even though they had divorced the previous year.[30] In 2003, he was married to Sophie de Niverville.[31] On August 6, 2003, the Cybercast News Service said Vorilhon moved back to Canada with his wife Sophie de Niverville after being escorted out of South Korea by government officials.[31]
In 1994, wealthy Japanese Raëlians rented a race car and showed it to Claude Vorilhon. They believed that if Vorilhon would race it, it would generate publicity for the movement. Vorilhon accepted the offer on the condition that the funding must not come from member tithes or embassy funding. So the funding of Vorilhon's races which took place in the 1990s and early 2000s came mostly from well funded European and Japanese people.[32] His best finishes included "a 3rd place finish in GT 1 in Lime Rock with the Mosler Raptor in 1997, and a 7th place finish at Watkins Glen with a Viper GTS R in the FIA GT 1999 race."[33] Vorilhon, under the name of Raël, participated in the 1999 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series and the 2000 Speedvision GT Championship. According to Canadian sociologist Susan J. Palmer, Vorilhon made an announcement in November 2001 that he intended to retire from professional auto racing. She said that Vorilhon still enjoyed automobile racing, albeit in the form of video games.[32]
| Round | Date | Car | Start | Finish | Laps | Track | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two | May 23, 1999 | Chevrolet | 21st | 19th | 35 out of 40 | Mosport International Raceway | Motorsport.com[34] |
| Three | May 31, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 32nd | Lime Rock Park | Motorsport.com[35] | ||
| Four | June 6, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 32nd | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Motorsport.com[36] | ||
| Five | July 10, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 38th | Road America | Motorsport.com[37] | ||
| Six | July 25, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 44th | Road Atlanta | Motorsport.com[38] | ||
| Seven | August 1, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 45th | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Motorsport.com[39] | ||
| Eight | August 7, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 47th | Detroit street circuit | Motorsport.com[40] | ||
| September 4, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 50th | Molson Indy Vancouver | Motorsport.com[41] | |||
| Eleven | September 25, 1999 | Chevrolet Camaro | 52nd | Grand Prix of Houston | Motorsport.com[42] |
| Round | Date | Car | Start | Finish | Laps | Track | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | April 1, 2000 | Lotus Esprit | 29th | 32nd | 15 out of 29 | Lowe's Motor Speedway | Motorsport.com[43] |
| Two | May 21, 2000 | Lotus Esprit | 31st | 18th | 27 out of 27 | Mosport International Raceway | Motorsport.com[44] |
| Three | May 27, 2000 | Lotus Esprit | 38th | Lime Rock Park | Motorsport.com[45] | ||
| Eight | October 15, 2000 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 32nd | 25th | 25 out of 26 | Laguna Seca Raceway | Motorsport.com[46] |
| Nine | October 29, 2000 | Porsche 911 GT3 | 25th | 25th | 29 out of 30 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Motorsport.com[47] |
Much of Vorilhon's advocacy concerning more futuristic technology is described in his 2001 book, Yes to Human Cloning. He believes decisions involving human genetic engineering should be taken in order to avoid genetically inherited diseases as well as to put less of an economic burden on society, and that no distinctive emphasis needs to be allocated to a particular race or religion.[48][49] Elsewhere in this book, he says nanotechnology will make it possible to have micro-distributive power generation (effectively a power plant in each house), fur-like furnishings that are self-cleaning with hair-like fibers that move on their own,[50] and even biological robots.[51] Nanostructures control biology, so Vorilhon expects someday that meat and salads will be grown in a machine via molecular construction.[52][53]
Vorilhon believes that the present reality of genetically modified food is the only way to stop hunger everywhere in the world, and he sees a future where qualities of different foods can be combined through direct genetic modification.[54] In Vorilhon's book, Extraterrestrials took me to their planet (book number 2 in the volume Intelligent Design), he said that animation of plant life was possible through nanotechnology and that he was presented genetically modified flowers on another planet that swayed and changed colors with music.[55]
In 1992, Vorilhon appeared on "Ciel mon Mardi", a French TV talk show hosted by the popular journalist Christophe Dechavanne. Towards the end of the show, Vorilhon’s liberal views on sex were critiqued by a priest, a social worker, and a psychologist. A former Raëlian named Jean Parraga believed his wife and children were being held like prisoners and that Vorilhon attempted to break up his family. He thought they were being treated like criminals in activities such as orgies and sacrifice involving children at the Sensual Meditation camp. However, Parraga also had a criminal record as a drug dealer and car thief. In August 1992, Parraga attempted to shoot and murder Vorilhon.[56]
Raëlians from around the world sent letters of protest to Dechevanne’s TV station. Dechavanne felt that this was "incitement to violence" and sued Vorilhon. The judge appointed to the case decided to call Vorilhon in for questioning. Vorilhon then agreed to ask his members to stop sending letters if the station apologized publicly . The two parties agreed to drop the feud.[56]
In 2004, Vorilhon appeared on the first airing of the Canadian (Quebec) version of the popular French talk show Tout le monde en parle hosted by Guy A. Lepage. During this appearance Vorilhon made statements on democracy and cloning that caused uneasiness and upset amongst the panel members. The situation reached its peak when caricaturist Serge Chapleau called Vorilhon a "farce" and a "nerd", ridiculed his clothes, and grabbed him by the chignon. Vorilhon left the stage followed by his disciples. A fellow guest at the same show, péquiste Member of Quebec Legislative Assembly Pauline Marois, called Vorilhon "insane". Thereafter, the Raëlian Movement asked Pauline Marois to apologize, which she refused.
A Swiss newspaper that called Raëlians "rat heads" was sued for defamation. Another suit was brought against journalist Stephane Baillargeon for writing in the Montreal daily Le Devoir that the Raëlians defended pedophiles and that certain ex-Raëlians claimed the "gourou" liked very young girls. After some negotiation, Le Devoir published a letter from Vorilhon condemning the charge as "ignominious defamation" and asserting that the Raëlian Movement had "always condemned pedophilia and promoted respect for laws that justly forbid the practices that are always the fault of unbalanced individuals."[56]
Michel Onfray was offered by Vorilhon the title of Honorary Guides of the Raëlian Movement, which he refused. Onfray was disgusted with the idea of trying to justify himself when speaking of what he thought to be small acts by mentally ill Raëlians. He did not like the fact that media had put them on the spotlight. He described Vorilhon as a source of "foul smelling rubbish" and says he does not support any religion or cult.[57]
In 1991, Vorilhon sued French journalist Jean-Yves Cashga for defamation; however, he lost and was ordered to pay court costs. The judgment remains uncollected. Amidst growing legal problems Vorilhon decided to leave France, emigrating to Canada, where he is currently a resident.
On 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 Vorilhon 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.[58]
On January 26, 1994, 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'.[58]
On December 13, 1994, Gérard Chol, director of 'Le Maine Libre', was declared guilty by the High Court of Le Mans for public defamation by claiming that the Vorilhon's 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".[58]
In 2003, Vorilhon sued Ottawa columnist Denis Gratton and Le Droit newspaper for $85,000 in defamation damages over a January 23, 2003 column; however, he lost and was ordered to pay court costs by Quebec Superior Court on June 21, 2006.[59]
In response to Claude Vorilhon's association with Clonaid, South Korean immigration authorities at the airport denied him entry into their country in 2003.[60] This planned Raëlian seminar continued with Vorilhon making some brief 'big screen' video-cam appearances via Internet for the several hundred who attended. Raëlians of South Korea were instructed by Raël to protest near the Ministry of Health and Welfare that ordered him to leave.[60][31]
Officials detained Vorilhon for nine hours at Incheon International Airport before he and his wife Sophie de Niverville left for Tokyo from where they would take another plane on their way back to Canada. Vorilhon responded by saying that Korean officials treated him like a "North Korean" and that he would wait for an apology before coming back to Korea.[31]
Raëlians say they encourage adult homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual relationships and that society should recognize them legally.[61] However, government authorities such as those in Switzerland fear that Raëlians are a threat to public morals for supporting liberalized sex education for children. The authorities believe that such liberalized sex education teaches youth how to obtain sexual gratification which would encourage sexual abuse of underage children.[2] The Raëlians disagree with those fears and stated that sex education done properly would involve educating parents as well as children.[62]
Nevertheless, in February 2007, Vorhilon was denied residence in the Swiss Canton Valais for promoting the concept of sexual liberty and sexual education since it led to fears that he may do harm to children. Another reason was his association with the Clonaid human cloning claim; Switzerland forbade human cloning. Vorhilon wanted to have commercial activities with the local vintners. In a brief statement, Vorhilon said he considered appeal at the European level.[2]
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Claude, Vorilhon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Raël |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Author of Raëlism and founder and current leader of the Raëlian Movement. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vichy, Allier, France |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |