Theologians of different religions addressed how the faithful would react to possible extraterrestrial contact .
The NASA hired theologians, experts in knowledge of gods, as part of a study of the reactions of societies to possible contact with extraterrestrial life .
The news was confirmed by the Reverend Andrew Davison, a Cambridge University theologian and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Oxford.
Davison will publish a book entitled ‘Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine’, in which he will cover part of the joint spiritual exploration of CTI and NASA, reports The Times .
So that?
The NASA brought together 24 theologians at the Theological Research Center in Princeton for one year program called “The Social Implications of astrobiology” in 2016, reports the middle. The group was tasked with addressing how exactly religions would respond to the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
However, the results are not as catastrophic as previously thought.
“The main findings are that adherents of a variety of religious traditions report that they can take the idea in stride,” said Reverend Davison.
He also added that the non-religious community in general tends to “overestimate the challenges that religious people” would encounter if we ever discovered evidence of extraterrestrial life.
A rabbi, an imam and another Anglican priest also told The Times that Christian, Jewish and Islamic doctrine “would be fine” if extraterrestrial life were discovered .
The search for extraterrestrial life has fascinated humanity for centuries. As the tools of modern science have become more and more available, scientists have taken an informed look at the universe for clues.
There are several candidates in our own solar system. Scientists believe that Europa, the icy moon of the planet Jupiter , has liquid oceans beneath its surface that can support life. Scientists also think that microbes exist in the clouds of Venus .
Only recently the James Webb Space Telescope was launched , the main space telescope of humanity that will replace the aging Hubble Space Telescope. Soon we will be able to see corners of the universe that were previously unobservable to us. Will you find clues in the universe that we are not alone?