Religions and extraterrestrial life how will we deal with it? David A. Weintraub

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weintraub, David A. (David Andrew), 1958- author.

Series:

Springer-Praxis books in popular astronomy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Life on other planets--Religious aspects.

Life on other planets.

Cosmology.

cosmology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cham Springer 2014

Summary:

In the twenty-first century, the debate about life on other worlds is quickly changing from the realm of speculation to the domain of hard science. Within a few years, as a consequence of the rapid discovery by astronomers of planets around other stars, astronomers very likely will have discovered clear evidence of life beyond the Earth. Such a discovery of extraterrestrial life will change everything. Knowing the answer as to whether humanity has company in the universe will trigger one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in history, not the least of which will be a challenge for at least some terrestrial religions. Which religions will handle the discovery of extraterrestrial life with ease and which will struggle to assimilate this new knowledge about our place in the universe? Some religions as currently practiced appear to only be viable on Earth. Other religions could be practiced on distant worlds but nevertheless identify both Earth as a place and humankind as a species of singular spiritual religious importance, while some religions could be practiced equally well anywhere in the universe by any sentient beings. Weintraub guides readers on an invigorating tour of the world's most widely practiced religions. It reveals what, if anything, each religion has to say about the possibility that extraterrestrial life exists and how, or if, a particular religion would work on other planets in distant parts of the universe

Contents:

Part I: Discovering Extrasolar Planets

Once Upon a Time

Pluralism Through Western History

The Discovery of the Century

Detecting Exoplanets

Are Angels Extraterrestrials?

Part II: Major Religions of the World and Extraterrestrial Life

Judaism

Setting the Stage for Modern Christianity

Roman Catholicism

Orthodox Christianity

The Church of England and the Anglican Communion

Mainline Protestant Christianity

Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christianity

From Christian Roots

Mormonism

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

Jainism

Sikhism

Bahá'í Faith

Are We Ready?

Appendix: The Exoplanets Revealed by the Kepler Mission Through 2013

Notes:

Includes indexes

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed July 31, 2014)

Other Format:

Printed edition:

ISBN:

9783319050560

3319050567

3319050559

9783319050553

OCLC:

884958855

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license