When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group

Tumminia, Diana G.

ISBN 10: 0195176758 / ISBN 13: 9780195176759

Published by OUP USA, 2005

About this Item

Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups, and this is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion. Num Pages: 240 pages, 22 halftones, 1 line illus. BIC Classification: HRA; HRQA. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 232 x 158 x 24. Weight in Grams: 516. . 2005. Illustrated. hardcover. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780195176759

Bibliographic Details

• Title: When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group
• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195176758
• ISBN 13: 9780195176759
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups. Founded in 1954 by "Cosmic Visionaries" Ruth and Ernest Norman (also known, respectively, as Archangels Uriel and Raphiel), Unarius is devoted to teaching the all-encompassing Uranian Science. Combining elements of pop psychology, new age thought, and science fiction, the Science asks its students to channel messages from the infinitely intelligent Space Brothers and to heal themselves through the practice of past-life therapy. Unarians await the arrival of spaceships, manned by the Space Brothers, that will bring to earth advanced intergalactic technology that will benefit all humankind. Tumminia has been conducting research on Unarius for over a decade - attending meetings, inteviewing members, and studying official Unarian literature and videos. Here she offers an inside look at this fascinating movement. She pays particular attention to the ways Unarians adapt when their prophecies - and particularly their prediction that the Space Brothers would land in 2001 - don't materialize. This is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion.

About the Author

Diana G. Tumminia teaches at California State University at Sacramento, where she won the Outstanding Teaching Award in 2000 for instruction in social psychology and social theory. She studied with the eminent theorist Ralph H. Turner at UCLA. She has written extensively on New Religious Movements and the contactee phenomenon.