"You’d better pray to the Lord when you see those flying saucers

It may be the coming of the judgement day…"

– Charles Green & Cy Cohen, "When You See Those Flying Saucers" – Oct 1947.


Since the 1950s, the dominant, and certainly the most popular, hypothesis in ufological and public discourse has been that flying saucers and their occupants represent highly intelligent visitations from outer space. From an early stage – with a few exceptions – the majority of ufologists appear to have believed the nature and intentions of the "visitors" were benevolent – either to keep an eye on our progress towards joining the ‘intergalactic federation’ or to warn us that our nuclear experiments were "upsetting the balance of the Universe".

But even proponents of the Extra-Terrestrial Hypothesis (or ETH) have had to contemplate the effect that open contact with an ET race might have upon human societies, particularly in its spiritual implications.