God and Astrobiology

The perception that life on other planets would be problematic for religious people and indeed for religion itself is a longstanding one. It is partially rooted in fact: astrobiological speculations have on occasion engendered religious controversies. Historical discussions are often far more nuanced and less one-sided than often imagined. ''Exotheology'' is a lively subdiscipline within several religious traditions. This Element offers a wide-ranging introduction to the multifarious ''problems of God and astrobiology'' real and perceived. It covers major topics within Christian theology (e.g. creation incarnation salvation) as well as issues specific to Judaism Islam Buddhism and Hinduism. It also discusses the very different perspectives offered by other (non)religious traditions including Mormonism various ''alien-positive'' new religious movements (e.g. Heaven''s Gate Scientology Ralism) and the ''Ancient Astronaunt'' theories popularized by Erich von Dniken and the History channel''s Ancient Aliens.