THE JOURNAL OF ASTROSOCIOLOGY VOLUME 1

the great ladder of beings. David Weintraub’s findings are largely consistent with those ofMcAdamis, but also showed tremendous variability across Christian groups (Weintraub, 2014).In Weintraub’s view, some religions could be put to the test if extraterrestrial life is not found toexist. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormon theology wrote, “We are not the only people that theLord has created; we have brothers and sisters on other worlds” (Weintraub, 2014: 153). UnderMormon theology, human bodies are mortal, but human spirits lives on as gods on these otherworlds.Worldviews are not to be confused with individual attitudes or beliefs, which aresymptomatic of, but not always rooted in, worldviews. Rather, worldviews are complex dynamicsystems such that an attack on a particular manifestation of the worldview sometimes threatensthe worldview as a whole. Relinquishing a faith-based belief in creationism or an absolutecertainty that humanity is central to God’s design is not simply a change of opinion (Goode,2011). It is tantamount to walking away from the religion of people you know and love anddropping out of a supportive community. It is acquiescing to an assault on revered religiousleaders and texts, retracting repeated affirmations of faith, renouncing a habitual and comfortableway of life, and, in some cases, abandoning hope for salvation and eternal life. Waffling in theface of dissonant information makes the world seem less benevolent, less meaningful, and lessfair, and casts doubt over one’s place in the grand scheme of things.Should we be surprised that attacks on beliefs that lay close to a person’s mentalconstruction of reality are dismissed or met with a counterattack? While people differ in terms oftheir openness to new ideas and experiences, it is doubtful that many welcome the destruction ofingrained core beliefs that give them a sense of security and comfort under alarming conditions.Collapsed worldviews have been linked to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Janoff-Bullman,1992). Over time, perhaps alone or more likely assisted by therapy, it may be possible toconstruct a new worldview built around new realities, but the process is painful and timeconsuming and the outcome uncertain.Religious fundamentalists are not the only group put at risk by the discovery ofextraterrestrial life. Discoveries or claimed discoveries that are inconsistent with today’s scienceare typically dismissed as observational errors, fabrications, or anomalies of little consequence.For most scientists, claims of the paranormal such as extrasensory perception, out-of-bodyexperiences, and UFOs cannot be taken at face value because there is no “good” (i.e. scientific)explanation for them. Rather, they are attributed to magical thinking, the operation ofsupernatural powers, and supernatural powers do not exist. Therefore, such phenomena areimpossible. But what would happen if future discoveries show that the universe is not so neatlyordered as we currently think? What if extraterrestrial science was beyond our comprehension orran counter to our present rational-empirical views? Scientists were the second group mentionedin the congressional report. Buried away in a footnote, Jeff Levin (2012:274) found thefollowing:It has been speculated that, of all groups, scientists and engineers might be themost devastated by the discovery of relatively superior creatures, since theseprofessions are the most clearly associated with the mastery of nature rather thanwith the understanding and expression of man. Advanced understanding or naturemight vitiate all our theories at the very least, if not also require a culture and© 2015 Astrosociology Research Institute21