How RAELIANS fit in the CONSPIRACY THEORY universe ;)

Rael's Progressive Patronizing Parasitism of Science

The paper titled NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND SCIENCE: RAEL'S PROGRESSIVE PATRONIZING PARASITISM by Stefano Bigliardi appears in the journal of religion and science, Zygon® (March 2015, Volume 50, Issue 1, pages 64–83).

The abstract as published is as follows:

The article examines the concoction of religion and “science” contained in the revelation that substantiates a new religion: Raelianism, founded and led by the prophet Claude Vorilhon/Rael after having received a revelation in 1974. After a detailed examination both of Rael's prophetic message and his/the Raelians’ interpretative practices, an ad hoc model is presented to describe such concoction (“progressive patronizing parasitism”), and it is compared to other models. It is in particular claimed that Rael, while seemingly talking about “science,” is actually constructing a science-fictional and even pseudoscientific narrative. The article finally raises the question whether the discussion of the science–religion interaction from the viewpoint of traditional religions can be considered to be immune to the usage of such rhetorical devices.

The paper describes how Rael engages with the concept of science/technology and uses 3 interrelated aspects to make Raelian doctrine appear to be scientific (and therefore, rational and factual), that of being (1) progressive, (2) patronizing, and (3) parasitic. The following is an overview, expressed in my own understanding, of what Dr. Bigliardi means by using these specific terms:

[RAEL FAIL] Geniocracy and Humanitarianism replaced by Direct Democracy and Paradism

One of the fundamental tenets of Raelism is to establish Geniocracy, which is a form of a selective representative government comprised exclusively of super-intelligent people (having an IQ above 50% of the average) elected by an above-average intelligent electorate (having an IQ above 10% of the average). The rationale behind this imperative dictated in 1974 is that:

Votes only have a positive effect when there is an equivalence of knowledge and intellect. Copernicus was condemned by a majority of incompetent people because he was the only one at that time who had a sufficiently high level of comprehension. Although the Church- that is to say the majority - believed the Earth was the center of the universe, this turned out to be wrong. The Earth really revolved around the sun, and Copernicus - the minority - turned out to be right. (Intelligent Design, p. 96)

In his book dedicated to the subject published in 1978, Rael writes:

And why are those governing us so incompetent? 

They’re  incompetent  because  they  were  elected  for  their  job democratically. Pure democracy cannot take voter intelligence into account, which means the voice of an Einstein is given no greater weight than that of an idiot. And since there are far more idiots than Einsteins,  we  find  ourselves  under  the  dictatorship  of  idiocy. (Geniocracy, p. xv)

In other words, Rael is alluding to the dangers in the tyranny of the masses, wherein the majority of a population not only may place its interests above those of an individual or minority group, constituting active oppression comparable to that of tyrants and despots, but how the majority necessarily gravitates towards average intelligence which he dismisses collectively as "idiots". Geniocracy, then, is essentially a "dictatorship of genius".

Geniocracy assumes that a minority of geniuses will always be fair and make the right decisions for all concerned... kind of like a benevolent dictator of sorts who would take care of the people who can't help themselves because of their inferior intelligence.

Yet, in Rael's latest book published in 2001, that focuses on the paradisaical world we could soon achieve through technology, much like the advanced civilization of the creator-ETs known as the Elohim in the mythos of Raelism, he hypocritically advocates Pure Democracy through the use of the Internet:

People could go to a Web page that would display the latest information on old laws which need revision or amending, and new laws which require approval. The Web page could include each party’s position on these laws, as well as links to the advice of specialists in the field. Then, every citizen would be able to vote directly via the internet.

The government should be ready to accept and implement the decisions made by the population.

This is a true direct democracy made possible by technology.. [ ].. This  will ensure a true democracy by which the people can only gain. (Yes to Human Cloning, pp. 85-86)