Origin 1955
The Aetherius Society was founded in 1955 by the British occultist George King, who reported receiving contact from an extraterrestrial intelligence he called Aetherius, one of a group of benevolent "Cosmic Masters" said to guide humanity's spiritual development, blending New Age, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian millenarian themes with UFO contact narratives. Headquartered in Los Angeles and London, it is widely regarded by scholars of new religious movements as the first major UFO-based religion and remains one of the longest continuously operating movements of its kind.
Facts
Trajectory
Membership Over TimeClark reported in 2006 that the Aetherius Society had between six and seven hundred paying members in the United Kingdom, distinct from a much larger UK mailing list of about eight thousand the same year. 2 Membership Over TimeSaliba and Tellefsen's own 2010 estimate put the Aetherius Society's full and associate membership at around 3,000 worldwide, a figure they noted as incomplete since it excludes membership on continents outside the group's main English-speaking base. 2 Membership Over TimeSmith reported in 2003 that the Aetherius Society had around 10,000 people on its mailing list in the United Kingdom alone. 2 Membership Figure As Of Membership Figure As Of Membership Figure As Of Basis of the Membership FigureScholarly or Demographic Estimate 2 Origins
Origin Period Place of OriginLondon, England, United Kingdom 1 Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Status TodayIn active religious use 1 Connections
Associated With
London, Cities This source names London directly: "Headquartered in Los Angeles and London, it is widely regarded by scholars of new religious movements as the first major UFO-based religion and remains one of the longest continuously operating..."
Source New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative SpiritualitiesChristopher Partridge (ed.)
This source names Los Angeles directly: "Headquartered in Los Angeles and London, it is widely regarded by scholars of new religious movements as the first major UFO-based religion and remains one of the longest continuously operating..."
Source New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative SpiritualitiesChristopher Partridge (ed.)
Founded By
Source New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative SpiritualitiesChristopher Partridge (ed.)
Objects and Practices of This Tradition
Outside archival footage of the Society's own members at a service they hold sacred; stance associated because it documents the body from outside rather than being the Society's own commissioned production.
Source The Aetherius Society at Holdstone Down (BFI Player)
Originated In
Source New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative SpiritualitiesChristopher Partridge (ed.)
Related To
Studied By
Source New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative SpiritualitiesChristopher Partridge (ed.)
Sources
1. New Religions: A Guide, New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities
Christopher Partridge (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2004- s.v. Aetherius Society
- Originated In: United Kingdom, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: London, England, United Kingdom
2. Saliba and Tellefsen, Aetherius Society (World Religions and Spirituality Project, 2012)
John A. Saliba and Amanda J. Tellefsen, World Religions and Spirituality Project (WRSP), 2012View the Source Divinity Atlas Entity Records, First Edition
Aetherius Society (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn Group: UFO Movements (New Religious Movements), Lead sentence, classQuote, In Group: UFO Movements (New Religious Movements), Lead sentence, class
The Aetherius Society is a new religious movement founded by George King in the mid-1950s, being the result of what King claimed were contacts with extraterrestrial intelligences whom he referred to as "Cosmic Masters".
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