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Raël

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Raël is the leader of the Raëlian Movement.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea

This is an international group of people. They follow a belief system centered on visitors from space. Raël was born Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon on 30 September 1946. He grew up in France and lived in a home with his grandmother. Before he became a religious leader, he had many different jobs. He worked as a pop singer named Claude Celler. He also worked as a journalist for a sports car magazine called Autopop.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea

Raël says his life changed in December 1973. He claims he saw a bright light in a French volcanic crater. He says a shiny metal craft came down from the sky. According to Raël, an extraterrestrial being named Yahweh came out of the craft. This being spoke to him in French. Raël says his mission is to share a message with all people on Earth. He believes these visitors are called the Elohim. He says they are very advanced scientists from another planet.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea

Raël has written several books about these encounters. One book is called "Extraterrestrials Took Me To Their Planet." In his writings, he says the Elohim created all life on Earth. He believes they used DNA manipulation to do this. Raël says the Elohim sent about 40 prophets to Earth in the past. He thinks humans changed the messages of these prophets over time. Now, he wants to build a special embassy in a neutral place. This would be a home for the extraterrestrials to visit us.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea

Raël also has many ideas about the future of technology. He believes that humans are not made to work jobs. He thinks machines should do the hard work for us. This would let people spend time thinking and being creative. He wrote a book called "Yes to Human Cloning" in 2001. In it, he discusses using science to stop sickness and hunger. He thinks nanotechnology could help us grow food in machines. He even thinks we could have self-cleaning furniture made of special fibers.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea

Raël has lived a very busy life with many different interests. He was a professional car racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He drove cars like the Mosler Raptor and the Viper GTS R. In 1997, he even finished in 3rd place at Lime Rock. However, not everyone agrees with everything he says. Some people have accused him of plagiarism. They claim he took ideas from other writers like Jean Sendy. Others have questioned if his stories about space are true.

A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea
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