Reviews
"Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."-- ournal For The Scientific Study of Religion, "Well-crafted and very clearly written. Succinct and stimulation. I whole-heartedly recommend tihs book to scholars of new religious movements and others." -- Sociology of Religion "Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."-- ournal For The Scientific Study of Religion, "Well-crafted and very clearly written. Succinct and stimulation. I whole-heartedly recommend tihs book to scholars of new religious movements and others." --Sociology of Religion "Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."-- ournal For The Scientific Study of Religion, "Well-crafted and very clearly written. Succinct and stimulation. I whole-heartedly recommend tihs book to scholars of new religious movements and others." --Sociology of Religion"Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."--ournal For The Scientific Study of Religion"Well-crafted and very clearly written. Succinct and stimulation. I whole-heartedly recommend tihs book to scholars of new religious movements and others." --Sociology of Religion"Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."--Journal For The Scientific Study of Religion"This book summarizes years of study of a fascinating new religious movement that offers important insights concerning the manner in which otherwise normal people who are attracted to minority faiths construct their worldviews and maintain them in the face of widespread social disconfirmations. Tumminia's work makes a real contribution to an increasingsocial concern-understanding our neighbors who have chosen a very different way to make their way throughlife." -- J. Gordon Melton, Institute for the Study of American Religion"The fruit of many years of research, this is a truly outstanding contribution to studies of new religions in general and UFO religions in particular. Combining rigorous sociological analysis, sensitive ethnography, and warm empathy, this is both a thoroughly enjoyable book to read-a book that draws the reader into the world of Unarius-and also one of the most helpful, careful, and detailed academic studies of a UFO religion that I have come across. All who areinterested in the dynamics of new religious belief should read this important and fascinating study. " --Christopher Partridge, editor of New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects andAlternative Spiritualities"Diana Tumminia's When Prophecy Never Fails presents a compelling account of a twentieth-century flying-saucer movement that is academically sophisticated while remaining accessible to the general public. A compelling read and valuable contribution to the literature on New Religious Movements." -- William H. Swatos, Jr., Senior Fellow, Center for Religious Inquiry Across the Disciplines (CRIAD), Baylor University, "Well-crafted and very clearly written. Succinct and stimulation. I whole-heartedly recommend tihs book to scholars of new religious movements and others." --Sociology of Religion"Rich in detailed description and thoroughly developed dialogue, this book will also be a useful teaching tool for courses on ethnography or religion."--ournal For The Scientific Study of Religion
Synopsis
Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups. Founded in 1954 by "Cosmic Visionaries" Ruth and Ernest Norman (also known, respectively, as Archangels Uriel and Raphiel), Unarius is devoted to teaching the all-encompassing Uranian Science. Combining elements of pop psychology, new age thought,and science fiction, the Science asks its students to channel messages from the infinitely intelligent Space Brothers and to heal themselves through the practice of past-life therapy. Unarians await thearrival of spaceships, manned by the Space Brothers, that will bring to earth advanced intergalactic technology that will benefit all humankind. Tumminia has been conducting research on Unarius for over a decade - attending meetings, inteviewing members, and studying official Unarian literature and videos. Here she offers an inside look at this fascinating movement. She pays particular attention to the ways Unarians adapt when their prophecies - and particularly their prediction that the SpaceBrothers would land in 2001 - don't materialize. This is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion., Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups. Founded in 1954 by "Cosmic Visionaries" Ruth and Ernest Norman (also known, respectively, as Archangels Uriel and Raphiel), Unarius is devoted to teaching the all-encompassing Uranian Science. Combining elements of pop psychology, new age thought, and science fiction, the Science asks its students to channel messages from the infinitely intelligent Space Brothers and to heal themselves through the practice of past-life therapy. Unarians await the arrival of spaceships, manned by the Space Brothers, that will bring to earth advanced intergalactic technology that will benefit all humankind. Tumminia has been conducting research on Unarius for over a decade - attending meetings, inteviewing members, and studying official Unarian literature and videos. Here she offers an inside look at this fascinating movement. She pays particular attention to the ways Unarians adapt when their prophecies - and particularly their prediction that the Space Brothers would land in 2001 - don't materialize. This is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion., Of the approximately fifty percent of Americans who believe in UFOs, a fraction are devotees of one of the numerous UFO-based new religious movements. The Unarius Academy of Science is one of the oldest of these groups, and this is the first in-depth study of any UFO religion.
