By Eric Remacle – November 2009, updated March 2020 – Raelian Guide
1) First, because the Raelians fully respect the national laws of their countries as recommended by their religious writings and their leader Rael, in several declarations :
« Human laws are indispensable, and you will respect them, while seeing to it that those that are unfair or obsolete are changed ».Books: “Intelligent Design”, (hard copy) p. 266 (digital copy), p. 179
« (…) Mystical-religious delusions do not give the right not to respect the laws of democratic countries or Human Rights ».
« Being a Raelian means advocating for changes in laws while scrupulously respecting those in force. ». Raël, translated from the Raelian liaison bulletin “Apocalypse International” N°109, p. 06 – 2nd trimester 1999.
« The Raelian Movement encourages its followers to respect the laws. But it also recommends that they campaign to change the laws that have become obsolete as a result of changes in morals and society. Political advocacy for law change is a civic duty and an eminently democratic act. Every human being has a duty to respect the laws and the right to advocate for their change while respecting them until they are repealed or amended. »
Prorael.org / Proud to be Raelian Website.
2) Because no text or speech encouraging the paedophiliac act has ever been written or spoken. Given the careful monitoring of religious minorities, such a deviation within our organization would have been immediately known and severely condemned. There would be thousands of convictions if this were the case.
3) Because the presence of children is prohibited during the Raelian seminars and there is no such thing as a Raelian community anywhere in the world. (In addition, you need, to be an adult in order to make your Raelian baptism.)
4) Furthermore because many firm condemnations of pedophilia, by Rael himself as well as by the Raelian leaders are present in the Raelian writings (books, special brochures, websites, video documentaries, etc.)
Thus for examples :
a. in the Apocalypse International magazine (Raelian liaison bulletin), N°126, in the year 2002, p. 09, and in the worldwide electronic newsletter Contact, N°150, March 2002, p. 02, one can read this article by Rael summarizing very clearly his constant position on the subject: “… Let it be said and repeated: “Pedophiles are not welcomed in our organization.” And if there are any, we must hunt them down because the Messages that we have the duty to spread are too beautiful to let our organization be sullied by the behavior of a few mentally deranged.”
b. on August 25, 2000, in a press release: “The Raelian religion, for the prevention of pedophilia through sexual education,” Rael states: “Pedophilia is a reprehensible abomination and is a matter of psychiatric care. One of the best ways to address it would be to strengthen sex education in schools, adding a chapter on the prevention of pedophilia, informing potential young victims of what they should not accept and to whom they can turn for protection, in case this happens.”
c. in a text entitled “Warning to pedophiles”, which is present on every official Raelian website since 2007: “… It is very clear for the Raelian Philosophy that pedophilia is a sign of mental illness and that it will never be tolerated within the organization. Any member, regardless of rank, guilty of such conduct shall be excluded and reported to the legal authorities.”
In recent years, the Raelian Movement and its leader have explicitly condemned pedophilia, certainly more than sixty times (via press releases, various publications, websites, courts, etc.), which shows that the Raelian religion is undoubtedly the religion in the world that most denounces this mental illness. It could not be more explicit.
5) Because the Raelian Movement has always fought against pedophilia, denouncing it as a serious psychiatric disease and taking action against pedophiles, as can be seen from the creation, in 2001, of the Nopedo association Nopedo. The introductory page of this site states: “…We demand that a special pedagogic prevention course, developed by specialized psychologists and including this contact address, be given to children from the first years of school, in order to teach them how to protect themselves against sexual abuse.”
6) Because the very few very rare cases of child molesting among Raelian religious leaders (which statistically happens in any movement of a certain) were immediately expelled from the members concerned and reported to police authorities; which is not the case in some very well-known religious organizations.
“I am in favour of denouncing all pedophiles, regardless of their religion, even if there were some among the Raelians. Children are sacred to us and must be protected.” Rael press release dated June 19, 2001
« …The Raelian Movement adheres to the following strict policy, which is not only to immediately expel any member suspected of pedophilia or sexual activity with minors, BUT ALSO to immediately report them to the Police ». Excerpt from the text entitled “Warning to pedophiles” present on all official Raelian websites since 2007.
7) Because the Raelian Movement and its leader Rael have never been convicted of such accusations. The few very rare cases of child molesting among the leaders of the Raelian religion are therefore private matters.
If seeing members of an association convicted were to constitute proof of dangerousness, then most associations, congregations, religions, unions, mutual societies and political parties should be designated as dangerous… In addition, the trial of these very rare cases, involving sexual acts of minors principally over the age of 15 have always shown that the Raelian Movement, although sometimes cited and targeted in judicial debates and decisions, has never been directly indicted.
8) Because even journalists who were critical and hostile towards the Raelian religion and who attended the Raelian seminars and workshops said they had never seen any incitement to pedophilia or any touching of minors. Thus :
a. Two journalists working for the Charlie Hebdo magazine – Antonio Fischetti and the cartoonist Tignous – who attended the 2001 annual seminars, published an article entitled “Club Med for Extraterrestrials”, in which their very sardonic criticism never mentioned any incitation to pedophilia or any touching of minors.
The same goes for an ex-member, after fifteen years in the structures of the Raelian Movement, Dominique Saint Hilaire, who, although very critical of us, never mentions any act of pedophilia or any encouragement to these acts.
The same goes also for very well known ex-members, level 5 guides, close to Raël in their continental functions after more than 20 years in the structures of the Raelian Movement, although also very critical of the Raelian religion, never mention any act of pedophilia or any encouragement to these acts (let’s mention among them Gérard Jeandupeux, Daniel Chabot, Bobby (Léar) Potvin).
b. Two journalists from the Journal de Montréal, Ms. McCann and Ms. Poirier, infiltrated the Raelian Movement under false identities for a year and stated on April 6, 2004, during the television program “Arcand” (Quebec) that they did not see any incitement to pedophilia or touching of minors.
c. In the TV show “Les infiltrés”, on the France 2 television channel, on December 17, 2008, the program presents two infiltrators who approached the Raelian Movement for several weeks. The undercover journalists never, during the report, testify of any incitement to pedophilia or touching of minors that they may have seen or understood.
9) Because the accusations made by some anti-cult associations, which use excerpts from the Raelian writings to explain that this philosophy encourages pedophilia or touching of minors, are seriously mistaken and lack intellectual honesty:
« So it has been suggested that some passages in our creators’ Messages may encourage pedophilia, such as those that advise parents to kiss and caress their children (it is not written “sexually”). You have to have a particularly twisted mind to think this way. All psychologists in the world recommend exactly the same thing because touch, a fundamental sense for the development of the human being, must no longer be absent from education as it has long been because of the guilt generated by the Catholic Church. Caresses and kisses can be totally asexual, being simply manifestations of tenderness. If no parent in the world can caress and kiss their children for fear of being called a pedophile, society is really in danger. Someone said it very well, “Evil is often in the eyes of the beholder. Some see in some passages of the Messages vice and corruption! They have a second problem related to psychiatric care! ». Rael, Apocalypse International magazine N°109 (in french only).
If these anti-cult associations were right, there would obviously be thousands of convictions worldwide, as already mentioned above.
These anti-cult associations actually use this sentence, taken from the Raelian Messages, to argue that our philosophy encourages pedophilia or the touching of minors: “To say nothing to your children about their sexual organs is wrong, and although it is better to explain what they are for, this is still not enough. You must explain how they can gain pleasure from them.” – Rael, « Intelligent Design », (paper version) p 183. (digital version), p171. The majority of Raelians, like any sane reader, will have noticed that it is not mentioned “show” but “explain”!
10) Because these anti-cult associations also refer to an article in the magazine Apocalypse International N°64, written by a reader who unfortunately promotes the possibility of sexuality with children. First of all, it should be noted that this article is the only one of its kind out of thousands published since 1974. This article was written in the 1970s, when the volunteer structure of the Raelian Movement did not allow for a rigorous review of each article. Subsequently, this reader was excluded and Rael, leader of the Raelian Movement, wrote:
« In issue number 64 (year 1986) of the Apocalypse magazine, the international review of the Raelian Religion, an article was written by Mr. Pierre Deslauriers, which I feel is important to respond to. In this article, Mr. Pierre Deslauriers, who is no longer a member of the structure in our Religion or of any association, made remarks that were very prejudicial to the Raelian Religion of France, since the readers made the confusion of attributing the author’s (Mister Deslauriers’) remarks to this organization. Contrary to what Mr. Deslauriers writes, sexuality with children must be banished, not only when it is done in violence but also when it appears to be harmonious. What is more, as it is important not to hinder the sexuality of children, it is just as important not to actively intervene in their sexuality. The respect for children’s rights commands it, as sexuality is not only reserved for adults and also concerns children, it must nevertheless preserve them from any physical intervention by adults. It would be using the ELOHIM’s messages falsely to support Mr. Pierre Deslauriers’ thesis, which our Religion does not support and out rightly condemns.” – Rael, Apocalypse International magazine N°119, p. 04 – 4th trimester 2000.
11) The rigorous study of all Raelian writings and publications on the subject of child sex education is in line with the exact and precise position of the vast majority of sexologists, as demonstrated for example by :
a. the reading of the pedagogical file “How to deal with child sexuality properly”, produced in 2001 by the Coordination de l’aide aux victimes de maltraitances of the Ministry of the French Community of Belgium,
b. the reading of the recent UNESCO report on the subject of “International technical guidance on sexuality education”, which aims to provide a framework for sex education in schools around the world. According to an article published in the British Daily Mail on September 10 2009 the UNESCO report recommends that children be taught about masturbation, other sexual acts and orientations, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, the report states that this teaching, including information about the pleasant sensations obtained by self-stimulation, is desirable from 5 years of age.
Thus Betty Dodson, a famous clinical sexologist with forty years’ experience and author of the book “Sex for One: the Joy of Selfloving”, translated into fifteen languages and sold more than a million copies, testified on November 4, 2009: “I was shocked and dismayed to learn that this magnificent group was accused of pedophilia and incest, a charge that is ridiculous! The same madness has stained America recently with witch-hunts, which are the last resort of puritanical people who fear life itself. The Raelian group promotes universal love of the human body and the healthy pleasures of sex between consenting adults. I fully support them. They are very positive and we agree on many points, especially on the importance of pleasure in people’s lives. It is our shared conviction that the more fun there is in the world, the more violence would decrease.”
12) Because finally, the sociologists, experts of religions and researchers who have studied the Raelian Movement and its written and oral teachings unanimously declared that they had never seen in the Raelian teaching, or in the daily life of its members, any questionable behaviour towards minors, nor any incitement to touch minors.
Thus, Pastor Jean-Claude Basset, doctor of theology at the University of Lausanne, where he teaches at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Sciences and author of numerous books, attested on October 10, 1997: “(…) I have in my possession the five books that to my knowledge [Rael] has published (…). In my readings, I haven’t found anything to justify the serious accusation that the Movement theoretically advocates pedophilia and incest in its writings (…)”
Thus, Ms. Susan Palmer, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, also attested on November 5, 1997, that: “Based on my expertise on this new religious movement, I can confidently say that there is no indication in Rael’s writings or in the lifestyle of its members that Raelians promote or practice pedophilia or incest. It is clearly a lie and a false rumour that has been circulated in the media for sensational purposes.” What she reiterated in her study book on the Raelian Movement, entitled “Aliens Adored, Rael’s UFO Religion”, published in 2004.
Thus, Mrs Claire-Lise Hoehn, head of the Swiss association “Aide aux victimes de dérives sectaires”, certified on November 3, 1997: “(…) There are no children or minors at the sensual awakening seminars (…) the Sensual Awakening is nothing other than the sensory awakening (all senses) that we can find in other New Age groups. We were all dressed and seated in Salquenenen (Switzerland) for these courses. A high degree of sexual freedom is advocated between consenting (but protected) adults.”
These 12 points, which can be easily verified, show the impossibility for the Raelian teachings to encourage the pedophile act or the abuse of minors.
