Editing Raëlism (section)

=== The Elohim ===
[[File:Pendentif raélien.jpg|thumb|right|A medallion displaying the Raëlian symbol; practitioners typically wear these medallions to identify their beliefs{{sfnm|1a1=Barker|1y=1989|1p=201|2a1=Palmer|2y=1995|2p=115|3a1=Barrett|3y=2001|3p=394|4a1=Palmer|4a2=Sentes|4y=2012|4p=174}}]]

Raëlism teaches that there exists an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim.{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=390}} Raël has said that the word "Elohim", which is used for God in the Old Testament, is actually a plural term which he translates as "those who came from the sky".{{sfnm|1a1=Chryssides|1y=2003|1p=50|2a1=Lewis|2y=2003|2p=99}} Raël calls individual members of the Elohim "Eloha".{{sfnm|1a1=Palmer|1y=2004|1p=31|2a1=Gallagher|2y=2010|2p=15|3a1=Palmer|3a2=Sentes|3y=2012|3p=168}} He claims that the Elohim gave him the honorific name "Raël",{{sfnm|1a1=Barker|1y=1989|1p=200|2a1=Barrett|2y=2001|2pp=390–391|3a1=Palmer|3a2=Sentes|3y=2012|3p=169}} a term deriving from "Israel",{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=31}} which he translates as "the messenger of those who come from the sky".{{sfnm|1a1=Barker|1y=1989|1p=200|2a1=Barrett|2y=2001|2pp=390–391|3a1=Chryssides|3y=2003|3p=50}}

In his first book, ''Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité'', published in 1974, Raël claimed that he initially encountered these alien beings on 13 December 1973, when he was 27 years old.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=2001|1p=390|2a1=Palmer|2y=2004|2p=35|3a1=Palmer|3a2=Sentes|3y=2012|3p=168}} He wrote that he was walking along the [[Puy de Lassolas]] volcanic crater in the [[Clermont-Ferrand]] mountains when one of their spaceships appeared and an Eloha emerged,{{sfnm|1a1=Palmer|1y=2004|1p=35|2a1=Palmer|2a2=Sentes|2y=2012|2p=168}} who asked him to return the next day and bring a [[Bible]]. Raël did so, and over six days the Eloha explained to him the true meaning of its contents, revealing more about the Elohim's involvement in human history.{{sfnm|1a1=Chryssides|1y=2003|1p=49|2a1=Palmer|2y=2004|2pp=35–36|3a1=Gallagher|3y=2010|3pp=14–15}} In his 1976 book ''Les Extra-Terrestres M'ont Emmené sur Leur Planète'' (''The Extraterrestrials Took Me to Their Planet''), Raël added that he was contacted by the Elohim again on 7 October 1975, when they took him aboard their spaceship and transported him to their home planet.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=2001|1p=390|2a1=Palmer|2a2=Sentes|2y=2012|2p=173}} Here he was offered six biological robot women with which to have sex, saw the Elohim create his clone, and taught the techniques of sensual meditation.{{sfnm|1a1=Palmer|1y=2004|1p=38|2a1=Palmer|2a2=Sentes|2y=2012|2pp=173–174}} The scholar of religion [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]] noted that Raël's account of encountering the Elohim was similar to those of the "classic UFO contactees" of the 1950s and 1960s.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=99}}

The Elohim are described as physically smaller than humans, with pale green skin and almond-shaped eyes,{{sfnm|1a1=Palmer|1y=1995|1p=106|2a1=Barrett|2y=2001|2p=390|3a1=Palmer|3y=2004|3p=35}} and they divide into seven different races.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=20}} Raëlians are forbidden from painting or sketching them.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=24}} According to Raël, their planet is outside the [[Solar System]] but within the [[Milky Way]].{{sfn|Palmer|Sentes|2012|p=175}} Raël states that there are 90,000 Elohim on their planet, and that they are all quasi-immortal,{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=110}} and that they do not wear clothes.{{sfn|Palmer|Sentes|2012|p=176}} All of them are permitted to engage in [[free love]] with one another, and sexual jealousy has been eliminated.{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=110}} All of them are regarded as feminine in manner;{{sfn|Palmer|2014|p=197}} Raël states that "the most feminine woman on Earth is only 10% as feminine as the Elohim.".{{sfn|Palmer|Sentes|2012|p=170}} They are not allowed to procreate, and many of them undergo a sterilisation operation to ensure this.{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=110}} Raël also reports that the Elohim can communicate with humans because they understand all human languages.{{sfn|Chryssides|2003|p=49}}