Editing Raël

{{Short description|Founder and leader of the Raëlian Movement}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{POV|date=June 2025}}
{{Third-party|date=June 2025}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| birth_name         = {{nowrap|Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon}}
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=y|1946|9|30}}
| birth_place        = [[Vichy]], France
| religion           = [[Raëlism]]
| notable ideas      = {{ubl|[[Sensual meditation]]|[[Geniocracy]]|[[Raëlian cosmology]]|[[Intelligent Design: Message from the Designers|Message from the designers]]}}
}}
'''Raël'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|l}}; {{IPA|fr|ʁa.ɛl|lang}}; also spelled '''Rael'''}} (born '''Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon''',{{efn|{{IPA|fr|klod vɔ.ʁi.jɔ̃|lang}}}} 30 September 1946)<ref name="Cult">[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17537/rael Cult leader Raël denied residence in Switzerland], ''Agence France-Presse''. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2007.</ref> is a French journalist and religious leader who founded and leads the [[Raëlian Movement]], an international [[UFO religion]].

Before becoming a religious leader, Raël, then known as Claude Vorilhon, worked as a sports-car journalist and test driver for his car-racing magazine, ''Autopop''.<ref name="AutoPop">[http://www.rael.free.fr/75/autopop.htm  AutoPop, la revue des pilotes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223102539/http://www.rael.free.fr/75/autopop.htm |date=23 February 2007 }} ''Raël : Messie ou Menteur ?''. Retrieved 20 June 2007.</ref><ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, pp. 135–6.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', pp. 135–6.</ref> He reported an [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] encounter in December 1973 and subsequently formed the Raëlian Movement and changed his name to Raël.<ref name="Raëlian Official Website"/> He later published several books, which detail the encounter with a being called Yahweh in 1973.<ref name="Raëlian Official Website">{{Cite web |url=http://www.rael.org/rael_content/rael_bio.php?prophet |title=Raël's Bio Raëlian Official Website |access-date=22 April 2008 |archive-date=10 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310075254/http://www.rael.org/rael_content/rael_bio.php?prophet |url-status=dead }}</ref> He traveled the world to promote his books for over 30 years.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, ''Photo Section''">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', ''Photo Section''</ref>

==Early life==
Vorilhon was born in [[Vichy]], [[Allier]], France.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, p. 123.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', p. 123.</ref> He was raised in [[Ambert]] in the home of his maternal grandmother, who was [[Atheism|atheist]].<ref name="Palmer, p. 32.">Palmer, p. 32.</ref> His unknown father was [[Jews|Jewish]] and his mother a "devout atheist".<ref>Susan Palmer, Aliens Adored: Raël's UFO Religion, Rutgers University Press, 2004, p. 3.2</ref> He attended a Catholic boarding school in [[Le Puy-en-Velay]] and caused a scandal by taking part in [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] without being baptized.<ref name="Palmer, p. 32."/> His parents withdrew him from the boarding school to put him in school in [[Ambert]].<ref name="Palmer, p. 32."/> He later advocated that [[Huguenot]] descendants receive reparations from the Church.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Susan J. |title=Aliens Adored: Rael's UFO Religion |title-link=Aliens Adored |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780813534763}}</ref>

At age 15, Vorilhon ran away from boarding school and hitchhiked to Paris, where he spent three years playing music on the streets and in cafés and cabarets. He met with {{Ill|Lucien Morisse|fr|Lucien Morisse}}, the director of a national radio program (on [[Europe 1]]), who was scouting for young talent. Vorilhon signed a record contract<ref name="Palmer, pp. 33–34."/> and became a rising teen pop star on the radio.<ref name="Palmer, pp. 33–34."/> He took on a new identity, assuming the name Claude Celler, and released six [[Single (music)|singles]], including a minor hit song, "Le miel et la cannelle" ("Honey and Cinnamon").<ref name="Palmer, pp. 33–34.">Palmer, pp. 32–33.</ref> Vorilhon had a passion for the songs of Belgian singer [[Jacques Brel]], and tried to imitate his singing style.<ref name="Palmer, p. 32."/> He was saving up his money to buy a racing car, a dream he had since he was a young boy, but his prospects as a singer came to an abrupt end when Morisse killed himself in September 1970.<ref name="Palmer, p. 34.">Palmer, p. 34.</ref>

Vorilhon decided to work as a sports journalist to gain access to the world of car racing. He met Marie-Paul Cristini, a nurse.<ref name="Palmer, p. 34."/> They moved to [[Clermont-Ferrand]], where Vorilhon started his own publishing house.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 135-6.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'' 135–6.</ref> He created a sports car magazine, ''Autopop'', whose first issue was released in May 1971.<ref name="AutoPop"/> One of the tasks for his new startup was the position of testing new automobiles, which enabled him to enter the motor racing world.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 135-6."/>

==The Raëlian messages==
{{further|History of Raëlism}}
On December 3, 1973 in a secluded area within a French volcanic crater, Vorilhon claimed to see a strong flashing light and saw "something like a bell" made of shiny metal coming out from the sky slowly without any noise. A trapdoor opened under the craft, and an extraterrestrial being came out of a craft. The being told him, in French, that he had come for the sole purpose of meeting with him. Raël said he was given a message by this alien and told that it was his mission to pass this message on to the people of Earth. According to Vorilhon, the face of the extraterrestrial was "full of love."<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 11-109.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 11–109.</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyQ-9qKxnQE |title=Maitreya Rael: The Encounter of December 13th 1973 |date=2019-12-12 |last=Rael: The Last Prophet's Official Channel |access-date=2025-02-17 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

The book states that advanced human scientists from another planet with 25,000 years of scientific advances created all life on Earth through [[DNA]] manipulation.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 90, 107, 113, 159.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 90, 107, 113, 159.</ref><ref name="COMPENDIUM">Harvey, Neil, [https://archive.today/20130201162042/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-83888 AND NOW THIS A COMPENDIUM OF NEWS], ''[[The Roanoke Times]]''. 23 September 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2007.</ref> These scientists, Raël said, were originally called Elohim or "those who came from the sky".<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 11.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 11.</ref> He wrote that around 40<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 161-5.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 161–5.</ref> prophets in Earth's history were sent by Elohim,<ref name="Close Encounter of the Raëlian Kind">Segall, Rebecca, [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0135,segall2,27678,1.html Close Encounter of the Raëlian Kind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315174032/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0135,segall2,27678,1.html |date=15 March 2008 }}, ''[[The Village Voice]]''. 4 September 2001. Retrieved 20 December 2007.</ref> but their messages were distorted<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 11, 33, 88, 293, 332.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 11, 33, 88, 293, 332.</ref> by humans, largely because of the difference in the level of civilization between the advanced race and Earth's primitive one.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 73.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 73.</ref>

Raël said he was given the mission to inform the world of humanity's origins in anticipation of these extraterrestrials' return by building a residential [[embassy]] in [[neutral territory]].<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 101-104.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 101–104.</ref> He stated that certain mysteries were explained to him based on new interpretations of sacred texts such as the [[Bible]].<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 10-79.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 10–79.</ref> He claimed that, on 7 October 1975, he was contacted by one of the Elohim, who took him to another planet to meet [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], [[Moses]], [[Jesus]] and [[Muhammad]]. He stated that his second book, ''Les extra-terrestres m'ont emmené sur leur planète'' (''Extraterrestrials Took Me To Their Planet''), relates the teaching he received from these people. In this book, Raël describes harmonious and peaceable beings free of money, sickness, and war.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 163-4.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'' 163–4.</ref>

In 1974, Raël decided to give up his automobile magazine, ''Autopop''.<ref name="AutoPop"/> That September, the last issue, number 34, was published.<ref name="AutoPop"/> Raël then devoted himself to the task he said was given by his "biological father", an extraterrestrial named [[Yahweh]].<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, 290-1.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design''; 290–1.</ref> Shortly after a first public conference, Raël founded MADECH, a group of people interested in helping him in his task, which later became the [[International Raëlian Movement]].<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design 139-40.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'' 139–40.</ref>

==Marriages==
Raël has been married three times.<ref name="Palmer, p. 43.">Palmer, p. 43.</ref>

His first wife was Marie-Paul Cristini.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160805171147/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-96400471.html highbeam.com]</ref> Sociologist Susan J. Palmer said that Cristini, a nurse, diagnosed Raël as clinically depressed after he appeared at her doorstep in 1987, burnt out from the tasks he carried out within the movement.<ref name="Palmer, pp. 54–5.">Palmer, pp. 54–5.</ref>

Raël focused on spreading his message in [[Japan]] in the 1980s, and by 1987, he met Lisa Sunagawa. Sunagawa soon began accompanying Raël during his travels to [[Lima]], [[Miami]], [[Brazil]], and [[Martinique]]. In the 1990 [[Ici Radio-Canada Télé|Radio Canada]] television documentary ''They're Coming!'', Raël is seen with four women,<ref name="Lewis, p. 127.">Lewis, p. 127.</ref> while Lisa, in slow motion, wears a pink tutu and holds hands with him.<ref name="Palmer, p. 43."/>

Raël separated from Sunagawa sometime between 1990 and 1992. Around that time, Sophie de Niverville, whose mother and aunt were both Raëlians, was convinced of the authenticity of the messages. Sophie received a Raëlian baptism at age 15. When she turned 16, she married Raël at Montreal's city hall. During a December 2001 interview with Palmer, Sophie spoke positively about Raël, despite their divorce the previous year; they continued to live together.<ref name="Palmer, pp. 43–4.">Palmer, pp. 43–5.</ref>

==Racing career==
In 1994, wealthy Japanese Raëlians rented a race car and showed it to Raël. They believed that if he raced it, it would generate [[publicity]] for the movement. Raël accepted the offer on the condition that the funding not come from member tithes or embassy funding. Funding for Raël's races, which took place in the 1990s and early 2000s, came mostly from well-funded European and Japanese people.<ref name="Palmer, p. 41.">Palmer, p. 41.</ref> His best finishes included "a 3rd place finish in GT1 in [[Lime Rock Park|Lime Rock]] with the [[Mosler Raptor]] in 1997, and a 7th place finish at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] with a [[Dodge Viper|Viper GTS R]] in a 1999 [[FIA GT Championship|FIA GT]] race".<ref name="Raël to compete in Charlotte">[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=40215&FS=SCCA-WC Raël to compete in Charlotte] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920055037/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=40215&FS=SCCA-WC |date=20 September 2010 }} ''Motorsport.com''. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.</ref> Raël participated in the 1999 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series and the 2000 [[Speedvision]] GT Championship. According to Palmer, Raël announced in November 2001 that he intended to retire from professional auto racing. He said that he still enjoyed racing in the form of video games.<ref name="Palmer, p. 41."/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 1999 [[Goodrich Corporation|BFGoodrich]] Tires Trans-Am Series
|-
!Round
!Date
!Car
!Start
!Finish
!Laps
!Track
!Source
|-
|Two
|23 May 1999
|[[Chevrolet]]
|21st
|19th
|35 out of 40
|[[Mosport International Raceway]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Mosport Race Report, Results and Points">[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=27783&FS=TRANSAM Mosport Race Report, Results and Points] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014747/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=27783&FS=TRANSAM |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''Motorsport.com''. 23 May 1999. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2000 [[Speedvision]] GT Championship events
|-
!Round
!Date
!Car
!Start
!Finish
!Laps
!Track
!Source
|-
|One
|1 April 2000
|[[Lotus Esprit]]
|29th
|32nd
|15 out of 29
|[[Lowe's Motor Speedway]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Charlotte GT Opener Race Results">[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=40429&FS=SCCA-WC Charlotte GT Opener Race Results] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930011038/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=40429&FS=SCCA-WC |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''Motorsport.com''. 1 April 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|-
|Two
|21 May 2000
|Lotus Esprit
|31st
|18th
|27 out of 27
|[[Mosport International Raceway]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Mosport GT results">[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=43424&FS=SCCA-WC Mosport GT results] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930022328/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=43424&FS=SCCA-WC |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''Motorsport.com''. 21 May 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|-
|Three
|27 May 2000
|Lotus Esprit
|38th
|style="background:darkgray;"|
|style="background:darkgray;"|
|[[Lime Rock Park]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Lime Rock Park line up GT, Touring">[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=43748&FS=SCCA-WC Lime Rock Park line up GT, Touring] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930022402/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=43748&FS=SCCA-WC |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''Motorsport.com''. 27 May 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|-
|Eight
|15 October 2000
|[[Porsche 911 GT3]]
|32nd
|25th
|25 out of 26
|[[Laguna Seca Raceway]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Laguna Seca Fitzgerald wins third straight in GT">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014719/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=54315&FS=SCCA* Laguna Seca Fitzgerald wins third straight in GT], ''Motorsport.com''. 15 October 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|-
|Nine
|29 October 2000
|Porsche 911 GT3
|25th
|25th
|29 out of 30
|[[Las Vegas Motor Speedway]]
|''Motorsport.com''<ref name="Las Vegas GT results">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927190304/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=55110&FS=SCCA* Las Vegas GT results], ''Motorsport.com''. 30 October 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>
|}

==Promoted technologies==
Raël believes humanity is slowly transitioning into a society where humans will not need to work or have jobs. This is due to human technological advancement and because humans "are not made to work". He has stated that work is for machines, whereas humans are made to create, think, and enrich themselves.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5nEuWVU07I Rael talks about the messages of the Elohim (1/2)]. YouTube. Channel - ''TheInveritas''. Published 25 June 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2018.</ref>

Much of Raël's advocacy concerning futuristic technology is described in his 2001 book, ''Yes to Human Cloning''. He supported [[human genetic engineering]] in order to avoid genetically inherited diseases and to reduce the economic burden on society. He said that no distinctive emphasis needed to be allocated to a particular race or religion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rael.org/int/press_site/english/pages/press_conference/050202.html |title=Raël's press conference in London |access-date=14 September 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030212220704/http://www.rael.org/int/press_site/english/pages/press_conference/050202.html |archive-date=12 February 2003 }}, ''Raël Press File''. 5 February 2002. Retrieved 6 August 2006.</ref><ref name="Raël, Yes to Human Cloning, pp. 51–55.">Raël, ''Yes to Human Cloning'', pp. 51–55.</ref> Elsewhere in the book, he stated that [[nanotechnology]] will make it possible to have micro-distributive power generation (essentially a power plant in each house), fur-like furnishings that are self-cleaning with hair-like fibers that move on their own,<ref name="Raël, Yes to Human Cloning, pp. 133–6.">''Cloning'', pp. 133–6.</ref> and [[organism|biological]] robots.<ref name="Raël, Yes to Human Cloning, p. 132.">Raël, ''Yes to Human Cloning'', p. 132.</ref> Nanostructures control biology, so Raël expected that [[Cultured meat|meat]] and salads will someday be grown in a machine via molecular construction.<ref name="The Leader of UFO Land">Brown, DeNeen L., [https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A4047-2003Jan16&notFound=true The Leader of UFO Land]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[Washington Post]]''. 17 January 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2007.</ref><ref name="Raël, Yes to Human Cloning, p. 72.">Raël, ''Yes to Human Cloning'', p. 72.</ref>

Raël believed that [[genetically modified food]] is the only way to stop [[hunger]] everywhere in the world, and he saw a future where qualities of different foods can be combined through direct genetic modification.<ref name="Raël, Yes to Human Cloning, pp. 57–60.">Raël, ''Yes to Human Cloning'', pp. 57–60.</ref> In Raël's book, ''Extraterrestrials took me to their planet'' (book number 2 in the volume ''Intelligent Design''), he said that animation of plant life was possible through nanotechnology and that he was presented genetically modified flowers, that swayed and changed colors with music, while on another planet.<ref name="Raël, Intelligent Design, p. 72.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', p. 138.</ref>

==Criticism and controversies==

===Plagiarism===
In recent years,{{when|date=May 2021}} many ex-Raëlians have accused Vorilhon of [[plagiarism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://raelian.com/en/wonjune_lee.php|website=raelian.com|title=Testimonies by ex-Raelians}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=February 2024}} They have compared numerous passages from his books with those of author [[Jean Sendy]]. Raëlian concepts such as chemical education, infinity, geniocracy, and others are all found in Sendy's books. Most of Raël's book ''Sensual Meditation'' is said to have been derived from the [[Silva Method|Silva 'Mind Control' Method]], which was allegedly taught to him by ex-level-5 guide of the Canadian Raelian Movement, Jean-Denis Saint-Cyr.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Saint-Cyr|first1=Jean-Denis|title=Confessions de Raël à son ex-bras droit|trans-title=Raël's confessions to his former right-hand man|language=fr|date=2009|publisher=Les Éditions au Carré inc.|isbn=978-2-923335-18-6}}</ref>

In her book ''Raël, Thief of Souls: Biography of a Liar'' ({{langx|fr|Raël, Voleur d'âmes : Biographie d'un menteur}}), Maryse Péloquin provides the result of her ten years of research into Vorilhon and his movement, with evidence to support the conclusion that Raël has copied concepts from, and often paraphrased full paragraphs from, other UFO and [[ancient astronaut]] authors of the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, such as Sendy, [[Brinsley Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty|Brinsley Trench]], and [[Robert Charroux]].<ref name="Raël : Voleur d'âmes">{{cite book|last1=Péloquin|first1=Maryse|title=Raël, Voleur d'âmes : Biographie d'un menteur|trans-title=Raël, Thief of Souls: Biography of a Liar|language=fr|date=2004|publisher=Editions Trait d'Union |isbn=2-89588-088-3}}</ref> In her book, the dialogue of Raël's "encounter with an ET" is shown to closely resemble that of "contactee" [[George Adamski]], who claimed that he had an encounter on 13 December 1952.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Much of the Raëlian philosophy also closely matches that of [[Rajneesh|Osho]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://raelian.com/en/sage_ali.php|website=raelian.com|title=Testimonies by ex-Raelians}}</ref> The white costume Raël wears closely resembles one that Osho was known to have worn.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Appearances in the media===
In 1992, Raël appeared on ''Ciel mon Mardi'', a French talk show hosted by journalist [[Christophe Dechavanne]]. Toward the end of the show, Raël's sexual liberalism was critiqued by a priest, a social worker, and a psychologist. A former Raëlian, Jean Parraga, believed that his wife and children were being held as prisoners, and that Raël attempted to break up his family. Parraga thought that his wife and children were being treated like criminals in activities such as orgies and sacrifices that involve children, at the [[Raëlism#Sensual meditation|Sensual Meditation]] camp. Parraga also had a criminal record as a drug dealer and car thief, and in August 1992, he attempted to shoot Raël.<ref name="SusanJPalmer">Susan J. Palmer, [http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol4No2/Rael.htm ''The Raël Deal''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050615085304/http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol4No2/Rael.htm |date=15 June 2005 }}, ''Religion in the News'', Summer 2001, Vol. 4, No. 2.</ref>

Raëlians from around the world sent letters of protest to Dechevanne's TV station. Dechavanne portrayed that as "incitement to violence" and sued Raël. The judge appointed to the case decided to question Raël. Raël agreed to ask his members to stop sending letters if the station apologized publicly. The two parties agreed to drop the feud.<ref name="SusanJPalmer" />

In 2004, Raël appeared on the first airing of the [[Quebec]] version of the French talk show ''[[Tout le monde en parle (Quebec)|Tout le monde en parle]]'', hosted by [[Guy A. Lepage]]. During this appearance, Raël upset panel members with his statements on democracy and cloning. The situation reached its peak when caricaturist [[Serge Chapleau]] called Raël a "farce" and a "nerd", ridiculed his clothes, and grabbed him by the back of his neck.<ref name="Radio-Canada"/> Raël left the stage, followed by his disciples.<ref name="Radio-Canada"/> A fellow guest on the show, [[Parti Québécois]] Member of Quebec Legislative Assembly [[Pauline Marois]], who later became [[premier of Quebec]], called Raël "insane". The [[Raëlian Movement]] asked Marois to apologize; she refused.<ref name="Radio-Canada">{{cite news |author=Radio-Canada |title=Marois refuse de s'excuser à Raël |work=radio-canada.ca |date=21 September 2004 |url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Index/nouvelles/200409/21/003-marois-rael.shtml |access-date=28 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105111340/http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Index/nouvelles/200409/21/003-marois-rael.shtml |archive-date=5 November 2013 }}</ref>

A Swiss newspaper that called Raëlians "rat heads" was sued for defamation. Another suit was brought against journalist Stephane Baillargeon for writing in the Montreal daily ''[[Le Devoir]]'' that Raëlians defend pedophiles and that certain ex-Raëlians claim the "gourou" likes very young girls. After some negotiation, ''Le Devoir'' published a letter from Raël condemning the charge as "ignominious defamation" and asserting that the Raëlian Movement had "always condemned pedophilia and promoted respect for laws that justly forbid the practices that are always the fault of unbalanced individuals".<ref name="SusanJPalmer"/>

===Appearances in court===
In 1991, Raël sued French journalist Jean-Yves Cashga for defamation; Raël lost and was ordered to pay court costs. The judgment remains uncollected. Amid growing legal problems in France, Raël emigrated to Canada.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

On two separate court dates of 2 September 1994 at the High Courts of Paris and 1 October 1996 at the [[Appeal Court of Paris]], journalists [[Jacques Cotta]] and Pascal Martin of [[Groupe Flammarion|Flammarion]] Publishing were found guilty of attributing racist statements and distorted quotations to Raël in their book ''Dans le secret des sectes''. They were fined 10,000FF in damages and 13,000FF in proceedings costs, ordered to insert stickers mentioning the sentence on copies not yet distributed and to suppress of the passage in the next editions, and told that they would be fined 100FF for each non-conforming copy.<ref name="The Raëlian Movement"/>

On 26 January 1994, in emergency proceedings by the Appeal Court of Reims, Myriam Assan was accused of defamation for claiming in her book that "Raël was often sentenced for corruption of minors". Assan was given a provisional sentence of 10,000FF in damages and ordered to withdraw the book. She was sentenced to pay a penalty of 300FF per infringement and 5,000FF in proceedings costs and to publish the judgment in ''Le Monde'' and ''Le Figaro''.<ref name="The Raëlian Movement">[http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/profiles/ext/raelianenglish.pdf The Raëlian Movement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011453/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/profiles/ext/raelianenglish.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }}, ''Human Rights Without Frontiers''. Retrieved 2 December 2006.</ref>

On 13 December 1994, Gérard Chol, director of ''Le Maine Libre'', was declared guilty by the High Court of Le Mans for public defamation for claiming that the Raël's movement was laundering money coming from drug trafficking, prostitution, arms dealing, and the sale of pornographic videotapes. Chol was ordered to pay 1FF in damages and 3,000FF in proceedings costs and to publish the penal judgment in ''Le Maine Libre''.<ref name="The Raëlian Movement"/>

In 2003, Vorilhon sued [[Ottawa]] columnist Denis Gratton and ''[[Le Droit]]'' newspaper for $85,000 in [[defamation]] damages over a 23 January 2003 column; Raël lost and was ordered to pay court costs by Quebec Superior Court on 21 June 2006.<ref>Block, Irwin, [http://canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=3367c989-4025-499f-b03b-fe266f81b526 Welcome to real world, judge tells head Raëlian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208131156/http://canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=3367c989-4025-499f-b03b-fe266f81b526 |date=8 December 2007 }}, ''[[Montreal Gazette]]''. 3 July 2006. Retrieved on 5 July 2006.</ref>

===Government action against Raël===
[[File:A gathering of Raëlians in South Korea.jpg|thumb|A public gathering of Raëlists in 2006 in the [[Insa-dong]] neighbourhood of [[Seoul]], South Korea, protesting the banning of [[Claude Vorilhon]] from visiting South Korea by the South Korean government.]]
In response to Raël's association with [[Clonaid]], South Korean immigration authorities at the airport denied him entry into their country in 2003.<ref name="Raëlian Cult Leader Threatens to Sue Korea Over Denied Entry">Ji-young, So, [http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=12250&sec=42&cont=4 Raëlian Cult Leader Threatens to Sue Korea Over Denied Entry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235258/http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=12250&sec=42&cont=4 |date=27 September 2007 }}, ''Korea Times''. 3 August 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2007</ref> A planned Raëlian seminar continued, with Raël making some brief "big screen" video-camera appearances via the internet for the several hundred who attended. Raël instructed South Korean Raëlians to protest near the [[Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (South Korea)|Ministry of Health and Welfare]] that ordered him to leave.<ref name="Raëlian Cult Leader Threatens to Sue Korea Over Denied Entry"/>

In February 2007, Raël, who wanted to start commercial activities with Swiss vintners, was denied residence in the Swiss Canton [[Valais]], in part because he was feared to be endangering public values by promoting sexual liberty and the education of children on how to obtain sexual pleasure. Also cited was his association with the [[Clonaid]] [[human cloning]] claim; Switzerland forbade human cloning. In a brief statement, Raël said he considered appeal at the European level.<ref name="Cult"/>

==Discography==
* 1966: "''Sacrée sale gueule''"<ref name="Claude Celler - Sacrée sale gueule">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/4469.html Claude Celler – Sacrée sale gueule], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>
* 1966: "''Dans un verre de vin''"<ref name="Claude Celler - Dans un verre de vin">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/4469.html Claude Celler – Dans un verre de vine], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>
* 1967: "''Le Miel et la cannelle''" (Honey and cinnamon)<ref name="Claude Celler - Le Miel et la Cannelle">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/3495.html Claude Celler – Le Miel et la Cannelle], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>
* 1967: "''Madam' Pipi''" (Mrs. Toilet attendant)<ref name="Claude Celler - Madam' Pipie">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/3359.html Claude Celler – Madam' Pipi], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>
* 1967: "''Monsieur votre femme me trompe''" (Mister, your wife is cheating on me)<ref name="Claude Celler - Monsieur votre femme me trompe">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/3421.html Claude Celler – Monsieur votre femme me trompe], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>
* 1967: "''Quand on se mariera''" (When we'll get married)<ref name="Claude Celler - Quand on se mariera">[http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/3407.html Claude Celler – Quand on se mariera], ''Bide&Musique''. Retrieved 19 August 2007.</ref>

==Bibliography==
* 1974: ''Le Livre qui dit la vérité'' ("The Book Which Tells the Truth")
* 1975: ''Les extra-terrestres m'ont emmené sur leur planète'' ("Extraterrestrials Took me to Their Planet")
** (collected in English as "The Message Given to Me by Extra-Terrestrials") {{ISBN|4-900480-05-3}}
* 1978: ''La géniocratie'' ("[[Geniocracy]]")
* 1979: ''Accueillir les extra-terrestres'' ("Welcoming the Extraterrestrials") {{ISBN|4-900480-06-1}}
* 1980: ''La méditation sensuelle'' ("Sensual Meditation") {{ISBN|1-903571-07-3}}
* 1992: ''Le racisme religieux financé par le gouvernement socialiste''
* 1995: ''Vive le Québec libre!''
* 2001: ''Oui au clonage humain'' ("Yes to Human Cloning") {{ISBN|1-903571-05-7}}
* 2003: ''Le Maitraya'' ("The Maitraya")
* 2006: ''Intelligent Design: Message from the Designers'' [English compilation of the 1974, 1975 and 1979 books] {{ISBN|2-940252-20-3}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Lewis, James R. [https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0791423298 ''The Gods Have Landed: New Religions from Other Worlds''] ''[[SUNY Press]]'', 1995. {{ISBN|0-7914-2329-8}}.
* Partridge, Christopher H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1nsazah-mEQC&dq=raelian&pg=PA59 ''UFO Religions'']. ''[[Routledge]]'', 2003. {{ISBN|0-415-26323-9}}.
* [[Susan J. Palmer|Palmer, Susan J.]] ''[[Aliens Adored]]''. ''[[Rutgers University Press]]'', 2004. {{ISBN|0-8135-3476-3}}.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* Raël, [http://rael.org/download.php?view.1 ''Intelligent Design – Message from the Designers''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317194313/http://www.rael.org/download.php?view.1 |date=17 March 2018 }}. Nova Distribution, 2006. {{ISBN|2-940252-20-3}}.
* Raël, [http://rael.org/download.php?view.2 ''Yes to Human Cloning: Immortality Thanks to Science''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311083645/http://www.rael.org/download.php?view.2 |date=11 March 2007 }}. Tagman Press, 2001. {{ISBN|1-903571-05-7}}; {{ISBN|1-903571-04-9}}.
* Maugé, Claude. "The Real Raël, UFO Contactee and the Last Prophet" in Ballester-Olmos, V.J. and Heiden, Richard W. (Eds.), ''[https://www.academia.edu/101922617/The_Reliability_of_UFO_Witness_Testimony The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony]''. UPIAR, Turin, Italy (2023), pp. 107–120. {{ISBN|979-12-81441-00-2}}
* Palmer, Susan J. "When Testimony Becomes Testament: The Case of Raël, UFO Prophet, and the Question of Witness Reliability" in Ballester-Olmos, V.J. and Heiden, Richard W. (Eds.), ''[https://www.academia.edu/101922617/The_Reliability_of_UFO_Witness_Testimony The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony]''. UPIAR, Turin, Italy (2023), pp. 153–165. {{ISBN|979-12-81441-00-2}}
* [http://raelian.com/en/jean_sendy.php The Raëlian books compared to Jean Sendy's]
*{{IMDB name|1905490}}
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{{Authority control}}{{Raëlism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rael}}
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[[Category:FIA GT Championship drivers]]
[[Category:Raëlians]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
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