Religions could evolve to deal with the existence of alien life

The argument

Many believe that the discovery of alien life would result in an end to religious belief and that the existence of alien life contradicts religion. Many clues of alien life have been presented to the public over time, such as the recent 2020 NASA discovery of a large saltwater ocean located on the dwarf planet Ceres. This finding could be a potential clue that this planet once harbored extraterrestrial life. But these kinds of discoveries do not always rattle the faith of believers. The practice of astronomy began centuries ago, and the existence of religion continues to be a considerable part of human existence. Studies have shown that people who practice religion are often believers in alien life as well. For example, the argument that Christians already believe in other life forms, such as angels, is compatible with the belief that life may exist throughout the universe, and not just on Earth. Many scientists have also admitted to being religious as well, saying that the more they discover about the universe, the more they contemplate the existence of a higher power. Many sacred texts have examples of the compatibility of alien life and religion. Buddhists believe the soul leaves the body after death and is reborn into a different body in another part of the universe. Judeo-Christian belief suggests that God's power has no limits and that life could exist elsewhere. In Islam, the Qur'an states that all life forms in the universe serve Allah and that life exists in other worlds. The discovery of intelligent life on other planets does not require the loss of religion. Religions can evolve, as they always have, despite the advancements in space exploration and discoveries of extraterrestrial life.

Premises

Counter-arguments

The discovery of alien life would be a threat to religion, as many religions believe that Earth is the center of the universe. The existence of alien life would contradict these beliefs, as they would no longer be seen as the people of God.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Nothing in the astronomical record so far is the discovery in question, so the persistence of religion through it shows only that faiths survived findings that did not include intelligent life elsewhere. A correlation between religious belief and belief in aliens also describes what people currently hold, not what a confirmation would do to it. [Rejecting P2] The textual examples are read generously and unevenly: angels are a different category from biological life on other worlds, and the passages cited are contested within their own traditions. The premise also answers a weaker question than the one asked, since the difficulty the rival position raises is specific — doctrines about the uniqueness of humanity and of a single incarnation — and adaptability in general does not meet it.