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Alien Religion Wants Summum Seven Aphorisms Monument Next To Ten Commandments

A Supreme Court case this week spotlighted an unusual religion that draws on sacramental nectar, pyramids and mummies, and raised broader questions about the place of New Age beliefs in modern society. A couple of decades after a visit from "beings Extraterrestrial" inspired him to found the Church of Summum in 1975, Summum Bonum Amen Ra, born Claude Nowell and known as Corky, had another epochal encounter.

He saw a monolith depicting the Ten Commandments on the courthouse grounds in Salt Lake City, says Su Menu, the Summum religion's current leader, and "felt it would be nice to have the Seven Aphorisms next to them." The monument would be inscribed with the principles that, according to Summum doctrine, Moses initially intended to deliver to the Hebrews before deciding they weren't ready to understand them.

Several Utah municipalities Mr. Ra approached declined the opportunity to display the Seven Aphorisms, provoking a legal battle that arrived at the Supreme Court Wednesday. The high court heard the plea of one Utah town, Pleasant Grove, to reverse a lower court decision requiring it to accept the Seven Aphorisms -- or, perhaps, remove the Ten Commandments and a dozen other monuments from its Pioneer Park. The arguments focused on different constitutional theories under which Pleasant Grove could select monuments to install in its park. The court didn't directly address the content of the Summum religion, but that was the subtext of the battle -- a New Age religion...............