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Americans think ET is out there
28/05/2005 . Source: Jessica Martin 
New survey shows that two thirds of our colonial cousins reckon alien life is out there. The other third clearly haven't been watching the X-Files. Buy Alien Life in the USA - or Buy Alien Life in the UK  Following the opening of the final Star Wars film, what do Americans really believe about alien life? Does intelligent life exist anywhere besides Earth? Are regular churchgoers less likely to believe life has evolved on other planets? Do more Democrats or Republicans believe in extraterrestrials? And if alien life makes contact, what should we do?
These questions were answered in a new US survey released yesterday.
Almost two-thirds of Americans do believe that life exists on other planets, and of that group, 90% say if we receive a message from another planet we should reply.
The telephone survey was conducted by the University of Connecticut's Center For Survey Research and Analysis (CSRA) in association with the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and National Geographic Channel.
Commissioned by NGC, the survey is being released in advance of the TV show "Extraterrestrial," airing Monday, May 30th at 9pm ET/PT. Apparently, during the show, viewers will also be able to text message their opinions about life on other planets. Results of the nationwide mobile poll will be revealed live on air at the end of the show.
"It is quite likely that there is life elsewhere in our galaxy, and there's a real possibility that we will find evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life by the year 2025," Dr. Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer with the SETI Institute, and an expert featured in Extraterrestrial, told SFcrowsnest. "In light of all the interest in alien life in movie theaters this past week, it is interesting that the majority of Americans truly believe extraterrestrial life exists on other planets."
Highlights of the national survey include:
Does life exist on other planets?
- 60% of Americans believe life exists on other planets.
- More men than women believe life exists on other planets, 69% vs. 51%.
- 72% of those who believe life exists on other planets would be "excited and hopeful" upon learning that life had been found on other planets.
- Women are twice as likely as men to feel "nervous and afraid" if we learn life exists - 27% vs. 13%.
- Men are more likely to feel excited and hopeful if we find life on other planets - 78% vs. 65%.
What role does religion play in the belief in ET?
- People who are regular churchgoers are less-likely to believe in life on other planets compared to non-churchgoers, 46% vs. 70%.
What role does education play in your belief in ET?
- 63% of college graduates believe in life in outer space.
Democrats vs. Republicans
- No filibuster here - given the margin of error, Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to believe in life on other planets.
For those that do believe that life exists on other planets, what would ET be like?
- 7 out of 10 Americans think the intelligent life forms on other planets would be similar to humans.
- 8 out of 10 Americans think it is likely that the intelligent life forms on other planets are more advanced than us.
- 7 out of 10 Americans think it is likely that these life forms have the technology to travel through space.
- 7 out of 10 Americans think that these life forms have the technology to communicate across deep space.
Should we respond if ET makes contact?
- 90% of Americans who believe life exists think we should communicate back if we heard communications coming from another planet.
- Of those who do not believe in life on other planets, if we should hear something, 2/3 think we should respond.
More over at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/extraterrestrial and http://www.seti.org
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