Clay Routledge, an existential psychologist, theorizes that acceptance of UFOs may be rising partly in response to the well-documented decline in religious faith.

Clay Routledge, an existential psychologist, theorizes that acceptance of UFOs may be rising partly in response to the well-documented decline in religious faith.

Not quite half of all Americans now say they are sure God exists, a historic low. One-third of the nation never goes to church. The less religious people are, research has found, the more likely they are to believe in UFOs. Both belief systems illustrate the same basic human need, Routledge said: the search for meaning.