On the contrary, Klein notes, religious traditions have always believed that we share both Earth and the larger universe with other intelligent beings: angels, demons, demigods, jinn and other kinds of nonhuman intelligences.

We’ve lost that mindset in the developed West as Klein’s worldview has become dominant, but in a course I teach for theology majors titled “Animals, Angels and Aliens: Beyond the Human in Christian Thought,” I try to help my students understand and appreciate a wider, more open-minded view of the universe, and how recognizing the existence of other powers and principalities might break down their largely myopic worldviews.