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What various religions say about the possibility of extraterrestrial life:

"How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere?... Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on Earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can't put limits on God's creative freedom. Why can't we speak of a 'brother extraterrestrial'? It would still be part of creation."

— The Rev. José G. Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory and part-time Tucsonan, in a recent interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

"If there's life in other places, then that's what God wants. … It doesn't challenge or frighten me. If God created the universe, why not accept other forms of life as well? If you look at rabbinic texts, the commentary is not afraid of talking about how God created many different worlds before God created this one. Maybe the other ones are still there."

— Rabbi Robert Eisen of the conservative Jewish Congregation Anshei Israel in Midtown.

"Basically we feel the Bible answer is no, there would not be intelligent life elsewhere. The Bible is clear: Christ came to Earth and gave his life once. If God saw it necessary to redeem mankind, wouldn't he see it necessary for life on other planets? We can't imagine Jesus Christ going from universe to universe, planet to planet, redeeming individuals. In that sense, the planet Earth is truly unique, as are its life forms. God's son gave his life to redeem mankind here on Earth."

— Mark Febbo, an elder with the Jehovah's Witnesses in Tucson and a spokesman for the faith's regional convention in Tucson this weekend.

"From a Buddhist point of view we believe all experiences arise from the mind, so in that sense the mind can create infinite worlds and infinite experiences. So that philosophy neither negates nor affirms the existence of life on other planets. It's possible and probably likely this isn't the only thing the mind created."

— Gen Kelsang Lingpur, a Buddhist nun and resident teacher at the Tara Mahayana Buddhist Center Midtown.

— Anoop Chandola , a University of Arizona professor emeritus of East Asian Studies and a Hindu and Brahmin priest.

"The real world is the biblical world — a universe designed by God with the Earth at the spiritual focal point, not an evolutionary universe teeming with life. … Extraterrestrial life is an evolutionary concept; it does not comport with the biblical teachings of the uniqueness of the Earth and the distinct spiritual position of human beings."

— Answers in Genesis, a Kentucky-based Christian apologetics ministry that supports a creationist view of life and does outreach around the country, including in Arizona.

"I'm fascinated with recent discoveries and the realization of possibilities that there is life on other planets. If there is, what does that say about God? It says God is far beyond the individual, cultural stories of our planet. It depends how you define it, but that concept of power is way beyond our understanding. ... The definitions of God people use so often don't fit with a cosmic view."

— The Rev. Susan Manker-Seale of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson.

"In Islam, God says 'be and it is.' We're not about to put limitations on God, and that means no limitations that would prevent life in another world. Allah is the Lord of the worlds. It's not one world."

— Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"The Bible is silent on the subject of whether God created life on other planets. But we're told in Genesis Chapter One that he created the heavens and the Earth, so he's not just a local operator. … The Bible does tell us God created life here on Earth. We know we are wonderfully made, that life is in fact a miracle, and this Earth is perfectly situated by design for the perpetuation of life. I also believe God gave us the intelligence and curiosity to put a probe on Mars and I don't believe he gave us that for no purpose."

— The Rev. Scott Richards, senior pastor at Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson and host of "Scott Richards Live" on KGMS 940 AM.

"Although God has not revealed where and how many other inhabited planets exist, Latter-day Saint scripture reads, 'That by Christ, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.' "

— Michael Purdy, spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.