I am approaching this topic as how ideas are seeded into the general awareness through the imaginations of many authors. If 'Disclosure' actually does take this quasi-religious route I will argue it's a massive psyops intended to control the populace for 'forever wars'.
Look up Roger Zelazny's 1967 science fiction novel 'Lord of Light' on Amazon. From the amazon blurb:
“Funny, wise, and infused with a sense of wonder and knowledge. Nobody else made myths real and valuable in the way Roger Zelazny could."
- Neil Gaiman
"Lord of Light is a classic tale of the far future from the incomparable Roger Zelazny. Winner of the Hugo Award—one of six Zelazny received over the course of his legendary career, as well as three Nebula Awards and numerous other honors—Lord of Light stands with Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War and Frank Herbert’s Dune as one of the seminal novels that changed the way readers looked at science fiction. Experience it and you will understand why New York Times bestselling sf author Greg Bear says, 'Reading Zelazny is like dropping into a Mozart string quartet as played by Thelonius Monk'.”
Anyone who knows the history of science fiction in the 20th century will know there were several 'seminal' writers that pre-dated Haldeman and Hebert. Olaf Stapledon in the 1920s and 30s comes to mind - his 'Last and First Men' is a stunning feat of world-building pre-dating Haldeman's 'Instrumentality of Man' series, and 'Starmaker' was the inspiration for Robert Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land'.
Be sure to read the reviews of Zeleny's 'Lord of Light'. This is one review that gives an excellent synopsis - though maybe you should read the novel first (well worth it - it is a brilliant - and funny - novel) then read this and other worthy reviews.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: After arriving on a far-flung planet and subduing its various native beings, a starship's human crew sets itself up as the new ruling class by assuming the identities and mystique of the Hindu Pantheon (Vishnu, Krishna, etc.). They are aided in this ongoing illusion by two supernatural abilities: 1- Each of the starship's passengers boasted a unique genetic mutation that allowed them to manipulate energy and/or others' thoughts--they honed these powers (called "Aspects" and "Attributes") to perfection, allowing them to cast disorienting illusions and/or devastate their enemies; and 2- The humans developed a technology to transplant peoples' consciousnesses (and their accompanying powers) into new bodies, effectively making reincarnation a reality--they use this ability to implement a Karma rewards system in which they advance those who toe the party line and to keep the masses in fear of reincarnation in a lesser state. After centuries under this system Sam, one of the "gods" who is known by many other names, becomes disillusioned with the gods' unwillingness to allow humanity to develop and sets up an "Accelerationist" movement bent on overthrowing "Heaven" and freeing the planet's peoples. Sam undermines the Gods' teachings by establishing the Buddhist faith while also collecting support among his colleagues in the Celestial City. Eventually, and after many close shaves and would-be executions, Sam pits his fearsome army of allies (including the God of Death, the Goddess of the Night, the God of the Underworld, and an accompanying hoard of zombies and fire demons who are among the planet's original inhabitants) against his enemies (most notably including the God and Goddess of Destruction, the God of Creation, and the God of Fire).
*Sci-Fi as Fantasy: One of the best parts of this book is that it's both fantastic sci-fi and excellent fantasy! For obvious reasons, the "Gods" want their scientific/genetic powers to awe the populace so they wrap them in enigmatic, magical terms that inspire worship and fear. This makes for a story in which characters wield death rays and ESP against each other but use religious terms for them like "the gaze of death" or "the Trident of Shiva." One of the coolest carry-overs are the Rikasha, denizens of the planet before the humans' arrival who exist as body-stealing fire demons. Sam trapped them centuries before the plot of the story, and his descent to the forbidden mountain prison of Hellwell to free them is one of the best fantasy-esque scenes I've read in a long time. I also have to say that the whole concept of "science as magic" and assuming a godly identity to curb resistance reminded me a lot of the Golds' enslavement of the Obsidians in the Red Rising trilogy--that's a plot element of those stories that I've always liked, and I bet I now know where Pierce Brown got it from!
*Superb Characters: Each main character is centuries old, coming to the table with intense mutant powers and a lifetime of loyalties and scores to settle; Zelazny does a fantastic job throwing their stories together, weaving and breaking their alliances a surprising number of times for such a short book! My personal favorite characters included Yama (the God of Death who invents the most impressive tech), Nirriti (the former Christian chaplin of the original starship and the God who marshalls an army of zombies), Taraka (the leader of the Rikasha who thirsts to prove himself the most powerful being on the planet), and Sam himself. Sam's wit, goodness, and "Machiavellian scheming" make the whole story work!
*The book delivers some AWESOME fight scenes. The "final" battle at Keenset (between Sam's forces and those of Heaven) stands up to most other literary large-scale conflicts, and the Rild/Yama duel is one of the best I've ever read (better, for example, than Inigo and the Man in Black or even Dumbledore vs. Voldemort)!
*My One Quibble: I didn't think that Zelazny's choice to make Chapter 1 the moment when Sam is "resurrected" prior to the final final battle (Chapter 7) played out the way he hoped. While I understand the artistic value of creating a first chapter that fits later in the actual chronological turn of events, this one came across as mostly confusing, and I only really decisively figured out the proper timeline in Chapter 4 or 5, which I felt was too late. I would have preferred for the whole thing to be chronological, though it was kind of fun to see Sam's allies from the first chapter fall into place in later chapters. Not a huge deal.
I'm all in on this book, and I'll recommend it to my friends who enjoy sci fi and/or fantasy, as this is a great example of both! It's a fully worthy Hugo winner.
2024 Re-Read: I recommended this to my Book Club, so I enjoyed a chance to return and re-read it! I loved it again. I particularly like the literary/scriptural language throughout; Zelazny put some real artistry into this book. I enjoyed the way he uses brief scenes based almost exclusively on dialogue to advance the plot, which are light on setting descriptions but still manage to convey emotions quite well, including scenes where you can read between the lines and see characters seducing or betraying one another. The prose is sparse but/and super effective. I also loved returning to the book to explore its premise. I love how the demons and the gods are what they claim to be in all ways except being supernatural, for example. It's the religious themes and prose, though, that make this book sing. "What man who has lived for more than a score of years desires justice? For my part I find mercy infinitely more attractive. Give me a forgiving deity any day." ... "With a certain horror he know that within himself, as within every man, there lies a demon capable of responding to his own kind." I love the interplay between Hinduism and Buddhism (including and especially when pretenders make true believers out of their followers) and the introduction of Christianity in the final chapter. I find the book beautifully-written and compelling from start (well, at least from Chapter 2) to finish. I'll re-read it again.
