Stephen Hawking Finally Admits He’s Atheist: Believes in Aliens & That Space is Our Best Hope for Immortality [VIDEO]

Highly respected British physicist Stephen Hawking for the first time revealed that although he does believe in aliens, he does not believe in God. He also said that space is the best hope for our species' immortality.

Hawking has been known to hint here and there that he is not a religious man, but has always left a bit of mystery by adding "not religious in the normal sense." He has also noted that scientists know certain scientific principles and theories that would enable them to "know the mind of God," indicating that there is a God.

In a recent interview, Hawking put all the speculation to rest during the buildup to Starmus Festival at Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

"Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation," he said, "What I meant by 'we would know the mind of God' is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn't. I'm an atheist."

A big part of Hawking's appeal comes from his triumphant attitude toward his battle with amylotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a neurogenerative disease that has left him almost completely paralyzed. He communicates only through a computer that is controlled by the twitches of his cheek.

The 72-year-old claimed in a new documentary titled "Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking" that alien life forms almost certainly exist. However he believes that communicating with them could be "too risky."

"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet," Hawking said, "I imagine they might exist in massive ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach."

Watch Hawking speak about his anticipated trip to space below: