I've seen this pop up on my research as well, I've seen valid arguments that say the whole ET phenomena is associated with the supernatural phenomena. It made me think back on my own experiences and consider how it's possible.
Consider that, when we talk beliefs and religions, it's usually based on the concept of disembodied spirits, now add to this the idea of possession, and further add to this the concept of our bodies being suits .....or as I often say, organic data processors with reference to the Artificial Intelligence era that we have entered.
It would bring us back to the basic concept of good vs evil, or creator vs destroyer - point being I would not be the least bit surprised if the aliens were just suits and part of a bigger picture. I've seen documentaries that suggest that the whole greek god mythology is based on aliens that once lived on earth.
Any sentient being that is capable of creating this universe would not be of this earth, as a creator would not be created by it's creation. and that's logic, not belief. With regard to being consumed, the bible does make many reference to the "harvesters" and referring to mankind as wheat, chaff and salt. - Even further, we all generate feelings, and consume it from each other - ie - when you make someone happy, they are consuming this energy you are emitting to be happy. So harvesting souls for food on a spiritual level doesn't have to mean something bad, doesn't have to mean something good either lol. A baby generates a lot of happy energy for it's parent to consume, is that bad ?
as for free will, I'd have to say we have a choice if we wish to emit positive or negative energy that others consume. That's way more freedom than a cow or chicken gets.