How would the world change if intelligent extra-terrestrial life were discovered?

Suppose we received a message from some planet a few hundred light years away. At the time the message was sent, which was a few hundred years ago, the senders were at about the same stage of development as we are now and live lives not very different from or own, so they did not have any advanced knowledge to impart. Do you think that the confirmation of the existence of civilization elsewhere would make any difference to the average person?

After the initial excitement wore off, I don’t think things would change much. Life would go on pretty much the same as before. In particular, religious people would not question why the Bible makes no reference to life on other planets any more than they questioned the lack of mention of North and South America.