April 22, 2010 – It’s appropriate that for Earth Day a British court has essentially confirmed Gaia’s status as a goddess who is worshiped by eco-acolytes. What so many have observed—that beliefs about the environment have morphed into a new cult—is now being openly acknowledged by its members. And like all cults, this one rots human brains and endangers the human species.
And here is where the British court was wrong. Nicholson’s lawyer said that his client “established the principle that a belief in the dangers of climate change was capable of being protected under the religious discrimination and philosophical belief regulations.”
But the real danger is the assertion that religious opinions deserve any special protection under the law. They don’t. Quite the opposite, in a pro-human culture these as well as other beliefs should always be open to scrutiny regardless of whether the feelings of those who hold them are hurt. And in many cases, discriminatory action is advisable.
For example, college biology departments rightly reject Creationists for teaching positions. The reason is not because the candidates might hold religious beliefs as such. It is because such individuals do not pursue knowledge about biology and human origins through a rational, scientific approach but, rather, start with a predetermined conclusion—and a highly ridiculous one that comes from their faith—and manipulate and cherry-pick data to make a superficial argument for their indefensible assertions.
To the extent that environmental extremists hold their views as a form of religious dogma, they deserve the same treatment as Creationists who disingenuously pawn off their views as science.
Return to reason
Reason is a value to human beings because if we as individuals value our own lives and well-being, and if we wish to live, to be happy, and to flourish on this earth and in this life, we must use our minds to seek the truth. Extremist cults reject reason because they reject human life as the standard of all value.
Some environmental extremists now seek to deflect criticism of their dogma by couching them as religious—which, in fact, they are. But rather than deflect criticism, this fact should open them to even greater scrutiny, both of the basis for their assertions about global warming and much else—and, most important, the ultimate goals that they seek. If it’s not life on this earth, then they should at least be honest about their suicidal aims. ---------- Hudgins directs advocacy and is a senior scholar at The Atlas Society, the center for Objectivism.
