THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 103, April 28, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
ENVIRONMENTALISM AS A SURROGATE RELIGION:
It may Be "Secular," but Environmentalism Makes
"Mother Earth" its Object of Special Devotion
By Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen
A FUNDAMENTAL NEW REALITY, AS REGARDS RELIGIOUS FAITH AMONG AMERICANS & OTHER PEOPLES OF THE WEST:
ENVIRONMENTALISM HAS REPLACED RELIGION FOR MANY OF ITS ADHERENTS -- HOW ENVIRONMENTALISM MEETS
THE CRITERIA OF A SECULAR RELIGION -- THE BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTALISM --GAIA, OR MOTHER EARTH,
AS ENVIRONMENTALISM'S OBJECT OF SPECIAL DEVOTION -- ENVIRONMENTALISM'S CORNERSTONE BELIEF THAT
HUMANKIND IS JUST ONE SPECIES AMONG MANY -- THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN THE RELIGION OF ENVIRONMENTALISM -- CAN
ENVIRONMENTALISM BE RECONCILED WITH TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS SUCH AS CHRISTIANITY & JUDAISM?
FULL STORY:
As we reflect on Earth Day 2011 (April 22, 2011) and on passionate appeals that we support environmental initiatives
almost too numerous to count, we should also reflect on a fundamental new reality.
Environmentalism has replaced religion for many of its adherents.
The ending “-ism” denotes a way of thinking, perceiving, and structuring one's life. Every “ism” is based on underlying
assumptions, principles, and beliefs that tell its adherents what they ought to believe and do. Providing ethical guidance
for its members is a major part of what an “-ism” does.
Followers of Judaism who observe Passover as their ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt – and Christians who
commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter – have no problem acknowledging that these are
matters of belief.
They would never claim that science provides absolute proof of authenticity – although many find in science valuable
support for the validity of their beliefs. Those who can see an underlying compatibility between science and religious
faith are comfortable in both realms.
Environmentalism, likewise, provides ethical guidance. But its followers generally recoil from the suggestion that it’s a
religion. The traditional buildings and rituals are absent; moreover, many adherents come from a background of explicitly
rejecting “institutional” religions. Nevertheless, a careful examination of the basic assumptions shows that
environmentalism indeed meets the criteria of a secular religion.
In environmentalism, “Mother Earth” (Gaia, the Earth Goddess) replaces God [Yahweh, Adonai, Elohim, El-Shaddai, God
Almighty, God of Our Fathers, God of All Nations, God of the Universe, the Deity, or the Supreme Supernatural Being] as
the object of special devotion, causing some of environmentalism’s subsequent assertions to be in direct opposition to
fundamental teachings of Christianity and Judaism. Another cornerstone belief in the religion of environmentalism is that
mankind is just one species among many; this view opposes the Judeo-Christian belief that God considers mankind to be
very special.
Science appears to play a major role in environmentalism, but actually its role is distinctly secondary: Science is used
subjectively, not objectively. After a set of beliefs has been established, various fields of science (and scholarly studies
within those fields), are carefully sifted to select facts that support those beliefs. Facts and scientific fields that
contravene or fail to support core beliefs are rejected or ignored.
That’s not the way science is supposed to work. However, it happens every day in environmentalism, as reflected in
movies, magazines, blogs, television programs, newspapers – and legislative and regulatory initiatives.
In his excellent book, The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary
America, Professor Robert H. Nelson likens the contemporary struggle between those two secular religions to John
Calvin's struggle 500 years ago against Roman Catholicism, the officially established religion (government sponsored
and sanctioned religion) of the time.
Nelson’s book concludes:
“It is time to take secular religion seriously. It is
real religion. In the Twentieth Century, it showed
greater energy, won more converts, and had more
impact on the Western world than the traditional,
institutional forms of Christianity.”
For the believing environmentalist, there is a certain “Garden of Eden” narrative: the beginning of evil came with the
development of agriculture, when mankind rose above hunter-gatherer status and began to control and improve on
nature to meet his needs. Thereafter, came civilization and all its negative environmental effects and associations. The
whole story hangs together within a religious framework.
In America today, the religion of environmentalism has the distinct advantage of being taught in the public schools, and
receiving plentiful government funding. Some of its beliefs are fairly benign, such as sympathy for polar bear cubs. But
other beliefs have had horrible consequences.
The chemical spray DDT is a powerful weapon against malaria. It wiped the disease out in the developed world. Sprayed
on walls, DDT acts for six months or more with a single application, keeping mosquitoes out of homes, preventing them
from biting, and killing any that land.
However, environmentalist activism and incorrect scientific interpretations led politicians to believe DDT harmed birds
and fish, and the insecticide was banned in the United States in 1972. Since then, it has been largely purged from the
disease control arsenal worldwide, even though malaria still infects a billion people in poor countries every year, killing
up to one million people.
Today, many environmentalists view the alleged dangers of using DDT as being worse than the misery and death caused
by the disease. Since 1972, at least 20 million African children have died from malaria.
Throwing trash out of your car window is considered a sin by environmentalism. In other religions, allowing the
preventable death of millions of children is a far greater sin.
This year, Easter, Passover and Earth Day all came close together. Now may be a good time to ask whether
environmentalism can be reconciled with traditional religions.
Most religious people who believe in God as Christians or Jews also want to protect the environment. They see
ecological stewardship as part of their responsibility to God.
Indeed, that is the message of another excellent book, Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition.
Published by the Acton Institute a decade ago, it is a brief collection of essays by Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic
scholars who have pondered how and why their own faith embraces care for God's creation.
In all cases, these authors root their arguments in Scripture, abetted by an understanding of modern science. They stress
that the word “dominion” used in the Bible does not mean people have a right to wreck the planet. Rather, it means
mankind is a partner chosen by God to be a responsible steward of creation.
Emphatically, these Christian and Jewish authors do not regard mankind as just “one species among many.” And they
don't confuse “Mother Earth” with God.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Religion, Secularism, & America
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Science, Ethics, & Human Health:
Human Health & Public Policy
Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen is Director of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, the leading
Catholic organization that strives to bring faith and science together. Readers who wish to comment on this article may
do so on this website or at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114517700573
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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