By Lewis Loflin
Summary: When environmentalism morphs into spiritual ecology, it resembles a religion, violating the separation of religion and state. It has no place dictating politics or science.
In a July 1, 2009, letter to the Bristol Herald Courier, Joy A. Smith-Briggs of Bristol, Tennessee, reacted to my critique of what I called the “watermelon cult” (green outside, red inside). I had argued, “The earth is not holy, divine, sacred, etc.,” railing against “pantheistic New Age nonsense” tied to global warming advocacy. Joy countered, citing Psalms 24:1-2: “The earth is the Lord’s... the sea is his and he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.” To her, this makes the earth holy, divine, and sacred, demanding human stewardship.
For context, see my original piece: Environmentalism - Religion or Political Philosophy?
Fast forward to 2014—no catastrophic global warming as predicted by their computer models. Today, it’s “carbon pollution” they harp on. Joy’s response isn’t about science; it’s pseudo-religious. She likely doesn’t adhere to the Nicene Creed, instead blending New Age mysticism into her faith—a pagan stance, not Christian.
Not all environmentalists treat it as a religion like Joy does. Many avoid spiritualism, but too often, mysticism creeps in. That’s fine—until it invades politics. Progressive leftists, meanwhile, exploit environmentalism to impose social changes via government. Al Gore exemplifies this fusion of liberal causes with green rhetoric:
“We feel increasingly distant from our roots in the earth... Civilization has journeyed from its foundations in nature to a contrived, controlled, manufactured world of our arrogant design... We lost our connectedness to nature... Are we so unique and powerful as to be separate from the earth?”
Gore even ties it to Christianity: “The idea of social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology” (Earth in the Balance, pp. 246-247). What “scriptures,” Al? See Al Gore’s Green Religion Exposed.
Environmentalists aren’t a monolith. Some, like Gore, blend politics and religion for power or wealth—a hallmark of progressive-leftism. Others, like Joy, are purely religious. Most, I’d call passive—recycling bottles or eating organic food, perhaps with a hint of mysticism, but not a full religion. The danger arises when political actors radicalize these passive or religious types as “useful idiots.” How many demand government “action” on climate change without knowing CO2 comprises just 0.0407% of the atmosphere or that natural sources dwarf human emissions? Terms like “carbon pollution” are fear tactics, akin to cellphone cancer scares. They dismiss oil-funded scientists but blindly trust “experts” they can’t vet.
Joy and Al prove my point: for many, environmentalism is a pseudo-religion and a political tool, not a hard science but a social science. Joy misquotes Psalms 24:1-2 (NIV): “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” It doesn’t call the earth God or holy—it’s God’s creation, not divine itself. If Joy were truly Christian (she isn’t), she’d heed Romans 1:18-32:
“The wrath of God is revealed against... men who suppress the truth... For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen... They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped created things rather than the Creator...”
Worshipping rocks, trees, and dirt is idolatry. Injecting this pseudo-religious nonsense into politics as public policy—whether Joy’s mysticism or Gore’s green agenda—violates the separation of pseudo-religion and state. I don’t need deluded mystics using government coercion to meddle in my life or dictate my thermostat settings.
What does Gore say about climate science? He sidesteps data for theology: “The idea of social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology.” It’s a dodge—scripture as a prop for his politics, not a basis for empirical truth.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
