Has the belief of the global warming phenomena made it a modern day born religion?

Answer 1

I think it is. I got to thinking about it because in the past everyone used to say that floods, droughts, natural disasters of all kinds were "acts of God", but these days EVERYONE says it's "global warming" (esp. here on the Q&A!) - ask ANY Q about weather or natural disasters and the majority will write "it's global warming" (it drives me nuts!) - I think that in the past people were focused on God and obsessed with religion, but these days global warming and the CO2 agenda have replaced this focus as most people don't follow a religion anymore.

Plus the entire CO2 bandwagon operates from the standpoint of a moral agenda, so it appeals very much to people who need a pseudo-religion in their life that makes them feel righteous and more noble than other people.

Answer 2

A large group of people are living in a big co-operative apartment bock. Everyone paints their apartment, to make it look nice, and then dumps paint and solvent-soaked rags down the rubbish chute, so that a huge pile of solvent-soaked rags accumulates in the basement. The fire inspector comes around and says "This big pile of solvent-soaked rags is dangerous, you could get a spontaneous fire. It needs to be removed." The governing commitee of the co-op gets bids from contractors to take the rags away. It's a lot of money! There's a meeting of all the tenants. They divide into two groups---one says that everyone should pay a fee to get the rags taken away---the other says that there is no danger, the fire inspector is wrong, and the whole problem should be ignored. The second group has lots of arguments: If the rags are so dangerous, why don't clothing stores catch on fire? The fire inspector is a very bad man who owns a trash-hauling business, and is just in it for the money. No one has ever proven that a fire can start without a flame. All fires are natural and caused by lightning. Spontaneous fires are "just a theory", and the scientific evidence is "weak". Suppose a fire started, how bad could it be? Maybe a fire would just reduce heating bills for the whole apartment block. There's no way to prove that a fire would spread to the penthouse, so why should those rich tenants pay? The governing commitee is just using the pile of rags as an excuse to enslave the other tenants and get more fees. A different apartment block in the city had a fire, and it was not caused by oily rags. Some people in the upper floors might survive a fire, so why do anything?

The first group becomes increasingly disgusted by these arguments, and begins to loose patience. They insist that they know the pile of rags is dangerous, and they want everyone to pay to have it removed.

So the first group is a "modern day born religion"?

Answer 3

The 'man made' part is definitely like a religion.
The scientific evidence is weak and contradictory, but some people decide to believe in it as an act of faith. So whatever happens to the climate the believers claim it is caused by man's use of fossil fuels, if it get warmer, colder, wetter or dryer the global warming alarmists cry CO2 emissions.
For a statement to be scientific it must be capable of being show to false, since nothing that happens to our climate can convince the believers that anthropogenic global warming is not correct, it is not science but a belief system.
As new research is published which further weakens the 'man made' case the believers become more strident, making ever more extreme claims in an attempt to intimidate the population into compliance with their beliefs.
It is beginning to feel like the witch burnings of the middle ages

Answer 4

No, in principle religion is a matter of faith whereas deciding that global warming is occurring is a matter of science.

However, the prospect that there will be a mass extinction of a million living species over the next century does make some people quite emotional and available for exploitation by wily politicians from all points of the political compass.

The cynical exploitation of the emotional effect of global warming should be resisted. Green taxes are the most dangerous area of abuse. Taxation is unpopular and governments try to sell their taxes as "ethical". This has the hidden danger of producing taxes that are socially bad - for instance it will be less intelligent people, disorganised people and other disadvantaged people on low incomes who will be fined and sent to jail for failing to sort their rubbish. It will also be these people who will need to pay higher rates for energy inefficient housing because they always live in the worst housing stock.

Politicians and the media are increasingly using the word "ethical" about measures to combat global warming. This is simply a desire to bully opponents by calling them unethical or bad people. Measures to combat global warming are about survival, not ethics. These measures should be called "practical" measures and should be supported by scientific analysis.

Answer 5

It certainly has. Plus the fact that if you don't subscribe to it you become a pariah. Whatever the cause the climate is changing folks. Deal with it!
Or we could all just commit mass suicide now.
Or go back to the horse and cart.
Pass the sackcloth and ashes, I'm off for a bit of self flaggelation.

Answer 6

Yes, Pastafarianism.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (also known as the Spaghedeity) is the deity of a parody religion called The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The religion was founded in 2005 by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson to protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution.

According to the Pastafarian belief system, pirates are "absolute divine beings" and the original Pastafarians.[2] Their image as "thieves and outcasts" is misinformation spread by Christian theologians in the Middle Ages and Hare Krishnas. Pastafarianism says that they were in fact "peace-loving explorers and spreaders of good will" who distributed candy to small children.

The inclusion of pirates in Pastafarianism was part of Henderson's original letter to the Kansas School Board. It illustrated that correlation does not equal causation. Henderson put forth the argument that "global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of pirates since the 1800s." A chart accompanying the letter shows that as the number of pirates decreased, global temperatures increased; the absurdity of this demonstrates how statistically significant correlations do not imply a causal relationship.

Answer 7

There IS a new religion that's been growing since the 1960's, but I don't know if it stems from Global Warming... or disillusionment with the Establishment.

This new religion is very EXCITING - it has no relics, no heavy gold icons, no people dressed in weird smocks, hats etc., there are no special worship places required, or money needed...

It does definitely exist - I know cos I've been tracking its growth...

Answer 8

So if God didn't create everything, then he certainly isn't in complete control. That leaves the control and responsibility with us self-exhalted human beings. Pretty self-inflating if you ask me...

It reminds me of a child who is happy to take with a toy given to him until he misuses it and it breaks and then he cries and gets angry with the parent because the toy broke. Never thanks the parent for the toy. Never takes responsibility for misusing it. God is our parent and we are misusing the toy, the earth.

Did our politicians think for a minute that China would use any restraint in its factories, producing goods which we use over in the states? Now China has an infrastructure which could support waging a war with any superpower. They are like the US prior to WW2. Am I the only person who is a little nervous here?

Answer 9

Those who view global warming as a natural occurrence are often viewed as heretics, so that would help to make the religion comparison valid.

Answer 10

Religion is based on belief.
Facts about global warming will never create new religion.