It is now official, at least in Britain, Environmentalism is a religion. Indeed, one can now sue for religious discrimination with environmentalism listed as the affronted creed.
According to Tom Nicholson, a 41-year old married man, being Green means he no longer travels by airplane, he buys local produce, has reduced his consumption of meat and he composts his food waste. But his employer, property company Grainger, didn’t take these beliefs seriously – in particular his belief in climate change – and sacked him.
At a preliminary hearing in March, Judge David Sneath ruled that Mr Nicholson’s convictions amount to a philosophical belief under the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations, 2003, and therefore he can claim discrimination.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.