ESG and the Remission of Sins

ESG scores seem to be the perfect combination of Gnosticism and the corrupt and abusive practice of "selling indulgences." Here is why

ESG scores is a form of “indulgence” for the remission of sins in a gnostic system.

Upon reflection I have come to the conclusion that ESG and the entire ecosystem is a “mechanic” for a religion that needs a a way to “absolve sins.”

Here is why:

In realm of religion there is a group of religions called the Dualist religions.  Famous examples of this include Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Catharism, and Bogomilism. 

While each one is different, there is one thing that binds them, a “good god” and an “evil god” (usually called the Demiurge).  The “good god” is the creator is all spirituality, and the Evil Demiurge is the “evil god” that traps it in evil earthly matter.

With the exception of Zoroastrianism, most of the above existed after Christianity, and is directly at odds with the Christian concept that bodies and spirits are one, and bodies make the unseen (spirit) seen (Shoutout to Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body for a deep dive on this). 

In the case of Gnosticism for example, again there is the spiritual “good god” that created the good spiritual world and all spiritual things, and the evil Demiurge that created the material world and all material things.  The Demiurge then traps good souls into evil material bodies in this evil material world. 

Here is where ESG comes in.  ESG comes up with the premise that human beings and their byproducts are bad.  Humans do things like “destroy the environment, reproduce, kill other organisms for sustenance, have oppressive structures and produce “carbon byproducts.”  In the ESG worldview these things are EVIL and they need to find a way to atone for their sins.

Which is where the scoring system takes place:

Taking a cue from corrupt elements of the Catholic Church in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the ESG industry has set up a scoring system to assess their ESG scores.  Corporations pay money in order to be “absolved from their sins” and “buy these indulgences.”

Note: this is not the teaching of the Catholic Church, corrupt elements simply abused the concept of what an indulgence is, which is a different topic for a different post. 

In addition, companies like Disney even try to enforce these ESG ideas onto their workforce, often by employing a “high priest of ESG” in their ranks.  This way, they try to evangelize the unwashed masses starting within their ranks and with the content that they produce.  Never mind that there are still problems in the world– at least they are taking actions and “are doing something.” 

The ESG system has the trappings of being a mechanic of rather dogmatic religion complete with clergy, a system of sin assessment, and dogma.  It is actually a very clever way to fill in the “God sized hole” that is a part of every single human being.  When the corporate world tells you that they are “irreligious” they are technically incorrect since they have adopted a pretty popular ancient religion that reincarnated and re-manifested itself for the 21^st century.