Transhumanism Branded a ‘Death Cult’ as Thinkers Clash Over Humanity’s Future
A public dispute over transhumanism—an ideology that promotes using technology to enhance the human body and mind, including extending lifespan—has intensified after critics branded the movement a “death cult,” while advocates argued it is fundamentally humanitarian.
At a discussion involving thinkers connected to a UK-based institute, neuroscientist and critic Gómez-Marín said, “I think transhumanism is a death cult,” framing the movement as one that seeks to eliminate the human condition rather than preserve it. Critics argued transhumanism risks misunderstanding what it means to be human by treating aging and death primarily as technical problems to be solved.
Transhumanist advocate Zoltan Istvan pushed back on that characterization, defending transhumanism as an effort to reduce suffering through technology and to tackle aging and death as preventable causes of harm. In that view, life extension and human enhancement are presented as extensions of modern medicine and scientific progress.
The debate has also taken on an explicitly religious dimension. Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday rejected technological promises to indefinitely prolong human existence—including those associated with transhumanism—saying the resurrection of Christ “reveals to us that death is not opposed to life.” The comments reflect a broader concern among some religious leaders that technological projects aimed at “defeating death” risk reshaping moral and spiritual understandings of human life.
While transhumanism is often framed in secular terms, the movement intersects with long-standing religious themes, including immortality and transformation. Some transhumanists pursue goals traditionally associated with religion, and certain late-20th-century new religious movements have explicitly embraced transhumanist aims of altering mind and body through technology, including Raëlism.
At the same time, much of the mainstream transhumanist discourse emphasizes practical applications—using biotechnology, neurotechnology, and other tools to enable longer, healthier lives—while speculating that future advances could provide deeper insight into altered states of consciousness that have historically been interpreted as spiritual experiences.
Transhumanism has also entered political organizing. The Transhumanist Party is a political party in the United States with a platform centered on human enhancement, human rights, science, life extension, and technological progress. The existence of a formal political vehicle underscores that the movement is not only philosophical, but also seeks to influence policy.
Historically, transhumanism has developed through networks and institutions formed to discuss emerging technologies and their implications. The Extropy Institute (ExI), co-founded by Max More and Tom Bell as a non-profit educational organization, was created as a hub for defining principles intended to help society make sense of new capabilities opening up to humanity.
The clash matters for the tech and crypto world because many of the core questions raised by transhumanism—human identity, autonomy, and the governance of powerful technologies—overlap with debates about decentralization, digital rights, and how emerging tools reshape social norms. As religious leaders, critics, and advocates argue over whether transhumanism represents progress or a fundamental misunderstanding of human life, the discussion is increasingly moving from niche circles into broader cultural and political arenas.