Peterson has characterized himself politically as a
classical liberal and as a
traditionalist. He has stated that he is commonly mistaken as right-wing, He has been described as "conservative-leaning" by
The New York Times Conservative philosopher
Yoram Hazony writes in
The Wall Street Journal that "The startling success of [Peterson's] elevated arguments for the importance of order has made him the most significant conservative thinker to appear in the English-speaking world in a generation." Libertarian journalist
Cathy Young commented in the
Los Angeles Times: On November 24, 2024, in her Observer Column of
The Guardian, Martha Gill reiterated a good number of the criticisms of Peterson, noted social dynamics facilitating the appeal of similar internet personalities, and suggested that he was "tapping into the self-improvement market among young men" and advocating a form of spirituality as a route, given that religion was in decline among members of that cohort.
Academia and political correctness Peterson asserts that universities are largely responsible for a wave of "
political correctness" that has appeared in North America and Europe, Peterson believes the
humanities have become corrupt and less reliant on science, in particular sociology. He contends that "proper culture" and western civilization are being undermined by "post-modernism and neo-Marxism".
Tim Lott stated in
The Spectator that Peterson became "an outspoken critic of mainstream academia". He has said that these fields propagate
cult-like behaviour and
safe-spaces. In a 2018 interview with
Time magazine, Peterson expressed his opposition to
identity politics, saying "You don't play racial, ethnic and gender identity games" and argued that it is practiced by both the left and the right: "[t]he left plays them on behalf of the
oppressed, let's say, and the right tends to play them on behalf of
nationalism and
ethnic pride". He goes on to argue that both are equally dangerous and that "the correct game...is one where you focus on your individual life and try to take responsibility for your actions." Burston writes that Peterson's reluctance to criticize
racially charged remarks by Donald Trump while freely criticizing the
American Left has served to enable Trump's "authoritarian agenda". In 2017, Peterson did an interview with the
Toronto Sun following a public controversy around cultural appropriation in which a senior editor for the
CBC tweeted that he would "contribute $100 to an appropriation prize" before a debate about cultural appropriation between journalists, resulting in a public apology by the editor and his reassignment to a lower position. In the interview Peterson claimed that the reaction on social media and events that followed had promoted self-censorship among journalists saying that the "radical mob learned...they can humiliate and take down even journalists that have impeccable reputations and large followings" and that he had "talked to many journalists this week about this issue... they're all engaging in cautious self-censorship". He also argued that censorship makes people deceptive saying that "You start by just not saying things, and you end up by saying things that you know to be untrue." Burston writes that in attributing the decline of the liberal arts solely to the advent of postmodernism and
political correctness, Peterson has joined sides with the right in the
campus culture wars. Peterson's arguments about subjects outside his area of expertise, such as postmodernism,
gender identity, and Canadian law, have been criticized as "conspiratorial" and "riddled with pseudo-facts" by of
The Guardian. Several writers have associated Peterson with the "
intellectual dark web" including journalist
Bari Weiss, who included Peterson in the 2018
New York Times article that first popularized the term.
Gender and gender expression Peterson has said that there is an ongoing "
crisis of masculinity" and "backlash against masculinity" in which the "masculine spirit is under assault". He has said that
the Left characterizes the existing
societal hierarchy as an "oppressive patriarchy" but "doesn't want to admit that the current hierarchy might be predicated on competence." and that other factors like generalized differences between the personalities of men and women account for the difference. Channel 4 News reported that it had consulted with security specialists due to "vicious misogynistic abuse, nastiness, and threats" made against Newman. Peterson said that he immediately called on his supporters to "back off" once he became aware of the abuse and denied that the harassment was reflective of "fundamental misogyny".
Bill C-16 On 27 September 2016, Peterson released the first installment of a three-part lecture video series, entitled "Professor against political correctness: Part I: Fear and the Law". In the video, he stated that he would not use the
preferred gender pronouns of students and faculty, alleging it fell under
compelled speech and said that he opposed the
Canadian government's
Bill C-16 which proposed to add "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited grounds of discrimination under the
Canadian Human Rights Act and expand the definitions of promoting genocide and publicly inciting hatred in the
hate speech laws in Canada. Peterson cited
free-speech implications in opposition to the bill and falsely According to law professor
Brenda Cossman and others, this interpretation of C-16 is mistaken, and the law does not criminalize misuse of pronouns. The series of videos drew criticism from
transgender rights groups, faculty, and labour unions who condemned Peterson for "helping to foster a climate for hate to thrive" and for "fundamentally mischaracterising" the law. When asked in September 2016 if he would comply with the request of a student to use a preferred pronoun, Peterson said: It would depend on how they asked me. […] If I could detect that there was a chip on their shoulder, or that they were [asking me] with political motives, then I would probably say 'no'. […] If I could have a conversation like the one we're having now, I could probably meet them on an equal level. In February 2017,
Maxime Bernier, then candidate for leader of the
Conservative Party of Canada, stated that he had shifted his position on Bill C-16, from support to opposition, after meeting with Peterson and discussing it. Peterson's analysis of the bill was also frequently cited by senators who were opposed to its passage. In April 2017, Peterson was denied a
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant for the first time in his career, which he claimed was in retaliation for his statements regarding Bill C-16. However, a
media-relations adviser for SSHRC said, "Committees assess only the information contained in the application." In response the far-right
Rebel News launched an
Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign on Peterson's behalf, In May 2017, as one of 24 witnesses who were invited to speak about the bill, Peterson spoke against Bill C-16 at a Canadian Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs hearing. The reasons given for the censure included the clip creating a "toxic climate", being compared to a "
speech by Hitler", In June 2018, Peterson filed a $1.5-million lawsuit against Wilfrid Laurier University, alleging that three staff members of the university had maliciously defamed him by making negative comments about him behind closed doors. In the same month Shepherd filed a lawsuit against the university, the two professors, the third staff member and a student, alleging "harassment, intentional infliction of nervous shock, negligence, and constructive dismissal". By September 2018, Wilfrid Laurier had asked the court to dismiss Peterson's lawsuit, stating that Peterson filed it in an attempt to limit debate on matters of public interest. Laurier commented that "there is inescapable irony in the fact that Peterson...is bringing a claim for the stated purpose of causing academics and administrators to be more circumspect in their words." Peterson's lawsuit was dismissed by the court on November 7, 2024. Shepherd's lawsuit was dismissed the next day.
Climate change Peterson is a
climate-change denier and has publicly expressed his disbelief in the
scientific consensus on climate change. He has been identified by climate scientists as a "key organizer at the global level for efforts to oppose and delay action on climate change". His videos spreading climate change denialism have been viewed millions of times and include titles such as "The world is not ending", "Unsettled: climate and science" and "The great climate con". Appearing on
The Joe Rogan Experience in 2022, Peterson said that "there is no such thing as climate", that "climate and everything are the same word", denied the accuracy of
climate modelling and confused it with
weather forecasting, cited
Fred Singer, a prominent climate change denier, and falsely asserted that
fracking has not polluted water supplies.
Michael E. Mann, a professor of
Atmospheric Science at
Penn State University, said in an interview with
The Independent that Peterson's "argument betrays either a total lack of understanding of how science works (or, more likely, a total disdain for his audience and an intention to disinform)". held a three day conference beginning with a statement by Peterson stating that "We do not believe that humanity is necessarily and inevitably teetering on the brink of apocalyptic disaster." The conference hosted several speakers who downplayed the extent of
anthropogenic climate change and promoted the use of
fossil fuels. Attendee and biologist
Jennifer Marohasy characterized the conference as a platform for spreading climate change denialism. Peterson has been criticized by climate scientists for providing a platform on his YouTube channel to climate deniers such as
Judith Curry and
Alex Epstein. Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania criticized Peterson for "poisoning the minds of so many influenceable people with his pseudo-intellectual and pseudoscientific drivel, drivel that is being weaponized in the right-wing assault on science and reason" and described him as "a central cog in the denial machine".
Religion In a 2017 interview, Peterson was asked if he was a Christian; he responded, "I suppose the most straight-forward answer to that is yes." When asked if he believes in God, Peterson responded: "I think the proper response to that is no, but I'm afraid he might exist." Writing for
The Spectator, Tim Lott said Peterson draws inspiration from the
Jungian interpretation of religion and holds views similar to the
Christian existentialism of
Søren Kierkegaard and
Paul Tillich. Lott also said that Peterson has respect for
Taoism, as it views nature as a struggle between
order and
chaos and posits life would be meaningless without this duality. Burston argues that Peterson's views on religion reflect a preoccupation with what Tillich calls the vertical or transcendent dimension of religious experience, to the detriment of what Tillich termed the horizontal dimension of faith, which demands social justice in the tradition of the
biblical prophets. Burston describes such a one-sided emphasis on "internal or inner-worldly transformation" as a "hallmark of the traditionalist conservative mindset". Peterson expanded on his religious views in
We Who Wrestle with God, an analytical reading of
the first five books of the Bible as well as the
Book of Job and the
Book of Jonah, published in 2024.
Christianity Today said, "On its own terms, Peterson's exegesis can be quite successful," but adding it was "slippery on theological truth". In the
The Guardian,
Rowan Williams wrote that Peterson's "insistent contempt for nuance and disagreement... and the reduction of any alternative perspective to its most shallow or trivial form, does not encourage the serious engagement Peterson presumably wants." In May 2025, Peterson engaged in a debate with 20
atheists that was hosted by
Jubilee Media and was originally titled
1 Christian vs. 20 atheists. However, during the debate, which went
viral on
social media, Peterson refused to identify as a Christian and was evasive about his religious beliefs. This came as a surprise to the atheists he was debating, who had specifically been invited to the show to debate a "Christian". Shortly after release, the title was changed to
Jordan Peterson vs. 20 atheists. == Influence ==