One of the reasons I refuse to self identify as a 'skeptic' is because the supposed reverence for science and empiricism is largely just deference to academia.

One of the reasons I refuse to self identify as a 'skeptic' is because the supposed reverence for science and empiricism is largely just deference to academia. There's also a feigned distaste for personal experience (and really who can or should dismiss their own life experience). Ultimately this isn't about libertarianism, it's about allowing individuals to choose their own standards for evidence, trusted authorities, and process for making their own decisions. The "educated elite" really truly believe that their standards are superior and that it's their duty to help others by making the decisions for them. This is ultimately a religion attempting to impose itself on others, but because it doesn't call itself one people don't recognize it as doing such.