Religion and vegetarianism

A vegetarian thali from Rajasthan, India. Because many Indian religions promote vegetarianism, India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world put together.[1]

Religious vegetarianism is type of vegetarianism, in which one is vegetarian, based on primarily and/or solely religious reasons often related to minimizing harm to living beings where possible. Religious vegetarians are often followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Seventh Day Adventists. Some Muslims living in the United States of America and Canada choose not to eat meat because of not having access to Halal meat, although some of them may simply get Kosher meat, instead. Some denominations of Christianity require and/or believe that being a vegetarian is ideal.

Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia founded by an atheist and agnostic, declared in August of 2019 concerning religion and vegetarianism:

“  |  Vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism). In Jainism, vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone; in Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, it is advocated by some influential scriptures and religious authorities. Comparatively, in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the Bahá'í Faith and Dharmic religions such as Sikhism, vegetarianism is less commonly viewed as a religious obligation, although in all these faiths there are groups actively promoting vegetarianism on religious grounds.[2] |  ”

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## Contents

* 1 Christian/Jewish vegetarianism
* 2 Religious India, vegetarianism and its low rate of convinced atheism
* 3 Atheism and veganism
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Christian/Jewish vegetarianism[edit]

See also: Christian/Jewish vegetarianism

Christian/Jewish vegetarians commonly cite Genesis 1:29-30 which states:

“  |  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. - Genesis 1:29-30 (ESV)[3] |  ”

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There was a vegetarian lion named Little Tyke that refused to eat meat.[4]

In addition, they point out that the prophet Isaiah promises there will be a time in the future when the following will occur:

“  |  The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. - Isaiah 11:6-9 ESV[5] |  ”

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David Catchpoole wrote at the website of Creation Ministries International:

“  |  From 1946 to 1955, A female African lion, born and raised in America, lived her entire lifetime of nine years without ever eating meat.1 In fact, her owners, Georges and Margaret Westbeau,2 alarmed by scientists’ reports that carnivorous animals cannot live without meat, went to great lengths to try to coax their unusual pet (‘Little Tyke’) to develop a taste for it. They even advertised a cash reward for anyone who could devise a meat-containing formula that the lioness would like. The curator of a New York zoo advised the Westbeaus that putting a few drops of blood in Little Tyke’s milk bottle would help in weaning her, but the lioness cub refused to touch it—even when only a single drop of blood had been added.

The more knowledgeable animal experts among the many visitors to the Westbeaus’ 100 acre (40 hectare) ranch also proffered advice, but nothing worked. Meanwhile, Little Tyke continued to do extremely well on a daily diet of cooked grain, raw eggs and milk. By four years of age she was fully grown and weighed 352 pounds (160 kg)...

Mr Westbeau’s observation of the lioness that ‘To condition her stomach she would spend an hour at a time eating the succulent tall grass in the fields’, is also a vivid reminder of the prophecies of Isaiah 11:7 and 65:25, ‘ … the lion will eat straw like the ox.’[4]

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See also: Bible scientific foreknowledge - CreationWiki

## Religious India, vegetarianism and its low rate of convinced atheism[edit]

See also: Atheism and veganism

In 2007, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations statistics indicated that Indians had the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world.[6] India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world put together.[7]

3% of Indians are convinced atheists.[8]

See also: Religion in India

## Atheism and veganism[edit]

* Atheism and veganism

* New Atheism and veganism

* Richard Dawkins on veganism

## See also[edit]

* Atheism and animal abuse
* Atheists and dog meat eating
* Communist China and baby eating
* Atheists eat babies meme
* Atheism and cannibalism
* Atheism and morality

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Edelstein, Sari (2013). Food Science, An Ecological Approach. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Page 281. ISBN 978-1-4496-0344-1. “...India has more vegetarians than everywhere else in the world combined.”
2. ↑ Vegetarianism and religion, Wikipedia
3. ↑ Genesis 1:29-30 ESV
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The lion who would not eat meat
5. ↑ Isaiah 11:6-9 ESV
6. ↑ Meat Consumption Per Person. Retrieved on 23 January 2018.
7. ↑ Edelstein, Sari (2013). Food Science, An Ecological Approach. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Page 281. ISBN 978-1-4496-0344-1. “...India has more vegetarians than everywhere else in the world combined.”
8. ↑ Global Index Of Religion And Atheism. WIN-Gallup. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved on 3 September 2013.