Is vegetarianism a religion?
Thursday July 27, 2006
In a discussion about the nature of religion, About.com's Atheism guide Austin Cline asks whether or not an ethical commitment to vegetarian principles is a religion, and answers this question by distinguishing between "religions" themselves, and the descriptor "religious" as an adjective. A very interesting perspective and a good read. Thanks, Austin!
Comments
are you serious??????cmon people!!!!!
What do you mean?
What’s the relationship?
Why do we need to associate vegetariansim to religion. I am a bit vegetarian but I wouldn’t agree to the idea of it being associated to religion.
I found this article precisely because I was looking for material to debate at a humanist meeting whether vegetarianism should be regarded as a religion. Consider for example whether it should, or should not, be taught in schools?
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_and_religion gives a reference that claims most of the world’s vegetarians follow the practice for religious reasons. Elsewhere it’s easy to find articles claiming many heroes/idols spanning sport, entertainment, science and relgion – even Einstein and Jesus – were vegetarian.
I guess vegetarians will have to accept that many non-vegetarians will consider their pariticular “truth” to be closer to a faith than a science. But does that make it a religion? Perhaps not yet.
Im a veggie and i strongly believe that vegetarianism should be regarded as a religion. As like beign a budha or christian its a belief of a person. What is usually not taken seriously for young people. I also believe that as a young veggie that this belief should be taught in schools; to give a further understanding.
I think vegetarianism should be considered a religion for practicle reasons. A lot of vegetarians and/or vegans face discrimination and harrassment in the work place and this would protect them somewhat. It is based on spiritual or at least, ethical reasons.