Anne SeibtReligiöse Begründungen von vegetarischen Lebensformen

About this book deutschenglish

A vegetarian lifestyle can be supported by and based on religious and ethical motivations. The book examines which function religion may have in terms of animal protection and whether it can be considered a religious duty to regard animals as fellow creatures, whom we owe respect, compassion and justice.

The focus lies therefore on the analysis of various religious and moral views on the treatment of animals. The religions of the world played a crucial role for the treatment of animals since a very long time as they prescribed general rules of behavior, dietary laws or sacrificial rites. To illustrate this, an overview of the concept and history of vegetarianism is given, that we can trace back to written sources of ancient greece.

The emphasis lies on the religions and beliefs that originate from the Indian subcontinent, i.e. Hinduism, Yoga, the various traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, as the restrictions related to the consumption of meat in these religions and their philosophies are most striking. Furthermore the views of the Abrahamic religions are analyzed, whose followers have also found reasons for a vegetarian lifestyle.

So finally we can detect various religious and ethical reasons to abstain from meat and conclude that religion can act as a strong motivation for practicing a vegetarian lifestyle.