Globally, most Seventh-day Adventists see the benefits of giving up meat and all animal products, alcohol, and tobacco. Over 80% agreed the practice promotes spiritual growth and longevity.
REBECCA RANDALL: While Seventh-day Adventists around the world have heeded their co-founder’s teachings on eating a plant-based diet, many adherents in parts of Asia and Africa have raised Veganism to a place next to godliness. Denominational researchers found that many members in South Asia believe salvation is ensured two ways: through Jesus Christ (92%), and through giving up meat, animal products, alcohol, and tobacco (80%).
Within the denomination’s East-Central Africa Division—which has the second-most vegan or vegetarian members (42%) — three-quarters of members (74%) maintain that dietary choices contribute to salvation. Globally, 47 percent of Adventists agreed that the health message “ensures salvation”… While over half of Adventists in North American are vegetarian or vegan—more than any other region of the church — just 4 percent see the diet as necessary for salvation.
Globally, most Seventh-day Adventists see the benefits of giving up meat and animal products, alcohol, and tobacco. Over 80 percent agreed the practice promotes spiritual growth and longevity, following the prophecy of co-founder Ellen G. White… She taught that “those who are seeking to become pure, refined, and holy” should not continue to eat “flesh foods” or “anything that has so harmful an effect on soul and body.” White cited health reasons for avoiding meat and dairy as well as spiritual reasons; the denomination’s Veganism was part of efforts to set the church apart as a “remnant”…
The recent findings come from research conducted by teams at Adventist universities in 13 regions around the world to measure global church members’ perception of the “health message,” as it’s called within the denomination. More than 63,700 members across 60 languages were given the survey, mainly at church services in 2017 and 2018.
Researchers wondered whether the drastic difference between North America and other parts of the world is due to younger churches abroad. According to data from the denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is among the fastest growing around the world as well as one of the biggest Christian communions, with over 21.4 million reported adherents. SOURCE…
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