Religion and Animals: The gulf between teaching and action
How can Christian clergy support bullfighting? How can a Buddhist country have cock-fighting as its national sport? How can sacred temples chain elephants by the leg for hours on end? How can the adherents of a faith that calls for food to be good and wholesome devour factory-farmed chicken without thought?
MARC BEKOFF: Joyce D’Silva’s new book Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice… discusses the ways in which different religions view and teach about nonhuman animals (animals) and the gulf between their teachings, and how they permit other animals to be treated with little to no respect, dignity, or compassion… Each chapter focuses on one of five major religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism… Joyce answers a few questions about her very important book that calls for translating the teachings of various religions into on-the-ground practices…
Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Animal Welfare in World Religion?
Joyce D’Silva: Around the world, billions of animals are suffering at the hands of humans: animals are hunted for sport, used for entertainment, experimented on in laboratories, and billions are slaughtered for our food, most of them kept in miserable conditions in factory farms. And, of course, trillions of fish and other marine creatures are also killed each year. What a predatory species we seem to be! Campaigners for animals work hard to end these brutalities, and some progress is definitely being made…
But there is a forgotten source of power and influence: religion. Eighty percent of people claim to belong to a faith group. Here is a huge opportunity to achieve change for animals. Yet what are we hearing from faith leaders? With a few notable exceptions: nothing. It is as if the whole world of non-human sentient life was not worthy of mention…
I am just astonished that all the beautiful teaching contained within sacred texts is just being ignored. With this book, I want to bring this teaching to the notice of faith leaders and all people of faith–and others too. I want to challenge them to study the teaching of their own holy books, founders, and saints and to take action to help animals…
MB: What are some of the topics you weave into your book, and what are some of your major messages?
JD: For each of the major faiths, I’ve given quotations from their own holy books and from leading historical and contemporary figures within each faith. For each faith, I’ve checked on a country or countries where that particular faith is in the majority. Does this make a change in how animals are treated? The answers vary a lot but are, mainly, rather disappointing.
How can Christian clergy support bullfighting? How can a highly Buddhist country have cock-fighting as its national sport? How can sacred temples chain elephants by the leg for hours on end? How can the adherents of a faith that calls for food to be good and wholesome devour factory-farmed chicken without thought? This is why the challenge to faith leaders and followers is so urgent. The world should not be like this. Animals should not be suffering at our hands every minute of their (often shortened) lives…
MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about religion and animals, they will treat them with more respect and dignity?
JD: I would love to think that my book might inspire people to delve into the sacred texts, where they will find much beautiful teaching about our relationship with animals. Having gone to “the source,” hopefully, they will be inspired to make meaningful changes in their own lives and perhaps even become advocates for animals! SOURCE…
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