{"id":772132,"date":"2023-04-08T08:37:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T12:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=772132"},"modified":"2023-04-08T09:15:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T13:15:41","slug":"is-veganism-a-religion-veganism-isnt-a-diet-and-its-more-than-a-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=772132","title":{"rendered":"‘THOU SHALT NOT KILL’: Is veganism a religion? It isn\u2019t a diet, and it\u2019s more than a philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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At the level of community, veganism operates as a religion in almost every way except the dictionary definition. It fulfills many of religion\u2019s most important functions in human life \u2014 it offers a culture, a community, an ideology, and a purpose. It gives us a hell to save souls from, and a gospel to preach.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

MACKEN MURPHY:<\/strong> In a definitional sense, the generalized accusation (that veganism is a religion) is wrong \u2014 there is no reasonable definition of the word \u201creligion\u201d into which a vegan lifestyle can be gerrymandered… You do not need to believe in a higher power, let alone worship one, to be a vegan. In fact, you need not entertain any fantastical or superstitious ideas in order to follow a vegan lifestyle. You can simply believe that unnecessary suffering is bad \u2014 a truth derivable from any direct experience of agony…<\/em><\/p>\n

religion \/r\u026a\u02c8l\u026ad\u0292(\u0259)n\/ The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

From that rather trivial belief, veganism unfolds almost as a tautology: Animals suffer horrendously due to the consumption of animal products, animal products are almost always unnecessary, and so the vast majority of animal product consumption causes unnecessary suffering \u2014 it is, therefore, bad. The premises of this line of argument are not even remotely controversial, and veganism logically follows. Throw in the humanitarian and environmental arguments for veganism, and the counterarguments (e.g., \u201cbacon tastes nice,\u201d \u201clook at my canine teeth,\u201d \u201cplants have feelings too\u201d) begin to look a little silly. You don\u2019t have to believe in magic to believe needlessly torturing and slaughtering animals is wrong, you just need an ounce of empathy for your fellow creatures.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, even if veganism is definably not a religion, even if its beliefs are firmly grounded in the material world, the vegan community still has a suite of features that are found elsewhere only in religious groups. Though in principle, veganism might appear analogous to other philosophies or political factions, in practice, it manifests itself in ways that only religions do.<\/em><\/p>\n

veganism \/\u02c8vi\u02d0\u0261\u0259n\u026az\u0259m\/ A way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Veganism is a practical philosophy \u2014 that is to say, it is a philosophy that can only be claimed if practiced. I can call myself a consequentialist, or a deontologist, or a virtue ethicist, without changing anything other than the sounds I make with my mouth when I want to share what branch of moral philosophy I fancy. But veganism isn\u2019t about what comes out of your mouth; it\u2019s about what goes into it. And \u2014 despite widespread confusion \u2014 it\u2019s about more than just diet: It\u2019s about the clothing you wear, the type of entertainment you consume, and the kinds of activities you partake in; it\u2019s like keeping Kosher and following the mitzvot, wrapped into one. Thou shalt not needlessly harm animals.<\/em><\/p>\n

Veganism, like religion, goes beyond practice and into the realm of identity. You don\u2019t say, \u201cI practice a vegan lifestyle,\u201d you say, \u201cI\u2019m vegan\u201d \u2014 the former would sound confusing for the same reason \u201cI follow an Islamic lifestyle\u201d would. Your veganism is a part of who you are, and, notably, it\u2019s a part that you can change at any moment \u2014 you can\u2019t choose your race, or your country of origin, or your sexual orientation, but you can choose your faith, and you can choose whether to be a vegan.<\/em><\/p>\n

Veganism\u2019s kinship with religion on a practical and personal level lays the foundation for the construction of analogous structures on a cultural level. At the level of community, veganism operates as a religion in almost every way except the dictionary definition…<\/em><\/p>\n

Veganism doesn\u2019t tell us soothing stories to help us cope with grief or our fear of death, and it doesn\u2019t offer the comforts of an omnipotent supervisor. Quite the contrary, veganism forces us to confront death as it performs on its grandest and most nihilistic stage, dancing on the graves of some\u00a03 billion animals every day. Nevertheless, veganism fulfills many of religion\u2019s most important functions in human life \u2014 it offers a culture, a community, an ideology, and a purpose. It gives us a hell to save souls from, and a gospel to preach.<\/em><\/p>\n

Vegans, atheists as we often are, tend to resent the comparison between us and the religious. It\u2019s time we admit \u2014 and perhaps embrace \u2014 this analogy. Though veganism is not a religion, it has a religious nature: We are a diverse and accepting community, united under one identity through ideology, and we are hoping to bring everyone into our tribe. These are features, not flaws, of our movement.<\/em><\/p>\n

Veganism is often conceived of as a step away from human nature, a betrayal of our identity as omnivores \u2014 but in an increasingly secular, individualistic world, it is also a step back towards our origins as idealistic apes, yearning to build community around belief. <\/em>SOURCE…<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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