Religion and Vegetarianism q. Are there any vegetarians in your religion?Are they encouraged/frowned on?

Question

There are not that many Roman Catholic ones! There is another Catholic vegetarian lady on the vegetarian board and she is nice !

Answer 1

I'm a Buddhists. Just about every other Buddhists I know is a vegetarian. Most embrace it as a part of the compassionate
non-violent lifestyle taught by the Buddha's, Sages, and Bodhisattva's.

Answer 2

Many, perhaps most Hindu's, particularly those who live in the south of India are vegetarians. There is a vibrant non-meat cuisine from the region.

Those of the Jain relegion are exclusively vegetarian, this fitting in with their abhorrence of killing any living thing, even flies or other pests.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jains

There is a strong Buddhist tradition of vegetarianism and Buddhist monks are usually expected to follow a vegetarian diet.

Sikhs serve only only vegetarian food at their weekly Temple meals, but this is an attempt at inclusiveness rather than belief.

For Muslims and Jews who object to the "cruelty" of the Halal/kosher slaughter method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_and_Jewish_dietary_laws_compared#Slaughter
the alternative of embracing vegetarianism is a clear one.

The attitude of the Christian religion in general can be summed up in the words of St. Paul:
"The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him." (Romans 14:3).

Some Xtian sects including The 7th Day Adventists do adhere to non-meat eating however
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_Day_Adventists#Health_and_diet

Answer 3

Hi, I'm Christian and have been vegetarian for over 20 yrs. I don't discuss it now with anyone - having learnt discussing it and answering peoples questions can turn into an argument I'd rather not get into. In the past I've had ppl quote the scripture about Peter seeing the sheet come down ( "get up Peter kill and eat" ) they haven't read it in context and God is actually saying to Peter His message is for the gentiles as well as the Jews - God chose the forbidden food from Leviticus to show this to Peter - that no-one is excluded from the gospel message - that Jew and gentile alike were loved by God. The majority of Christians i know mistake this text for being against vegetarianism. I've learnt if I'm asked why i don't eat meat to say it's a personal choice - this way no-one can argue that I'm wrong and no-one can criticise me. I have many valid arguments for not eating living creatures and if ppl heard them they would give up meat eating completely - but i keep it to myself b/c it's my personal business and i won't get involved in ppl telling me how to live my life.
So i believe the best thing to do if your being hassled by anyone is to find an answer that works for you and stick with it if you don't want to discuss it - it's your business.
So yes i have met some Christians who have a problem with it and some that don't see it as a problem at all. God is interested in our hearts - and He certainly doesn't command we eat meat.

Answer 4

I'll start with my diet, Technically I'm lacto-ovo simply because I occasionally use commercially prepared analogs (meat subs) that contain dairy/egg, other than that I'm a total vegetarian. I don't use terms like 'almost' or 'pseudo' [insert five letter V word here] because that's an insult to vegans. My faith? I'm one of the few that still follow central European pre-christian beliefs (most who wouldn't convert got burned 1300-1500 years ago). Lacto-ovo is required for those of us that are selected to be leaders/preachers/sources/teachers/advis... (take your pick of terms- it doesn't translate well) but isn't required/needed for anyone else. I started to become veggie at 8 years old because I chose to follow this path when it was offered to me (so it obviously influenced my choice to be veggie). Does that answer help?

Answer 5

I think that Vegetarianism is the way to go. I am not one because I really like steak. I am a hypocrite because if I had to kill the cow I would be a vegetarian. It's too easy to buy it all clean and in plastic wrap. Vegetarianism is good for the environment and a persons health.

Answer 6

Yeah, I am a Hindu. There are some who are strict Vegetarians. I am not. I love to eat meat and fish.

Some schools of thought encourge vegetarianism while others encourage animal sacrifice whose meat is often eaten.

A majority of Hindus never openly criticise the other school of thought!

Answer 7

I am a Seventh-Day Adventist. Vegetarianism is encouraged in our church, but not required. I myself like meat, but I choose to eat kosher (No unclean animals). In fact, every week, when we have a free meal at our church after services, it's always vegetarian. The food's not bad (although some cooks are better than others, lol!)

Answer 8

I do not know of any real religion which frown upon veggies. Some won't eat dead pig, I don't blame them. Some think the cow is holy, so you eat what you like pet - My God is a benevolent God and more or less lets me do what I like as long as I don't hurt anyone and thats what religion is about. In times of great, harrowing famines, I doubt if this question is raised. Be yourself, and only answer to yourself and your beliefs, and you won't go far wrong. I know a lot of veggies , however, whom I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw them. Life is diversity live and let live.

Answer 9

Yes and they are encouraged although you don't have to be one! They are encouraged because we believe animals have souls just like people and so should not be killed if it's avoidable.

Answer 10

"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10).