Faith & Animals

Plant-Based Diet, Animals and Faith

Compassion for animals is not a modern invention. It runs through scripture, prayer, festival food and monastic practice — in fifteen traditions, told in their own words.

Overview

One table, many paths to it

A Jain speaks of ahimsa, a Muslim of rahma, a Christian of stewardship, a Buddhist of lovingkindness, a Jew of tza'ar ba'alei chayim, a Sikh of daya. The vocabulary differs; the direction of travel is remarkably similar. Each page below stays inside one tradition and asks a single question: what do its own teachings, teachers and texts say about how we treat animals and what we put on the plate?

The material is adapted from the Interfaith Vegan Coalition advocacy kits — resources written with clergy and practitioners for use in temples, churches, mosques, gurdwaras, synagogues and meeting houses. Each page collects core principles, quotations, practical steps a community can take, and the books, films and organisations that go deeper.

You do not have to leave your tradition to stop eating animals. For most people, it turns out to be a way further into it.

Traditions

Choose a tradition

Christianity

Demonstrating Christian Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Catholic Christianity

Cherishing all creatures through responsible stewardship and universal lovingkindness.

Seventh-day Adventist

Embracing the Golden Rule of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness for All Creatures.

Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)

Demonstrating the Quaker Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Judaism

Demonstrating Jewish Ideals through Universal Lovingkindness and Compassion for All Life

Islam

Embracing Islamic ideals of universal mercy and compassion for all living beings.

Hinduism (Advaita Vedanta)

Embracing Ahimsa and Non-Duality for the Benefit of All Life

Hinduism (Gaudiya Vaishnava)

Cultivating universal lovingkindness and cow protection through plant-based living.

Buddhism

Demonstrating the Buddhist Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Jainism

Demonstrating the Jain Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Sikhism

Demonstrating the Sikh Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Zoroastrianism

Demonstrating the Zoroastrian Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Pagan & Earth-Based Traditions

Demonstrating the Pagan Ideals of Harmlessness and Universal Lovingkindness

Nondenominational & Spiritual

Aligning universal lovingkindness with daily actions for all living beings.

Interfaith Advocacy

Building justice and compassion for all life within the interdependent web of existence.

Questions

Faith and plant-based eating

Does any religion require a vegan diet?

Few traditions command veganism outright, but almost all of them teach compassion, stewardship, non-violence or moderation — principles that many believers today read as pointing towards plant-based eating. Jainism and several Hindu and Buddhist lineages come closest to a formal expectation of non-harm in diet.

Is veganism compatible with my faith?

Every tradition covered here has members, clergy and scholars who eat plant-based and explain that choice from inside their own scripture and practice. These pages quote those voices rather than arguing from the outside.

Where does this material come from?

It is drawn from the Interfaith Vegan Coalition's advocacy kits, which were written with members and leaders of each tradition, and summarised here with their teachings, quotes, books, films and practical steps intact.

How can a congregation start serving plant-based food?

Most kits suggest the same first steps: make one shared meal a month fully plant-based, offer vegan options at every gathering, use plant milks for tea and coffee, and invite a speaker from within your own tradition to explain the reasoning.

What if my community eats meat at religious festivals?

Several kits address exactly this, offering festival-specific plant-based menus and explaining how traditional dishes can be prepared without animal products while keeping their meaning and taste.

Bring it to your own community.

One shared meal is a good place to begin.

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