Religion and Food

Religion and Food

• function in society

• universal essence

Functionalist view:religion provides meaning, identity, and structure within

"cultural systems"

Religious food rules may also be codes for class distinctions

Religion concerns the otherworldly expressed and responded to through patterns

Sacred space and time

Ritual, myth, and symbol

Preparation and consumption of food are common in religious stories

Adam & Eve consuming the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden

God rescues Ishmael from thirst by a miraculous spring in the desert

Wine and bread remind believers of Christ's blood and flesh by their physical properties

Sacred rituals reintegrate believers with each other as well as the gods; this is often accomplished in commensality (the

practice of eating together)

Food is an important part of religious observance and spiritual ritual

Christianity

• feast and fast days e.g. Lent• most Protestants don’t follow

ritualized fasting• ritual of communion• some Christians don’t drink

alcohol e.g. members of the Salvation Army

• Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists avoid caffeinated/alcoholic beverages

• many Seventh Day Adventists don’t eat meat or dairy products. Those that do eat meat don’t eat pork

• self-denial (of food), or fasting, is sometimes considered to be ‘praying with the body’

Judaism

• foods must be prepared in the right way in order to be Kosher

• the consumption of certain foods, including dairy products and fish, is subject to restrictions

• ritualized fasting • Jewish feast days include

Rosh Hashanah and Passover

• Passover commemorates the birth of the Jewish nation

Islam

• Haram foods: pork, alcohol and any products that contain emulsifiers made from animal fats, particularly margarines; bread or bread products fermented by yeast

• gelatin made from pork or from any other animal that is not Halal is forbidden

• caffeinated drinks such as coffee may be considered Haram

• Muslim fasting periods vary e.g. Ramadan requires mandatory fasting from dawn until dusk

Hinduism

• vegetarianism not compulsory• in many cases beef is forbidden

while pork sometimes restricted or avoided.

• prohibited animal products tend to vary from one country or region to the next.

• cow is sacred• dairy products may be eaten• foodstuffs such as alcohol, onions

and garlic are thought to inhibit the Hindu’s quest for spiritual enlightenment therefore avoided or restricted.

• fasting depends on the person’s caste (or social standing) and on the occasion

Buddhism• Buddha cycled through various

animal forms before attaining the form of a human being; most Buddhists choose to become vegetarian to avoid killing animals.

• violence or pain inflicted on others will rebound on you, hence the need for a vegetarian lifestyle

• a contributing cause of human aggression is violence against animals

• some Buddhists avoid meat and dairy products, while others only shun beef

• Religious dates vary• Buddhist monks fast in the afternoon• Buddhist monks and nuns are not

allowed to cultivate, store or cook their own food; instead, they must rely on ‘alms’, which are donations from believers

Examining connections between food and religion helps to illuminate how religion functions in cultures & why religious

experiences are powerful for believers