Despite increasing public attention to animal suffering, human beings continue to exploit billions of animals in factory farms medical laboratories, and elsewhere. This wide-ranging study shows how spiritual teachings in seven major religious traditions can help people consider their ethical obligations towards other creatures.

This unique and readable book examines the relationship between religion and animal welfare, taking a detailed dive into the teachings and practices of the major world religions. While there are many books expounding the beliefs of the major religions and many about the rights and welfare of animals, there are few linking the two. With each chapter focusing on one of the five major religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism – the book explores the beliefs and practices which drive our relationship with and treatment of animals. The book draws on the scriptures of the major faiths and includes the voices of leading historical religious figures and contemporary faith leaders. In doing so, it compares the teachings of old with contemporary practices and showcases the impact of the major religions on both the protection and exploitation of animals, from running animal sanctuaries, to participating in or condoning cruel sports and factory farming. Importantly, the book also includes a chapter looking beyond the major world religions, where it examines a wider range of beliefs and practices, including Indigenous peoples from the USA and Australia, Jainism, Sikhism and Rastafarianism, to provide fascinating insights into another range of beliefs and views on the human-animal relationship. Overall, this book challenges and encourages religious leaders and followers to re-examine their teachings and to prioritise the well-being of animals. This book is essential reading for those interested in the role of religion in animal welfare, human-animal studies, and animal welfare and ethics more broadly.

Despite increasing public attention to animal suffering, little seems to have changed: Human beings continue to exploit billions of animals in factory farms, medical laboratories, and elsewhere. In this wide-ranging and perceptive study, Lisa Kemmerer shows how spiritual writings and teachings in seven major religious traditions can help people to consider their ethical obligations toward other creatures. Dr. Kemmerer examines the role of nonhuman animals in scripture and myth, in the lives of religious exemplars, and by drawing on foundational philosophical and moral teachings. She begins with a study of indigenous traditions around the world, then focuses on the religions of India (Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain) and China (Daoism and Confucianism), and finally, religions of the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). At the end of each chapter, Kemmerer explores the inspiring lives and work of contemporary animal advocates who are motivated by a personal religious commitment. Animals and World Religions demonstrates that rethinking how we treat nonhuman animals is essential for anyone claiming one of the world's great religions.

Contains nearly 600 brief entries on the world's religious traditions.

This comprehensive volume focuses on the world's religions and the changes they have undergone as they become more global and diverse in form. It explores the religions of the world not only in the regions with which they have been historically associated, but also looks at the new cultural and religious contexts in which they are developing. It considers the role of migration in the spread of religions by examining the issues raised for modern societies by the increasing interaction of different religions. The volume also addresses such central questions as the dynamics of religious innovation which is evidenced in the rise and impact of new religious and new spirituality movements in every continent.

This wide-ranging reader combines some of the best and most valuable contemporary perspectives from leading and significant writers, teachers, and thinkers who together address critical challenges and opportunities for the world's religions in a post 9/11 world. Edited by Arvind Sharma and organized by topic, the essays in this reader consider broad questions such as, What influence does religion have on contemporary life? The thematic arrangement of topics includes diverse religious perspectives on: war, terror, peace, human rights, pluralism, diversity, gender, spirituality, the interreligious dialogue, international diplomacy and globalization.

The World's Religions offers a fascinating insight into a wide range of faiths, their history and their followers. In the richly illustrated new edition of this popular book, religions are described through their symbols, rituals, followers, architecture and art. References, statistics, maps and pictures have been updated and added. The text has been thoroughly revised to highlight recent developments, such as the spread of Islam, African-American and Hispanic-American religious experience, and women priests.

Animals in Religion explores the role of animals within a wide range of religious traditions. Exploring countless stories and myths passed down orally and in many religious texts, Barbara Allen—herself a practicing minister—offers a fascinating history of the ways animals have figured in our spiritual lives, whether they have been Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any number of lesser-known religions. Some of the figures here will be familiar, such as St. Francis of Assisi, famous for his accord with animals, or that beloved remover of obstacles, Ganesha, the popular elephant god in the Hindu pantheon. Delving deeper, Allen highlights the numerous ways that our religious practices have honored and relied upon our animal brethren. She examines the principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence, which has Jains sweeping the pathways before them so as not to kill any insects, as well as the similar principle in Judaism of ts’ar ba’alei chayim and the notion in some sects of Islam that all living creatures are Muslim. From ancient Egypt to the Druids to the indigenous cultures of North America and Australia, Allen tells story after story that emphasizes the same message: all species are spiritually connected.

The ethical treatment of non-human animals is an increasingly significant issue, directly affecting how people share the planet with other creatures and visualize themselves within the natural world. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics is a key reference source in this area, looking specifically at the role religion plays in the formation of ethics around these concerns. Featuring thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors, the handbook is divided into two parts. The first gives an overview of fifteen of the major world religions’ attitudes towards animal ethics and protection. The second features five sections addressing the following topics: Human Interaction with Animals Killing and Exploitation Religious and Secular Law Evil and Theodicy Souls and Afterlife This handbook demonstrates that religious traditions, despite often being anthropocentric, do have much to offer to those seeking a framework for a more enlightened relationship between humans and non-human animals. As such, The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, theology, and animal ethics as well as those studying the philosophy of religion and ethics more generally.

Bringing together thirteen new essays on the important relationship between traditional world spirituality and the contemporary environmental perspective of deep ecology, this landmark book explores parallels and contrasts between religious values and those proposed by deep ecology. In examining how deep ecologists and the various religious traditions can both learn from and critique one another, the following traditions are considered: indigenous cultures, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism, Christian ecofeminism, and New Age spirituality.