Is Veganism a Religion?
"We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form."
-William Inge
Vegan Bible Thumpers
Like missionaries, vegans are always trying to convert outsiders to our cause. Because of this, we have gained a reputation of being pushy and forceful, like zealots, not allowing people to live comfortably in peace with their actions -- a reputation also shared with Christian evangelists. But what actually separates veganism from religion, and how do we make ourselves more accessible to the atheistic public?
In some ways, the question of today's post seems comical because obviously veganism is nothing like religion. We are at no risk of eternal damnation for accidentally buying leather shoes or living for years, even decades, as an animal exploiter before converting. We don't have a holy book or scripture, we don't have powerful and influential leaders or public figures, we don't attend worship services or pray to a vegan God. However, it is from public perception that veganism and religion become more alike than they truly are. In the following paragraphs, I will explain the main differences between religion and veganism, as well as some of the similarities between them.
Faith vs. Facts
The biggest difference between the two is that religion requires complete faith. In order to believe in it, in some ways you must let your mind be adopted by the religious teachings and to allow the belief in deities we have no proof actually exist. It requires the faith that there is something more, something ethereal and omniscient watching over life on Earth. That doesn't mean following a religion is inherently right or wrong or bad or good, and many of the teachings of religion boil down to one basic rule: be compassionate. And the same goes for living vegan. But the main distinction is that religious compassion is a form of karma, that living in a selfless way will benefit you in the afterlife. Personally, I don't believe it's very selfless or compassionate to live this way just to get into Heaven or reach nirvana or moksha or whatever the end goal is (though I recognize that many religious people are actually genuinely compassionate). Either way, that philosophy must be called into question considering that the vast majority of religious followers aren't vegan, and are therefore supporting mass cruelty to animals.
Veganism, on the other hand, is not something your parents drag you to church to learn every Sunday. (In fact, many parents don't want their children to learn about veganism.) Often, we are self-taught, seeking out information on how to live more compassionately because living as a nonvegan, for multiple possible reasons, did not align with the feelings of compassion we believed we had. We become vegan not for selfish reasons, other than relieving the guilt we feel for subjugating innocent creatures, but to alleviate just a minuscule amount of the world's suffering, suffering humans inflict on others. We don't do it with a promise of reaching some higher state of being or sending our souls to the good version of the afterlife.
In addition, we recognize that, regardless of what religious leaders may preach and how religious followers may live, it is simply the truth that it is antithetical to our own peace, happiness, and health and the health of every other living being (and the entire planet, all the way up into the atmosphere) to not be vegan. Not to mention that living this way aligns with basic ethics most humans share -- such as we all believe it is wrong to unnecessarily inflict harm on someone else, even nonhuman animals -- regardless of religion or lifestyle. The fact is that animals are being murdered by the trillions each year, that humans are the cause, and that being vegan can help prevent it.
Sheep vs. Shepherd
One thing that outsiders tend to think about both religion and veganism is that we are like sheep being herded together by our belief in something that, to them, doesn't make sense. That we blindly follow whatever our "leaders" or other people in our movement say is the right thing to do. It's seen as a cult-like mentality, as if we are unable to view the world from outside our own perspective, trapped in our little bubbles. However, I'd say that whoever truly thinks that way -- in a way that perceives anyone living differently from them as being brainwashed -- is the one trapped in a system of indoctrination.
To counter this point, though, I'd argue that most people don't choose to be religious; it is thrust upon them, often at a very young age. There is a strong sense of conformity to tradition with religions and breaking those human-developed traditions is like an affront to God himself. But because religion is far more socially accepted than veganism, it's seen as normal for parents to drag their kids to church, to believe the "sacred" words in some book that were supposedly written through God's will, to worship a cross-shaped piece of wood, to gather around the corpse of a murdered baby every Easter in the name of a man who sacrificed himself to save all of humanity 2,000 years ago.
But it's viewed as freakish to ask for no cheese on your salad, to not eat any meat instead of just abstaining from pork or beef, to not visit the zoo with your family, to not wear the skins and furs of butchered beings, to care about the wellbeing of everyone on the planet instead of only humans. To take the religious teachings of compassion, kindness, and empathy and translate them to all living creatures and the planet itself is just taking things too far. Being vegan is taking back control over your choices, to not be led down a path by others that may not have everyone's best interests at heart. It's choosing not to impose our will on others that cannot defend against us, recognizing that it should not be our choice who lives and dies, who suffers and who doesn't. To be vegan means understanding that we have no right to take the lives of others, that how they live is up to them, and we should never have interfered with that. If there is any kind of god above, then it's up to him to make those decisions.
Breaking the Barrier
In order to overcome the "outsider" stigma we have as vegans, it's important to think back to a time when you weren't vegan. Remember how you felt about veganism before and how you would've liked to have been approached by a vegan. Though we shouldn't have to bear the heavy burden of converting others to our cause of compassion for all, we do, so we must make our efforts count. In some ways, this relates very much to my previous post, "How to Talk About Veganism with People You Know," because it's necessary to try to retain some sense of normalcy, of acceptance when interacting with nonvegans. If we can show them through our actions that we're really not so different from them (which we aren't), not only will we be more accepted in society, but they will become more empathetic to the plight of the animals.
be conscious, be kind, be vegan
Related posts you may enjoy:
"Are Vegans Brainwashing Themselves?"
"Exploring the Role of Faith in Veganism: 'A Prayer for Compassion' Film Review"