Dr Ellie Atayee-Bennett discusses the intersection between veganism and religious practices
What is Faith Veganism?
Religion and veganism – a controversial combination or transformative merger? Many vegan scholars argue that the two are incompatible; that there can never be a non-anthropocentric or anti-speciesist expression of religiosity, that religion is too oppressive or speciesist or patriarchal for the two to truly coexist. At least that’s what I’ve been told at conferences and in reviewer feedback. But this has come from people who, as far as I can tell, have not studied religion.
I’m not here to say that religion is without its problems. Rather, I’m here to say that religiosity is individual and as such, it is understood, practiced, and expressed in a multitude of different ways. Relevant to my work is how articulations of religion that align very well with veganism are on the rise. Ethical religiosities, restorative religiosities, religiosities that reject the speciesist, anthropocentric perspectives that have long dominated religious and cultural discourse. Dare I say vegan religiosities. This is what I studied during my doctorate where I explored the understandings and lived experiences of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian vegans, which led me to coin the term ‘faith veganism’.
So, what is faith veganism?
Faith veganism is “a form of veganism that is intersected with religion and informed by religious ethics and principles.” [i]
On first impressions, it is no different to ethical veganism. It is a “way of living which seeks to exclude–as far as is possible and practicable–all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.” [ii] But dig a little deeper and the very foundation upon which it sits takes a very different form. Secular or atheist vegans are more persuaded by the philosophical arguments of thinkers like Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Gary Francione and Carol Adams, and will cite values such as animal liberation, abolitionism and anti-speciesism. Whilst faith vegans are influenced in part by these arguments, they typically refer to religious ethics, values, and principles as underpinning their veganism instead.
Values and Principles
The faith vegans in my study spoke of religion as having an ‘ethical spirit’, a dormant spirit neglected in modern religious discourse that was centred around values like compassion and justice which are also at the heart of veganism. They would share religious teachings or religious tales that emphasised kindness to animals, and that revealed how one’s treatment of animals can lead to either mercy or punishment. They even explained how, in these religious texts, animals are depicted as expressing devotion to God in their own unique ways.
Many of these stories came directly from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Qur’an, and Hadith, underscoring the potential to interpret religious scripture in vegan ways.
While the consumption and exploitation of animals has become an everyday feature of many people’s lives around the world, another key point of emphasis was permissibility versus commandment: religion permits the consumption of certain animals, but it does not command it. In fact, it attaches conditions which must be fulfilled to ensure permissibility, conditions which faith vegans were keen to emphasise were not being fulfilled; contemporary animal consumption thus becomes a site of religious violation.
Reflecting on the Islamic concept of halal (relating to permissibility but commonly associated with meat), Muslim participant, Zakir, shared, “halal’s being conveniently misinterpreted for our own kind of pleasure, tastebuds, and if we actually reflect upon what halal really means, I think we can probably solve a lot of the world's ills very, very quickly.” So while religion may be criticised as being anthropocentric, speciesist, and exploitative of animals [iii-vi], an argument can be made that these are merely interpretations, albeit dominant and harmful ones.
Perhaps most striking then is how veganism is not merely seen as a way of life parallel to religion, rather it is seen as a correct way to do religion. Referring to the vegan Garden of Eden, Jews and Christians suggested this was of indicative of God’s intention for humans to be vegan. Others drew on context to explain how being vegan in the past may have been challenging, hence why some animal consumption was eventually permitted by God, but nowadays it is easy, so we should return to a vegan way of life. Some even felt the divine permission to consume animals could well be revoked in the modern context. As such, through becoming vegan, many participants felt that they had deepened their religious practice and worship quality, living more in line with religious values than they had ever done so before.
Malcolm described veganism as “more of a Christian life, because it’s showing respect, not just for God and humans, it’s showing respect for animals.” Leah, meanwhile, explained, “there are more proactive, moral and ethical requirements on Jews, on people who are Jewish that absolutely drive you towards a decision that says if I'm caring for the planet, if I'm caring for animals, then being vegan is where I should be.”
While for two participants, becoming vegan had caused them to question their religion, thereby creating a tension that took some time and knowledge to overcome, the other participants instead found their veganism strengthened their faith. Ibrahim explained, “being vegan has opened up a door that has allowed me to search for a deeper meaning and understanding of Islam.” Nicola, meanwhile, feels she is “supposed to be vegan in living out my Christian life.”
Veganism, then, reaffirmed their beliefs and strengthened their religious identity. Farah reported how veganism has “actually improved my closeness to God, it's improved my practice in that respect. Like just that heightened empathy.” While Elijah is firmly of the opinion that veganism is “a prerequisite to being a good human, which in itself is a prerequisite to being a good Jew.” Thus, for faith vegans, there is a moral imperative to be vegan. And it is the morals set out by their religious faiths that are guiding them to veganism.
Community
But aren’t most vegans atheist? [vii]. Perhaps. For now. We do not have statistics to provide absolute clarification on a global scale, but there is certainly the impression that veganism thrives more in non-religious spaces. However, whilst many scholars have emphasised the importance of social networks for sustaining veganism [viii-ix], I found social networks to be problematic for faith vegans. Seen to be deviant by religious communities, and suspect by vegan communities, they occupied an in-between space, forced to draw upon a diverse array of sources for support.
Faith vegan communities, that is spaces centred upon both faith and veganism, were popular safe spaces, but these were typically online due to the dispersed geography of faith vegans. As such, the majority of participants reported not being part of a vegan community or knowing many other vegans. Could their exclusion from vegan spaces be distorting impressions and leading to assumptions that there are not many religious vegans in the world? More research is needed. Nevertheless, these findings highlight the need for better support networks to be put in place for people of faith. Or at least a greater appreciation among vegan communities of how faith and veganism can be mutually constitutive.
As for how they sustained their veganism in the absence of vegan social support, their religious beliefs gave them a strong willpower. In connecting veganism to their religions, participants developed a deep resolve to maintain their veganism as it had become an embodied, religious practice that represented to them correct religious action and alignment with God’s intention. Mohammad stated, “I absolutely believe my religion requires me to be vegan”, while Damian asserted, “this is the way that we’re supposed to eat as a Christian.”
Practice
Earlier I shared how faith veganism appears no different to a secular ethical veganism at the everyday level, and whilst this is true, any study looking into religion would be incomplete without an examination of religious practice and ritual. It is here where tensions may arise.
Every year on Eid-al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), Muslims sacrifice an animal in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham)’s readiness to sacrifice his son for God. Many Jews, mostly Orthodox, wear tefillin (leather phylacteries) on their arm and head during worship and these must be made with leather from a kosher animal. Some Christian denominations insist upon a red wine, which is often not vegan, for the Communion. These practices may pose challenges for vegans, but in many cases, they are easily overcome.
Muslim participants interrogated the values underpinning the Eid sacrifice and chose to donate plant-based foods instead of meat, a decision declared lawful by numerous Islamic scholars [x]. Zakir explained, “sacrifice is giving something away that's important to you. OK. Not the animal that you pull off the street that you've killed.”
Many Jews opted for second-hand tefillin, which although still made with leather, extended the life of an item that would otherwise have gone to waste. Hannah, following discussions with her Rabbi, “settled on using my grandfather’s - his were going to go to waste as he was too ill to wear them, and recycling them made more sense than buying new ones.” Some Jewish sects, meanwhile, like Reform Judaism, do not universally practice the wearing of tefillin.
Christians attending a church where a vegan blackcurrant beverage is the norm face no challenge, while those who go to a church which insists upon red wine either decided not to receive Communion, or they decided to continue partaking in the ritual, emphasising the small quantity involved.
We now return to my earlier point about religiosity being an individual matter. Whilst the Abrahamic faiths have practices that revolve around animal bodies, there is a flexibility in how these practices may be performed. Whether that’s interrogating the underpinning values and opting for a vegan alternative or finding a denomination that has more vegan-friendly options as default, religion isn’t as conflicting with veganism as one might initially assume.
What is Faith Veganism?
So, to conclude, what is faith veganism? It is a form of veganism that is driven by religious ethics and principles. But more specifically, it is a modern articulation of religion whereby religious teachings and values are reinterpreted and reapplied through a vegan lens.
More than anything though, it is hope for the future. In a world where approximately 85% of the world's population still identify with religion [xi], it is imperative we find ways to bridge the gap and encourage more people of faith to re-engage with the ‘ethical spirit’ of their religions through faith veganism. If we want to realise a vegan world, religion may well hold the key.
Dr Ellie Atayee-Bennett is currently writing a monograph on faith veganism which will explore this topic in greater depth. Follow her at www.ellieatayeebennett.com for updates.
The views expressed by our Research News contributors are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
References
[i] Atayee-Bennett, E. (2024) Faith Veganism: How the Ethics, Values, and Principles of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Vegans in the UK Reshape Veganism and Religiosity. PhD diss., University of Southampton.
[ii] The Vegan Society (no date) Definition of veganism. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism (Accessed: 28 July 2025).
[iii] Nibert, D. (2002) Animal Rights/Human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
[iv] Nibert, D. (2013) Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict. New York: Columbia University Press.
[v] Socha, K. (2014) Animal Liberation and Atheism. London: Freethought House.
[vi] Wrenn, C. L. (2016) A Rational Approach to Animal Rights: Extensions in Abolitionist Theory. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
[vii] Wrenn, C. L. (2019) ‘Atheism in the American Animal Rights Movement: An Invisible Majority’, Environmental Values, 28(6), pp. 715-739. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3197/096327119X15579936382509
[x] Atayee-Bennett, E. (2023) ‘Eid-al-Adha and Sacrifice: Vegan Alternatives from Within Islam’, The Vegan Society Research News. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/research/research-news/eid-al-adha-and-sacrifice-vegan-alternatives-within-islam (Accessed: 30 July 2025).
[xi] World Population Review (2025) Religious People by Country 2025. Available at: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/religion-by-country
