Fw: [EthologicalEthics] Animals And The New Spirituality

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EthologicalEthics

Monday, November 24, 2003 11:30 AM

[EthologicalEthics] Animals And The New Spirituality

 

 

Animals And The New Spirituality!

 

http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/090303/090303b.shtml

 

SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

 

CULTURE

 

The new animal spirituality: Do all dogs go to heaven? Churches of

almost every denomination, as well as many Jewish groups, are bringing

animals to the front of religious consciousness - and in some cases,

right up to the altar.

 

Clergy are performing animal blessings, funerals and even weddings.

While animal spirituality has long been debated, interest is turning

into actions designed to recognize animals' spiritual roles.

 

The attention shouldn't come as a surprise: Almost six in 10 American

households include a pet, compared with one in three that includes a

child. And animals have long been revered in religion.

 

Buddhism regards animals as beings in different stages of reincarnation.

Hinduism and Jainism embrace vegetarianism out of respect for all life.

Islam teaches! respect for animals as part of God's creation.

 

 

The shifts in thinking are happening among Christians and Jews, who have

long debated the spiritual role of animals. The Greeks believed that

animals had souls, but Thomas Aquinas did not - at least not souls that

survived death. So when God gave man " dominion " over the earth and its

creatures, did that entitle humans to treat animals as they wished?

 

Or did that give them the responsibility to care for animals as they

would each other? In the eyes of God, are animals of equal or lesser

worth than human beings? And if they have souls, is it acceptable to eat

them?

 

Some credit the animal rights and environmental movements for renewed

religious interest in animals. Others say it is a result of a return to

the roots of religious traditions, where animals have always had a

revered, if forgotten, place.

 

A few of the recent developments:

 

• The Blessing of the! Animals, a celebration once marked by Roman

Catholics on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4), is now

celebrated by many Lutherans, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Methodists and

the United Church of Christ.

-------------------

 

• This year, for the first time, the American Academy of Religion has

organized a group of scholars who will discuss the roles of animals in

religion at its annual convention Nov. 22-25, 2003.

--------------------

• Ministers of many denominations now offer their services for pet

funerals, weddings and blessings. Some churches have established pet

cemeteries in sanctified ground.

--------------------

• Animal rights activists are reaching out to religious groups as

allies.

--------------------

• People are becoming vegetarians and vegans because of their

religious convictions.

--------------------

• Books by Christian and J! ewish theologians, scholars and other

thinkers have branched out from religion publishing houses to the

mainstream publishers. Chief among these has been Dominion:

 

The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy

by Matthew Scully

(St. Martin's Press, 2002)

 

On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals

by Stephen H. Webb

(Oxford University Press, 2002).

------------------

• Animals and the spiritual have made it into mainstream culture with

the popularity of movies such as Seabiscuit, My Dog Skip and All Dogs Go

to Heaven. Hallmark now carries pet sympathy cards, some with religious

themes.

 

Questions for reporters

 

 

• Which local congregations will observe the Blessing of the Animals

on Oct. 4, and why?

 

 

Have any begun observing it recently?

 

 

What do clergy and participants say is gained from these ceremonies?

------------------

• How does recognizing the spirituality of animals contribute to

humans' under standing of their own spirituality?

 

*How do pet owners' views differ from those who don't own pets?

------------------

• Has there been a shift in attitudes in the last few years? If so,

what do people attribute that to?

------------------

• Do any clergy or worshippers think that religious organizations

carry concern for animals too far?

------------------

• There are endless arrays of pet products and services on the market

now. How do pet owners say that acknowledging their pets' spirituality

is different from pampering them?

-------------------

• Do houses of worship see acknowledging animals' spirituality as a

way of reaching out beyond their congregation?

------------------

• What do non-Christian ! religious groups say about their beliefs about

animals?

------------------

• In what other ways do religious groups in your area show concern for

animals?

------------------

• Follow a pet owner through the process of nursing a pet through

illness, planning the funeral and grieving for the animal. How does the

owner talk about the pet's soul and spirituality? Why it matters

---------------------

(NOTE: One question not asked!

 

What is the link between animal abuse and domestic abuse, i.e. violence

against a spouse, child or senior citizen.

 

 

According to the FBI, statistics show that abuse of an animal will

eventually lead to abuse of a human.

--------------------

Some theologians say that a common respect for animals as spiritual

beings could serve as a bridge between religions because it rises above

doctrine, rituals, and practices. They point to th! e fact that every

major world religion - Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and

Islam - recognizes animals and man as of divine origin.

 

Click the map for interview sources (See Website) in your state and

region

 

National sources

------------------

• Dr. Laura Hobgood-Oster is an assistant professor of religion and

philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas She teaches

courses on religion and animals and is co-chairwoman of the new American

Academy of Religion animals and religion group.

 

She says many theologians are thinking deeply about whether only humans

have souls and go to heaven. She also notes that the current interest in

the spirituality of animals is making a leap from a religious setting to

the secular setting as more animal shelters and pet hospitals bring in

clergy to perform blessings.

 

Contact 512-863-1669,

hoboster.

--------------------

• Dr. Paul Waldau is a clinical assistant professor at the Center for

Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary

Medicine in North Grafton, Mass., and author of:

 

The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals

(Oxford University Press, 2001).

 

He is also co-chairman of the new American Academy of Religion group on

animals and religion. He says organized religion's recent appreciation

of animals is a response to several things going on in the broader

culture:

Scientific evidence of the intelligence of many animals, The environmental

movement,

 

A growing recognition of the unnecessary harshness and cruelty toward

animals raised for food

 

And a rise in the number of people who keep pets.

 

 

Contact 508-887-4671,

 

 

paul.waldau.

-----------------------

• Jay McDaniel, professor of religion at Hendrix College in Conway,

Ark., is a mentor for a new two-year doctor of ministry program at the

United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, on spirituality,

sustainability and inter

religious dialogue, a portion of which will focus on bonds between

humans and animals.

 

He wrote the book:

 

Of God and Pelicans: A Theology of Reverence for Life

(Westminster John Knox Press, 1989).

 

He says the recent move toward recognizing animals as " spiritual

friends " extends from a growing global realization of the

interconnectedness of all life.

He says concern for animals can be a common bond among people because no

matter what their religious beliefs, if people see an animal being

abused, they are concerned.

 

Contact 501-450-1366,

 

mcdaniel.

-----------------

• Stephen Webb is a professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash

College in Crawfordsville, Ind., and a member of the American Academy of

Religion's new group on animals and religion. He is author of:

 

On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals

(Oxford University Press, 2002)

Good Eating: The Christian Practice of Everyday Life

(Brazos Press, 2001),

which includes a chapter on animals in heaven. He says Christians need

to rethink Jesus' death as a kind of ritual slaughter. In his death,

Jesus took on not only human suffering, but all suffering, including

animals', he says. That, he argues, places animals in heaven.

 

Contact 765-361-6264,

 

webbs,

webbs101.

--------------------

• Carol J. Adams is a writer, lecturer and author of! several books on

religion and vegtarianism, including:

 

The Inner Art of Vegetarianism

(Lantern Books, 2000).

She says every religion opposes meat eating at its roots - the secular

idea that " it's a dog-eat-dog world " - but that this has been lost over

generations. She can discuss the varying interpretations of " dominion "

in Genesis and says a re-examination of this passage could open up

conversations about religion's responsibility to animals.

She says she thinks people have resisted a broad concern for all animals

out of fear that caring and grieving on such a large scale could

overwhelm them.

 

Contact 972-680-3042,

cja.

-----------------

• Laurelee Blanchard is the campaign consultant for Farm Sanctuary's

" Sentient Beings Campaign, " which seeks basic rights for animals. The

group plans to do outreach to religious groups and people because, she

says,! people who practice religion are likely to be more open to

extending compassion beyond humans.

 

Contact 808-575-7694,

laurelee.

-------------------

 

• Kim Sheridan is the author of:

Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey

Beyond Death

(EnLighthouse Publishing, 2003).

She says that as more people have brought animals into their homes, they

have increasingly come to see them as spiritual teachers and guides.

Pets become " centers of peace " and the bearers of unconditional love - a

quality many associate with God. Because of that, she says, animals can

teach humans to have unconditional love for others.

 

Contact 760-740-8787,

media

 

BACKGROUND

--------------

• The 2003/2004 National Pet Owners Survey found that 62 percent of

U.S. households have pets, up 10 million sinc! e 1992. The annual survey

is done by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, a

nonprofit pet industry organization.

---------------

• According to 2002 U.S. statistics, 35,705 of the United States'

105,456,124 house holds include children under age 18.

 

----------------

• See the results of a 2001

http://www.ABCNews/Beliefnet.com

poll that asked whether animals have souls.

--------------

• Read an article from Science & Spirit on the origin of animal souls.

-------------

• Read a:

http://www.Beliefnet.com

article by T. Griffith Foulk on whether dogs have a Buddha-nature.

--------------

• The Christian Vegetarian Association is an ecumenical association

that promotes a vegetarian diet and animal ministry.

--------------

•http://www.ChristianVegans.com

is an organization of people! who eat no animal products because of their

religious convictions.

---------------

• Read an Aug. 16, 2003, article by Tom Kisken in the Ventura County

Star about animal rights activists reaching out to Christians.

--------------

• Read a September 2002 article by Marianne Arbogast in The Witness,

an Anglican/Episcopal feminist magazine, about the history of the

movement toward animal compassion in Christianity.

---------------

• The Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals wants to raise

awareness of animals within the Christian community in the United

Kingdom and beyond.

 

 

You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do

nothing for them, or to them. " (Malcolm Forbes, 1919-1990)