HELLO? CHURCH? ARE YOU THERE?

“When we reflect upon the most shocking barbarities, and see the brutal rage exercised [against animals] by the most worthless of men, without controul of Law, and without reproof from the Pulpit, we are almost tempted to draw this inference, that Cruelty cannot be a sin.”

                                                                  ~ Humphrey Primatt

            Once again I have put my planned post into cold storage so that I can write about something in the news that I think requires people of faith to sit up and take notice.  It is a column by Frank Bruni that appeared in the New York Times on January 13 entitled According Animals Dignity.  It is a very encouraging piece discussing the ways we are slowly beginning to re-conceive our relationships with animals as we come to have a fuller understanding of how they interact with the world and how miserably some of them are treated.  As a culture, of course, we have a very long way to go, but as Bruni points out, there are encouraging signs of change.  As we come to this awakening, however, and as I read Bruni’s discussion of the signs and sources of change, I cannot help but wonder, again, where is the voice of the church?

            Bruni’s article begins by observing that the most e-mailed recent New York Times story was a story entitled “What Your Cat Is Thinking,” reviewing a book on the subject called Cat Sense (by the same author who recently wrote Dog Sense).  He goes on to discuss other articles and books regarding how animals think (including one called Dogs Are People, Too, which, of course, caught my eye because of this recent post) and the growing popular interest in the topic.

           
Happily, the story does not stop with people’s interest in their own pets, but goes on to discuss a new website called The Dodo about various animal-related issues, which I am eager to investigate.  It also mentions several other recent events: a documentary on the ivory trade narrated by no less noteworthy a person than Hilary Clinton; the acclaim for the documentary Blackfish, about the nature of orcas and how they suffer in captivity; public shaming of those who hunt lions; the mayor of New York’s prioritization of ending carriage rides in that city; the decision of several stores not to sell angora; concern for chimps and apes; “and greater scrutiny of food production [,which] has prompted keener disgust over the fate of many farm animals, along with state legislation to spare them florid suffering.”  He concludes:

This is only going to build, because at the same time that scientific advances force us to gaze upon the animal kingdom with more respect, the proliferation of big and little cameras — of eyes everywhere — permits us to eavesdrop not just on animal play but also on animal persecution. It’s all documented, it all goes viral, and we can’t turn away, or claim ignorance, as easily as we once did.

            Along the way Bruni comments that the deepening concern so many of feel for animals compels to move past the term “animal welfare” and speak of “animal dignity.”  I like this phrase, because it calls us to recognize the wholeness of animals as separate beings, each a unique individual (as I never tire of saying) with his or her own perspective on and experience of the world.  It calls us to recognize that they deserve respect and attention.  

            But even as the discussion about the urgent need to improve the lot of animals grows in the secular world, it remains a barely discernible whisper in faith communities.  There are, of course, signs of encouragement even here, but you have to look hard to find them.  There are groups such as the Episcopal Network of Animal Welfare (of which I am a member), a group of lay and clerical Episcopalians seeking to raise this issue in our congregations.  The Humane Society of the United States Faith Outreach Department exists and provides resources and support to individuals and churches and has even had success in reaching out to faith leaders to speak out on various issues.  There are statements by various faith bodies regarding the need to be compassionate toward our fellow creatures, and there are several recent books on the subject of animals and theology. 

            But all of this seems to occur in the shadows, or on the edges, of faith communities.  For example, in 2003, the Episcopal Church adopted this promising resolution:

Resolution D016

Adopted by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church 2003

Title: The Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 74th General Convention recognize that responsible care of animals falls within the stewardship of creation; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church encourage its members to ensure that husbandry methods for captive and domestic animals would prohibit suffering in such conditions as puppy mills, and factory - farms; and be it further

Resolved,

That the Episcopal Church’s Peace and Justice Office identify existing guidelines to educate its members to adhere to ethical standards in the care and treatment of animals; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church, through its Office of Government Relations, identify and advocate for legislation protecting animals and effective enforcement measures.

That was more than a decade ago and nearly no one in the churches – lay or clergy – seems to be even aware of its existence.  Since that time, several other animal-friendly resolutions have been passed and seemingly forgotten.  Although I often move in fairly animal-friendly and new-idea friendly faith communities, I am still most often told to work around St. Francis Day for anything having to do with animals.  There is significant resistance to recognizing that our relationships with animals deserve anything more than a distant secondary role, or that how we relate to them impacts who we are as human beings, how we live our lives every day, and, therefore, how we relate to God.  I long for the day when preaching will include references to and examples or our obligations toward animals in the same way it includes references to and examples of our obligations toward humans.  Not as a special occasional event (although those are nice), but as a matter of course.  The church, it seems, is still doing a good job of turning away and claiming ignorance, despite the rising awareness in the secular world. 

            There are a lot of good reasons for all people of good will to be concerned about animals: the global rise in meat consumption poses significant threats to our climate (worldwide, animal agriculture contributes more greenhouse gas to the atmosphere than the entire transportation industry combined) and to our ability to feed a rising population (meat is an extremely inefficient means of producing calories and uses disproportionate amounts of resources); the overuse of antibiotics in factory farms to promote growth and to prevent disease in filthy, overcrowded conditions threatens our ability to treat human illness; poor diet, overly dependent on animal products, has caused significant health problems; species are disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate; trade in illegal animal products and animal fighting bring with them various criminal threats; the list goes on. 

            Because these issues affect human welfare, they are issues the church should care about in caring about its community.  Because they often disproportionately affect people of limited means, the church should care about being a voice for vulnerable humans. 

But more than all of that, the church should care – deeply – about this issue because it is central to who we were created to be.  If we can live more fully into the image of God and care about the animals as animals and not just as means to human ends, we cannot help but address the other issues I’ve identified above.  If we can model God’s love and care to the animals and grow to be more like the God in whose image we created, surely only good can follow. When we are blind to an important aspect of our call as humans, we cannot be surprised when problems arise.

            I wrote in an earlier post about shalom, that sense of wholeness and well being that is grounded in our Jewish heritage.  I noted there that humans will not know shalom until the animals know it, because in God’s world order, we are all connected.  We know this.  We know that the one who would be first must be the servant of all; we know that it is better to give than to receive; we know that our greatest happiness comes from helping others to be happy; and we know that it is wrong to exploit the powerless.

            What we seem not to want to know, as faith communities at any rate, is that all of these truisms apply to our relationships with our fellow creatures.  As we continue to learn about how rich and full their experiences of the world are – about cat sense and dog sense and orca sense and elephant sense – this truth becomes clearer.  This is something our secular culture, at least, seems to be beginning to understand. I wonder whether the church will open its eyes and raise its voice to lead this move for mercy, compassion, dignity, and justice, or whether we will be playing catch-up in decades to come.