THEOLOGICAL VEGAN 

“I love that every time I sit down to eat, I’m able to take a stand on behalf mercy and compassion, and against misery and cruelty. Saint Paul calls on us to ‘pray ceaselessly,’ and for me, veganism is a kind of prayer.”

                                                                                              ~ Bruce Friedrich[1]

            It seems that lately there has been a lot in the news about famous people becoming vegan. Bill Clinton, of course, has been vegan for some time. Al Gore has recently joined him.  Beyoncé famously wore a fur coat to a vegan restaurant shortly after announcing she was adopting a short-term vegan diet. [2]  Mike Tyson is vegan. Even NFL players are writing and speaking about veganism.  And Samuel L Jackson was recently quoted as saying that he has a “new vegan diet” because he wants “to live forever.”
           All this got me thinking about the different reasons people become vegan or vegetarian or just reduce their consumption of animal products. Before going further, though, I want to pause to say that in this post, I will use “vegan” as a sort of goal or end point, recognizing that food (and other lifestyle) choices are most often not an “either/or” proposition (either you are a “vegan” or you are not). Most of us start eating the way our community and culture eats – with lots of meat and dairy - and some of us later move toward veganism, giving up or reducing meat and/or dairy by degrees. Few of us are perfect vegans. Let me also say that as I talk about veganism as a Christian ideal, I have no intent to look down my nose at people of faith who eat meat. Many meat eaters are, no doubt, much better Christians than I am in other areas. Instead, I believe we are all on a Christian journey. Christ meets us where we are and helps us draw closer to God as we are able. My hope here is to raise diet (and other animal-related lifestyle choices) as one of the areas where Christ can work in us and with us to bring us closer to him, and enable us to do his work here on earth. As always, I seek to include animals and diet as not only a legitimate, but an important, element of the on-going conversation about how we, as Christians, can live our whole lives as God intends.

Photo credit: Herbert T, Wikicommons, Creative Commons license

          With that said, it is no secret that people move toward veganism for a variety of reasons. Many people, indeed, my impression is that most people (although I have not looked at any studies on the issue) reduce or eliminate meat and/or dairy from their diet because they are concerned about their personal health. While I am always delighted to learn that anyone has changed their diet to reduce or eliminate animal products, thereby saving lives, and while caring for the bodies God has given us is important, from a theological standpoint, this strikes me as a lost opportunity.
         Others move toward veganism out of concern for the environment (often called “environmental veganism”), recognizing modern factory farming as unsustainable, extremely damaging to the environment, and a major contributor to climate change. This motivation looks outward and seeks to benefit others, and so is for me more theologically satisfying, but still misses something.
          Still others, like me, move toward veganism as a result of concern for the animals (often called “ethical veganism”). For me, although I had already moved to trying to source my meat and dairy from more humane situations than factory farms, I could no longer eat meat when I came to realize that each chicken, pig, and cow is every bit as much of a unique individual with a personality and a will to live as any dog or cat. Fish and dairy were quick to follow as I learned more about how those are produced. [3]  Because a perspective that focuses on the welfare of animals is a perspective that springs from compassion and the desire to reduce suffering in the world, I think this moves a step closer to a theological goal. Even here, however, we’re not quite where we want to be from a Christian perspective. When I made this move, for example, I did not connect it with my faith at all. It was sometime after my decision not to eat meat that I began to connect concern for animals with my faith journey.
           This brings me to what I would like to call “theological veganism.” This is a perspective on veganism that I have never heard identified, but I believe it is an idea that should be explored and developed. What I mean with this phrase a perspective that springs from seeking generally to do God’s will and to work toward the realization of God’s Kingdom – what one seminary friend used to call “Kingdom living:” living as though the Kingdom were here and now. It would grow out the study of scripture, with attention to the animals as well as the humans. It would consider Genesis 1:26, which tells us to reflect God’s character to the animals. It would consider Isaiah 11:6 and Hosea 2:18, which tell us that in God’s new creation, there will be peace among all species of animals, human and non-human.

origin unknown, received in tweet from Rose Smith, @hahnsmith

It would give weight to Genesis 9:1-4, which instructs that we are given meat to eat at great cost, and that cost is to be acknowledged before God. It would consider the many, many passages of scripture that remind us that the animals belong to God, not to us, and that it is God’s desire that “everything that has breath” should “praise the Lord” (Ps. 150:6). It would recognize, therefore, that when we mistreat the animals, making them unable to praise the Lord, we are thwarting God’s intention. Always and everywhere, it would look to Christ, the perfect Image of God, to show us how to live with compassion and humility, calling us always to service, even (especially) service to those of lesser “status” than ourselves, even to the animals.
          Like ethical veganism, theological veganism must, to be consistent with its own objectives, go beyond diet to all our interactions with animals, whether as food, clothing, entertainment, test subjects, or backyard neighbors.
          The essential factor here is that this starts with loving God and seeking to His will, and it therefore relevant to all Christians. It is not dependent on whether we like pigs more than bacon, or whether we believe in climate change, or whether we are prone to heart disease. It encompasses all of these things, but none is necessary.
         This theological lens is key. It is the answer to those who say, “I’m just not an animal person.” Fair enough. Not everyone loves animals. I’m not especially good with children. That, however, does not mean it would be appropriate for me to ignore their cruel treatment or to refuse to support societal or church efforts to help them grow into happy, healthy, productive adults. I am called to love all my neighbors, but I am not necessarily called to lead children’s Sunday school classes. Similarly, when we approach animals through a theological lens we can concede that perhaps we are not the ones to lead the towel drive for the local shelter or organize the visit to a farm animal sanctuary, but that doesn’t excuse ignoring the plight of animals in factory farms or testing labs.
         It is my theory that if we can first look at animals theologically, we may or may not come to love animals or to be “an animal person,” but we can learn to extend our compassion to them. We can learn to step away from practices that cause their suffering. Not because we are moved by their furry (or feathered, or what have you) little faces, but because they belong to God. If we love God, we must care for what He placed at our mercy. Once we do that, the other pieces fall into place. We may improve our health, or reduce our carbon footprint, or reduce animal suffering – and maybe even learn to see animals as worthy of our notice in a new way - as we grow closer to God.
         Because our welfare is all interconnected and the goal of Shalom can only be achieved for any if it is achieved for all, if we hope to bring God’s peace to the world, we must include animals. We may find that as we offer peace to those at our mercy, we find a new peace ourselves. Franz Kafka is reported to have said to a fish after becoming vegetarian, “Now at last I can look at you in peace, I don't eat you anymore.” [4]  A few years ago, Greg Boyd, Senior Pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and President of Reknew.org, wrote in his blog that becoming a vegetarian increased his capacity to love and helped him see the sacred beauty in all living things. 

Veganism undertaken as a theological or spiritual exercise can help us flex our “compassion muscles,” and teach us to open our eyes to “the other” in ways that will help us be more compassionate to our fellow humans, as well.
         In this way, our daily choices have the means to bring us closer to God and, relying on the theological lens, we may be able to avoid some of the pitfalls of secular veganism. There are plenty of people who are or are moving toward veganism who are not models of Christian charity. Vegans and animal activists (like “true believers” and activists of all stripes, regardless of the cause) can be self-righteous, arrogant, judgmental, and generally difficult to be around. Those who work in or support animal rescue, especially, spend so much time dealing with human cruelty to animals (for example, this recent incident in New York involving the death of 25 cats), that it is easy to become jaded and to conclude that humans are just hopelessly cruel and not worth the time to be civil to – let alone kind to. Being concerned about animals, by itself, does not necessarily make you a kinder, gentler, more Christ-like person.  Approaching the issue through a theological lens, however, can help to keep us humble, grateful for progress made, patient in waiting for more, and ever hopeful that humans (including ourselves), though fallen, are not lost.

         So, while there are a lot of reasons for considering a vegan diet, or at least reducing meat and dairy consumption, the one I would like to see the Christian community endorse and promote is the one that I believe has the potential to bring us closer to God. Every meal, every snack, is an opportunity to show mercy, to grow in compassion, and to move closer to God’s kingdom. It can be, as Bruce Friedrich says, “a kind of prayer.”
           I am glad so many people in the public eye are re-considering their diets and moving to plant-based meal options, whether that means full-time veganism, including not just diet but other animal concerns, as well, or simple Meatless Mondays. Whatever their motivations for doing so, it can only mean good things for the animals. I am also glad that there are so many secular animal advocates urging people to move toward plant-based diets for any and all reasons, developing and disseminating information about benefits to personal health and the environment, as well as ethical concerns. It will take every tool in the toolbox to make the biggest difference possible for animals.
          But I long for day when the phrase “theological vegan” is spoken from the pulpit, in Christian development classes, and other faith venues. I long for the day when vegans and animal advocates in faith communities are not considered an oddity and an inconvenience, but are recognized as a vital part of the community; the day when we, as a faith community, recognize this as a significant way to live into the Kingdom of God.
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[1] Interviewed with Kathy Dunn and Brittany Ederer at CompostingFaith, a blog about “following Jesus and living sustainably.” 

[2]To be fair to Beyoncé, she and Jay-Z said they were doing a 22-day vegan cleanse.  They never said anything (to my knowledge) about animals.  It seems a little tone deaf to wear these kinds of clothes to a place where they were bound to offend so many, but it was hardly hypocritical.  Also, I have no idea whether she and Jay-Z stuck it out for the whole 22 days or extended the diet beyond that time frame.  I follow a lot of vegan news, but not much celebrity news. 


[3] I call myself  “nearly vegan,” so I am still on the road myself.  My exceptions are that I will eat dairy if I am a guest in someone’s home who is not used to cooking for a vegan (most people can figure out something vegetarian) or if I am with others who want to eat at a restaurant where vegetarian is feasible but vegan is not (although, happily, there are fewer and fewer of those.  It is for the sake of hospitality that I try to include some wiggle room in my diet.  

[4] Franz Kafka: A Biorgraphy (1960) by Max Brod (expanding on earlier editions of 1937 and 1947), as translated by G. Humphreys Roberts and Richard Winston, p. 74.