Vegetarianism and religion

A vegetarian thali from Rajasthan, India. Many Indian religions promote vegetarianism and Indian cuisine has a wide variety of vegetarian food.

The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world. ^{[citation needed]}

In Jainism, vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone; in Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism it is promoted by scriptures and religious authorities but not mandatory.^[1]^[2] In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the Bahá'í Faith,^[3]^[4] vegetarianism is less commonly viewed as a religious obligation, although in all these faiths there are groups actively promoting vegetarianism on religious grounds, and many other faiths hold vegetarian and vegan idea among their tenets.^[5]^[6]

^ Tähtinen, Unto (1976). Ahimsa: Non-Violence in Indian Tradition. London: Rider. pp. 107–111.
^ Walters, Kerry S.; Lisa Portmess (2001). Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 37–91.
^ "What Do You Know of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha?". Sikhism 101. UniversalFaith.net. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
^ "Sikhism: A Universal Message". 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
^ Walters, Kerry S.; Lisa Portmess (2001). Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 123–167.
^ Iacobbo, Karen; Michael Iacobbo (2004). Vegetarian America: A History. Westport: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 3–14, 97–99, 232–233.

[1] Tähtinen, Unto (1976). Ahimsa: Non-Violence in Indian Tradition. London: Rider. pp. 107–111.

[2] Walters, Kerry S.; Lisa Portmess (2001). Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 37–91.

[3] "What Do You Know of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha?". Sikhism 101. UniversalFaith.net. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2010.

[4] "Sikhism: A Universal Message". 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2009.

[5] Walters, Kerry S.; Lisa Portmess (2001). Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 123–167.

[6] Iacobbo, Karen; Michael Iacobbo (2004). Vegetarian America: A History. Westport: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 3–14, 97–99, 232–233.

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