Vegetarianism and religion

Vegetarianism and religion concerns religious beliefs and practices that encourage, require, permit, or reject abstention from animal flesh.

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Ahimsa: Ahimsa is the ethical principle of nonviolence toward living beings, especially prominent in Indian religions. It supplies a central ethical rationale for avoiding harm to animals through food.
Jainism: Jainism is an Indian religion whose ethics strongly emphasize nonviolence toward living beings. Its commitment to nonviolence makes avoidance of animal flesh a particularly prominent practice.
Vegetarianism: Vegetarianism is the practice of excluding meat from one's diet, with definitions varying over some animal products. It is the dietary practice whose religious forms and justifications this topic examines.
Carnism: Carnism is the belief system that treats eating certain animals as normal or acceptable. It names assumptions that religious vegetarian commitments may challenge.
Kashrut: Kashrut is the body of Jewish law governing which foods are permitted and how they are prepared. It regulates animal foods without requiring vegetarianism, showing a different religious approach to diet.
Hinduism: Hinduism is a diverse family of Indian religious traditions with varied beliefs and practices. Many Hindu communities value vegetarianism, while practices differ by region, community, and individual.
Religious dietary laws: Religious dietary laws are rules governing food selection, preparation, or consumption within a religious tradition. Vegetarianism is one possible outcome of a much broader range of religious food rules.
Pescetarianism: Pescetarianism excludes meat from land animals while allowing fish and other seafood. It differs from vegetarian definitions that exclude all animal flesh.
Compassion: Compassion is concern for the suffering and welfare of other beings. Concern for animal suffering often motivates religious commitments to vegetarian diets.
Buddhism: Buddhism is a religious and philosophical tradition founded on the teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhist traditions interpret non-harming and dietary restrictions in notably different ways.