animals and religion

The symbolism and role of animals in religion. Animals have had a profound signifi cance for religion as far back as religion can be traced. The famous Old Stone Age cave paintings of game animals undoubtedly had some kind of spiritual meaning. But meaning and attitude have varied greatly from one religious culture to another. In hunting cultures, where animals are a major source of food and their killing a mark of human prowess, hunting is a religious activity, involving spiritual preparation by such means as fasting, performing sacred dances before setting out, and observing taboos in the fi eld. PRAYERS may also be addressed to the animal to be killed, and petitions made to a "Master of Animals" deity believed able to give or withhold game. In many societies, especially early agricultural or pastoral (herding) ones, animals have often been the subjects of religious SACRIFICE. One example is the religion of the ancient Hebrews. The rationale is varied: It is believed that the savor of the offered meat pleases GOD or the gods; that the sacrifi ce to the highest of something economically valuable, as animals certainly were, indicates faith and devotion; that the life of the animal goes into the crops and the community; or that the spirit of the animal is a messenger on behalf of the people to the gods. If the fl esh, after being offered, is then consumed by the community, that sacred meal can be like a holy communion with the gods and a way of reaffi rming their identity. On the other hand, the protection of some animals, or of all animals, can also be viewed as a religious obligation. In JAINISM, AHIMSA, or harmlessness toward all animate life, is a way of affi rming the sacred character of such life and the souls within it. Many Hindus and Buddhists also practice such harmlessness for spiritual reasons (see HINDUISM and BUDDHISM). Sometimes certain animals are protected and not killed because of their meaning as the "totem," the emblem or animal protector, of a community. Hindu India's well-known "sacred cows" suggest compassion and the sacredness of motherhood and all life to its people. Animals also have widespread symbolic meanings in religion. Religious art is full of animals. Sometimes gods are portrayed as animals, or as half-animal and half-human, like many Egyptian deities (see EGYPTIAN RELIGION) or the Hindu GANESA, with an elephant head and a human body. In CHRISTIANITY, the Holy Spirit is often portrayed as a dove. Many gods and Christian SAINTS have an animal companion or symbol: the bull of SIVA, the owl of ATHENA, the eagle of St. John. In such cases the animal is usually said to embody a particular virtue important to that fi gure: the bull as a token of fertility, the owl of wisdom, the eagle of soaring to the heights. Animals are our companions and relatives here on Earth. Yet because they cannot speak or think exactly as we do, they are always objects of mystery to humans. Given this, it is inevitable that religion would make much of animals.