The Encyclopedia of World Religions

120 S diet and religion

Many religions also regulate the consumption of alcohol. One of the five precepts of B UDDHISM rejects alcohol altogether. Some Buddhists, how ever, ignore this precept, especially in Japan. J UDA ISM permits alcohol in moderation, but I SLAM strictly forbids it. Christian attitudes vary. Some Christians drink to excess when they celebrate certain ritu als, such as C ARNIVAL . Some Protestants, however, avoid alcohol altogether. They even celebrate the E UCHARIST with unfermented grape juice. After World War I this Protestant attitude, represented by groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, helped to pass a constitutional amendment that made alcohol illegal in the United States. This started the era of Prohibition (1920–33). OTHER DIETARY LAWS Many dietary laws detail what foods may be eaten. But religions also tell their followers who may pre pare, serve, and clean up food, as well as when and how much a person may eat. In traditional Hinduism dietary rules help define ritual classes ( varnas ) and castes ( jatis ) ( see CASTE IN H INDUISM ). According to these rules, a per son should eat only cooked food that is prepared by someone of equal or higher status. Similarly, people should clean up only food that has been eaten by someone of equal or higher status. Bud dhism teaches that MONKS AND NUNS should not eat after noon. M ANICHAEISM taught that its elite, called “the elect,” must eat all the food that laypersons brought to them. WHY REGULATE DIET? People often wonder why others observe dietary laws that they do not. Some people attribute these laws to medical concerns. For example, some people think that observant Jews do not eat pork because pigs carry trichinosis. However, when the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut were established, no one knew that pigs carried trichinosis. Many modern scholars trace dietary laws to a different cause. They say that these laws help cre ate group identity. For example, the laws of kashrut help distinguish Jews from non-Jews. There is something to this claim. During the 20th century

Other religions allow the eating of meat but strictly regulate which meats may be eaten. The Jewish laws of kashrut —more colloquially, kosher foods—are a good example. Traditional Muslims observe many of the same restrictions on meat products as Jews. Christians do not. Observant Jews eat water animals as long as they have scales and fins. Therefore, sole and trout are kosher or acceptable; lobster, shrimp, eels, and catfish are not. Observant Jews also eat birds that meet certain requirements. But the best known kosher law concerns land animals. These animals must chew the cud and have cloven hoofs. Pigs do not chew the cud; therefore, observant Jews do not eat pork—and many other meats as well. Observant Jews also do not eat blood. This regulation requires special preparation of meat before cooking. The B IBLE forbids boiling a kid in its mother’s milk. The RABBIS extended this rule: It is not proper to eat meat and dairy products in the same meal. Thus, cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizzas are not kosher. Observant households often have two sets of kitchen ware—one for meat meals, the other for dairy meals. After eating a meat or dairy dish, observant Jews also let an appropriate interval—say, six hours—pass before eating foods of the other variety. REGULATIONS CONCERNING OTHER FOODS Religions have had less to say about plant food and dairy products, but they have not ignored them. The followers of Pythagoras were forbidden to eat beans. Members of the Nation of Islam ( see I SLAM , N ATION OF ) are supposed to avoid certain vegetables that recall the experiences of slavery. Technically, Jains may eat only living beings that have a single sense. This principle prohibits them from eating some plants as well as meat. (Most North Ameri cans limit senses to animals, but Jains do not.) Tra ditional H INDUISM distinguishes between two types of food, pakka and kacca. Hindus who are most concerned about the purity of their diet eat only food that is pakka. They avoid onions and garlic as well as animal foods. They also eat food that is prepared with clarified butter, known as “ghee,” rather than with oils from plants or animals.