Giving Thanks

Indulge me for a few moments, will you? I write this column just as we approach the Thanksgiving. You will read it having spent the last few weeks recovering from the Christmas Holidays. It seems appropriate at this time, even conventional, to spend a few moments looking at what we all have to be thankful for, even joyous about. All too often the quotidian cares of life weigh us down unceremoniously, and we forget that we have much to be thankful for.

Thou Shall Not Kill: Vegetarianism in the Christian Faith

Biblical justifications for a vegetarian diet seem to meet with much adversity within mainstream American culture. Texts suggesting that people were intended to be vegetarians can be found in the Bible. However, this interpretation of Biblical texts has not been widely accepted by Protestant Christianity. This research attempts to identifY social and religious characteristics of people who are vegetarian. Fundamentalism, denomination, belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, and strength of belief in Christianity are examined as factors related to supporting vegetarianism. The General Social Survey's data from 1993 and 1994 were used in this study. The data were analyzed using frequencies, means, cross tabulations. correlations, and regressions. The sample was 57% female and 87% white, the mean age was 46 and the average level of education was 13 years. The study found that, among the independent variables. belief in animal rights, rather than any specific religious views, had the strongest influence on vegetarianism.