Animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice is a ritual that involves the killing of animals as a religious offering to a divine being. Animal sacrifices are usually made to placate a deity or to bring good fortune to the sacrificer. The ritual of animal sacrifice was commonly performed by many ancient religious practitioners. Religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism all have documented acts of religious animal sacrifice in their histories. Animal sacrifice also played an important role beyond the religious realm, and many ancient economies thrived off successful animal slaughter operations. Although the ritual lost its significance over the centuries, a few modern religions, including Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism (Samaritans), continue to practice varying forms of animal sacrifice. Modern acts of animal sacrifice are often met with opposition by animal rights groups, however.

Background

Animal sacrifice dates back to antiquity, with the religions of ancient Greece and Rome regularly offering animals as a sacrifice to the gods for various reasons. Animal sacrifices were the primary way for ancient peoples to communicate with their deities. Rituals were commonly performed to offer thanks for good fortune, ask for the gods' help or protection, express anger or desire for revenge, or appease the deities. The actions performed in the ritual, such as how the animal was handled and what prayers were spoken, dictated the message a sacrificer was sending to a deity. If these actions within the ritual were not performed in the correct way, the ritual was rendered useless. Animal sacrifice could also be used to receive messages from gods and understand their will. Ancient animal sacrifice was also an important marker of social standing within communities, as the distribution of the meat following the sacrifice indicated a person's status within a group. Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be the remains of sacrificed animals in the ruins of ancient Roman homes, suggesting that some cultures practiced animal sacrifices in a domestic setting.

Animal sacrifice was executed differently depending on the culture. The most common form of sacrifice was alimentary, where only one small piece of an animal was sacrificed while the rest was used as food. This act was meant to thank deities for the meal a group was to enjoy, and the size and ritual of the sacrifice could be adjusted depending on what the sacrificer hoped to communicate. Ancient Greeks practiced this type of sacrifice in a ritual known as thysia, which was an offering to the Olympian gods that involved intricate, decorative rituals of sacrifice followed by a great feast. A large table of food would be reserved specifically for the deity being worshipped. Romans practiced similar rituals for their own deities; however, the Roman religion often involved far more people in the sacrificial occasion.

Some rituals of animal sacrifice involved the use of the entire animal. Ancient armies would often perform animal sacrifices before going into battle. The Greeks performed a ritual known as sphagia, which involved the slaughter, bleeding, and discarding of a ram to try to discern the outcome of a given conflict. Less common rituals known as holocausts involved burning the entire animal as an offering to the most powerful gods, such as Zeus.

The people of ancient Jerusalem—a city that was considered holy by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—were also known to practice animal sacrifice. According to Jewish texts, the city contained the Holy Temple, the only place Jewish people could sacrifice animals to God. The Holy Temple was the economic epicenter of ancient Jerusalem, with people traveling great distances just to perform their rituals. Some accounts reported that, on occasion, more than one million animals were slaughtered in Jerusalem in a day. Christian records of Jerusalem, such as the Bible, also reference animal sacrifice, but the practice slowly became less significant in Christianity as the centuries passed. With the global rise of Christianity came the gradual decline of animal sacrifice. Roman Catholicism eventually came to forbid animal sacrifice, transferring the symbolism to the figure of Jesus Christ, whose death became the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity from sin.

Topic Today

A number of centuries-old religions continue their practice of animal sacrifice in the modern world. Some followers of Islam and Hinduism celebrate holidays that involve the ritual sacrifice of animals. Muslims celebrate a holiday called Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice. The holiday commemorates the story of Ibrahim (Abraham to Christians), who was willing to sacrifice his son to God before God stopped him and gave him a sheep to kill instead. Some Muslim families sacrifice an animal to commemorate the holiday and share the meat with low-income individuals.

Animal sacrifice remains a relatively common practice in Eastern India and Nepal. The Hindu celebration known as the Gadhimai Mela festival takes place at the Gadhimai temple in Nepal every five years and features mass animal sacrifice as part of the festivities. Gadhimai Mela is considered the largest traditional animal sacrifice in the world, with participants slaughtering hundreds of thousands of animals in honor of Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power. Millions of Hindu people from India and Nepal travel to the temple to offer their sacrifice to the goddess. Hindus who worship Gadhimai believe the goddess will grant them wishes if they sacrifice animals such as cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, and pigeons.

Many Indigenous people living in modern Africa practice ritual sacrifice. The West African religion known as Santería requires followers to perform animal sacrifices on a regular basis. Santeria eventually made its way to North America and was being practiced by followers living in the state of Florida in the late twentieth century. Their ritual sacrifice of chickens was banned in the town of Hialeah in 1993. This law was later overturned by the US Supreme Court as it prohibited a religious practice, which violated the religious freedom rights outlined in the Constitution.

Modern animal sacrifice is a controversial issue throughout the world. Many religions now ban the practice, while other people oppose it on moral grounds. A number of activist groups emerged in the twentieth century supporting the humane treatment of animals. Animal rights activists repeatedly advocate for an end to ritual animal sacrifice around the world.

Bibliography

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