Religion & Veganism

A study by Alexis Diller

Overview of the Survey My name is Alexis Diller. I have encountered a large

amount of vegans who happen to be atheist/agnostic (including myself), and started wondering if there was a link between the two. I created a survey with 7 questions and 1 additional comments slot.

Every question on the survey was optional. I don’t believe in forcing people to answer anything they do not feel comfortable answering, especially with a topic such as religion.

The survey was open for exactly 2 weeks and to 2 vegan communities on Google+ - Vegan and Vegan Life.

I did not partake in the survey myself. If you do not like graphs, I recommend ending the

presentation here.

Who was surveyed?

56 vegans total

Who was surveyed?

Age Male / Female

How long had they been vegan?

Why they chose going vegan 24 vegans did it for the animals / ethical

reasons. 22 vegans did it for their health. 7 vegans did it for another reason. 2 vegans did it for the environment. 1 vegan did not respond. Vegans who indicated more than one reason for

going vegan only had their first reason counted for.

A majority answered with more than one reason, which was almost always a combination of ethics, health, and the environment.

Religion of surveyed vegans

Household religion of surveyed vegans 18 vegans followed the same religion as the

household they grew up in. 37 vegans did not. 1 vegan didn’t respond. Could the two be linked? An unusually high

amount of vegans had changed their mind about religion, in addition to changing their diet at some point in their life (not including those who noted they had been vegetarian/vegan for a majority of their life).

The link between religion & veganism In the survey, I asked if the vegan believed

their spirituality and veganism were linked in any way. 2 vegans did not respond, but the other answers were similar to each other.

23 vegans answered “no” or “not really”. The other 31 vegans, however, offered

insight from a religious and nonreligious view.

Those with a religion said…

Those without a religion said…

“God’s plan is for us not to eat meat” or “God doesn’t want us to kill animals”.

“Jesus showed mercy, and so do I” or “Jesus was a vegetarian”.

“Eating animal products is suffering, which is against my religion”.

“Everything I do is linked with each other”.

“Religion teaches compassion, and being a vegan is compassionate towards animals”.

“My religion teaches me to love all creatures, including animals”.

“I have compassion for living things”.

“I questioned religion, and also questioned how ethical it was to consume animal products”.

“I am a logical/rational person – eating animals doesn’t make sense, and following a religion doesn’t make sense either”.

“Becoming a vegan includes dropping what was previously taught (consuming animal products) and becoming an atheist also includes dropping the social norm of following a religion”.

Overall My study showed a high amount of religion-less

vegans, but most arguments about spirituality and veganism being linked came from those with a religion.

Perhaps there is a greater tie between those with faith and veganism than those lacking faith.

Either way, people following a religion followed its teachings for the reasons the religion taught. Those without a religion rejected faith for the same reason they rejected consuming animal products – it doesn’t make sense.

I don’t have a conclusion for if the two are directly linked, and I believe it varies from person to person.

Thank you for taking my survey!