Essay About the Three Major World Religions

The three major world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have unique laws regarding the consumption of food. Whether it involves the religious slaughtering process meat must go through to fit the requirements of being “Kosher”, or the rules of Halal that prevent Muslim people from consuming pork products, people from all corners of the world follow these ethical laws because of their faith and for the safety of what they put in their bodies. The Laws of Kashrut, better known as the Jewish Kosher laws, is a set of moral rules that originated from the Torah. The Jewish Bible contains the specific process meat must go through to be considered “Kosher”, and fit for consumption. There are three major categories that Jewish people fall into regarding how they include themselves within this area of Jewish culture, this includes Learned Observants, Traditional Observants, and Rational Perpetrators. The first believes it’s critically important to follow these moral rules despite one’s social standing, the second believes Jewish people should observe as many traditions and holidays as they are capable of, and the third believes the rules as mentioned in the Torah are outdated and should become a living document to adapt with the everlasting changes society makes. Although the development of Kosher laws was mainly influenced by faith, it is still arguable that safety was a contributing factor to the development of Kosher Laws.

The laws of Kashrut describe a very detailed and in-depth process illustrating the rituals that must be followed for a piece of meat to be considered kosher. There are hundreds of forbidden animals that are considered inedible, including the combination of meat and dairy products, shellfish, all insects and so many more. However, after 2,000 years of global development and the rise in importance of one’s socioeconomic status, these food restrictions have been heavily debated among the Jewish community as these laws have become much more difficult to follow. One of the most strict areas of the Kosher laws is the process slaughtering meat goes through to avoid being classified as traif. First and foremost, “Animals that died naturally are forbidden”. The “detailed procedures for slaughtering food animals require cutting the throat in a single slash with a razor-sharp knife. This ensures that death is immediate, thereby minimizing the animal's pain. The laws also mandate that neither the blood nor the fat around the internal organs is consumed” (Hebrew Dietary Laws). Scholars believed these basic laws of slaughtering animals were derived from ancient notations stating that the soul of each animal victim resides within these substances. As society continually develops and changes, the availability of these ritualistic butcherings becomes more and more difficult to come by, especially because of inflation and consistent acts of religious discrimination. These laws describing Jewish dietary restrictions directly originated from the Torah, so the Jewish community has begun to rebel against these Laws because of the outdated information it prohibits.

Regardless of the overly detailed set of dietary laws mentioned in the Torah, the Jewish community follows these guidelines because of the spiritual connection it provides 1when taking part in the ceremony. The laws were created based on the religious beliefs of Ancient Judaism foremost, so it’s safe to say the creation of the laws claiming what is considered to be “Kosher” or “Traif” was heavily impacted by the spiritual beliefs of the Jewish followers. Evidence has been brought up to prove that these laws were created with the goal of religious purity necessary for the consumption of meat rather than keeping the Judaism followers healthy and safe from the constant threat of death after consuming traif. Many “believe that the laws exist purely for religious reasons”, with the goal of “[improving] human nature and enhancing the mindfulness of God by investing in everyday activities with spiritual significance”. The dietary laws are “not set in terms of physical cleanliness but instead of ritual purity”, therefore the writings in the Torah were developed with the intent of allowing the public a daily spiritual connection to the world of the divine (Hebrew Dietary Laws). The threat of fraudulent behavior involving the false advertising of Kosher meat to attract more business has become much more prominent in today’s world because of the view people have on these rituals. Those who are not a part of Jewish culture see the use of Kosher meat as a marketing ploy, which directly contradicts the chance of it being for safety reasons if the act has become associated with a specific religion. This proves that Kosher Laws were primarily created for spiritual reasons as opposed to the safety of consuming fully cooked meat.

Although the spiritual significance of Kosher rules is a very prominent reason why it’s considered to be a requirement for all capable Jewish people, it’s arguable this aspect of Jewish culture was heavily impacted by the safety of Judaism followers. Through natural selection, some religions became globally practiced while most others were never even discovered or introduced to the public. To gain more followers and popularity in ancient times, the kosher rules as mentioned in the Torah were used to attract a greater number of followers because of how common food poisoning had become. Later on, these rituals were used to give the public a sense of reassurance knowing that every food they consumed had been blessed by God. “After an animal is slaughtered, the Jewish law requires there to be a detailed inspection of the carcass”, including a thorough search through the lungs and stomach for the animal to become classified as kosher as well as the penetration of the body cavity. “If the inspection reveals any unhealthy traits within the animal, it is declared improper for consumption” (Marketing of Kosher Meat). After the Kosher laws were incorporated within the doctrine of Judaism, the population of followers has majorly increased both because of the spiritual aspect of it as well as the added layer of caution regarding healthy food consumption.

Three main areas of Judaism were heavily influential on the creation of Kosher Laws. These include spiritual connections, the safety of meat consumption, as well as the ethical laws of living as mentioned in the Torah. Despite the impact on religious popularity formed by the development of Kosher Laws as a form of safe consumption of meat, many believe it was the direct connection to God that positively impacted the growth of the Judaic religion. This evidence demonstrates that Kosher laws were incorporated within the doctrine of Judaism because of the high risk of food poisoning during the time the Torah was developed.