Religion and Food

Lever, John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2188-8518 (2024) Religion and Food. In: The Elgar Encyclopedia of Food and Society. Edward Elgar Publishing. (In Press)

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Abstract

Food is central to religious traditions, cosmologies and societal worldviews in diverse cultural contexts, and can symbolise the ecstasy of paradise, the torment of hell, and the longing of exile. From Adam and Eve onwards, religious people have related to their gods and to each other through food and eating. Some of the most important insights have emerged in anthropology and sociology rather through the study of religion, and this entry looks at a number of the key texts focussed on the development of religious food codes and classifications. Religious food markets are also examined alongside contemporary debates within religious food culture, as are theological arguments that raise questions about the links between food production and consumption, human health, and environmental degradation.