Your Positions

• We should all be vegetarian. Animals should never be killed or mistreated, but it is OK to use them for milk and eggs, because it can done without harming them. (Start over)

• My religion only forbids me from eating meat, so there is no obligation for me to abstain from eggs or dairy. (Go back)

Things to Consider

That’s awesome about your religion. Religion is fun. Did you know my religion doesn’t forbid me from punching people in the face who eat eggs or dairy? That means I’m under no obligation not to do it. In fact my religion encourages it!

Does this sound like a great argument to you?

The fact of the matter is that no major religion on Earth forbids people from being vegan, or from adhering to stronger ethical principles than those laid out in its foundations. It’s commonly understood that many divine commands are meant for a specific time and place, for a specific people. For Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), God has commanded at times for people to kill women and children, or even their own offspring. We shouldn’t take this as an excuse to do these things in our own lives. See The Bible for more discussion of this (this is focused on Christianity, but there are sections that apply to all Abrahamic religions).

Your religion probably doesn’t tell you not to drink and drive either. But there were no cars around when the sacred texts were transcribed. You should be evaluating your own actions using your moral compass, and with an open mind, not just adhering to what other people are doing and using your religion to shut off your brain and absolve yourself of any moral responsibility.