SOURCE GUIDE Animals
and religion: a guide to issues, organizations and experts
As concern for
the environment has grown in faith communities, a greater emphasis has fallen
on how people care for and treat animals. The verse in Genesis – a text sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam – that gives mankind “dominion” over
the animals is no longer universally interpreted as awarding carte blanche
over domestic, wild and food-source animals.
Instead, a more
nuanced interpretation is gaining ground, one that says humans have a religious
duty to care for and protect animals – a duty some interpret as requiring people of faith to speak out and act against animal cruelty, testing, abuse and even ownership. Today, many groups celebrate an “Animal Sunday” or a “Blessing of the Animals” near
the October feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, and people from all the major
faith traditions are involved in the animal rights, welfare and liberation
movements.
Animal advocacy groups have begun outreach programs to people of faith, hoping to find strong allies in their various fights. This month, the Humane Society of the United States will release the film Eating Mercifully, which it hopes will persuade many people of faith to make more humane food choices. Meanwhile, numerous religious-based animal advocacy groups have popped up and grown strong. It is not uncommon for secular and religious activists to find themselves on the same side of the debate over meat, fur and animal testing.
ReligionLink’s
source guide on animals and religion shines a light on some of the varied
ways these two topics intersect, and provides experts and other resources
for coverage.
Members of the animal rights and animal welfare communities are not always one and the same. (See definitions below.) Yet both groups are beginning to compete for the growing number of individuals motivated by their religious faith to speak and act on behalf of animals. How will these two groups reach people of faith interested in animals? Which group will be the most successful, and why?
A growing number
of Christians are changing their idea of stewardship – how they manage God’s creation – from
simply using natural resources to caring for them, including animal rights
and animal welfare. For some, this means adopting a meat-free diet and faith-based
activism. Many religious groups are including concern for animals in their
official policies, both on the denominational and local levels. How will
this affect religious practices? Will churches redistribute ministry funds
to animal welfare or rights issues? What tensions might result if others
within a denomination hold more traditional views on the subject?
The violence and
extremism of some animal rights activists, illustrated this summer in the
bombings aimed at scientists affiliated with the University of California,
Santa Cruz, present a conflict for those who see animal rights/welfare as
a religious issue, as violence conflicts with most religious teachings. (Such
tactics are also abhorrent to most within the animal rights/welfare community.
Indeed, many have distanced themselves from groups, such as the Animal Liberation
Front, that seem to condone violence or property destruction on behalf of
animals.) Many religious people find themselves asking “How far is too far?” in
terms of activism.
Do animals have souls? Some religions say yes, some say no, but members of those faiths may or may not agree. How do people of faith reconcile the differences between what their faiths say about animals and their personal beliefs on the matter? If people of faith accept that animals have souls, like many religions say humans have, what does that mean to their personal theology? What are they doing to convince others to join them in their opinion?
More congregations
and religious leaders are offering religious services and rites for animals.
Today, there are animal funerals, blessings for pets and more, many performed
by ordained clergy. Counseling is offered for people grieving a pet’s
death. Hospice for animals --
focusing on their spiritual as well as physical passage through the dying
process – has become a new and rapidly growing movement. Do all these
services benefit the animals or just their owners/human companions? Do they
rankle some people of faith while inspiring or comforting others?
Last year, the
Best Friends Animal Society gathered representatives of 20 different faiths
to sign and promote a document titled “A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion.” It was billed as a “call to action for people of all faiths to reclaim a commitment to animals.” Can
shared concern for animals unite people of different faiths? What is the
status and effect of this document?
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
If you would like to be added to this source guide or request a change in the information, please email animals@religionlink.org. If you are seeking a change in the wording of your listing, please state the reason. ReligionLink reserves the right to decide which listings to include.
• For organizations, include the name, mission, Web site and a contact name
with phone number and email. Also include any specific areas of interest and
expertise.
• For individuals, include name, title, organization, city and state, Web
site, areas of expertise, phone number and email.
DEFINITIONS
Animal rights – the idea that animals, because they are sentient
beings, have the same or similar rights as human beings and that the rights and
concerns of human beings do not necessarily take precedence over those of animals.
Animal welfare – the
idea that the suffering of animals should be reduced, minimized and, ideally,
eliminated in all areas of human-animal interaction, including pet ownership,
laboratory testing and the use of animals as sources of food and clothing.
Animal protection – the idea that mankind bears responsibility for shielding
animals from harm by humans.
Animal liberation – the
idea that human beings do not have the right to own other sentient beings.
POLLS
• Pollingreport.com posts results of surveys about animals, including a May 2008 Gallup Poll which found that 97 percent of Americans support some rights for animals but that 64 percent reject a ban on all animal testing in laboratories. Sentiment about buying and wearing animal fur has shifted slightly in recent years, according to Gallup, but a majority continues to consider it morally acceptable.
• An ABCNews/Beliefnet poll conducted
in 2001 found that 43 percent of people believe that pets go to heaven. Slightly
fewer – 41 percent – said all animals, not just pets, go to heaven.
HELPFUL WEB SITES
• All Creatures Great and Small is a campaign of the animals and religion program of
the Humane Society of the United States. The campaign’s resources page provides
information on the major religions’ statements about animals, as well as
educational materials for different ages and much more.
• Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal hosts a page about the Sacred Foods Project, an interfaith effort to promote religious and ethical principles in the food industry, including humane treatment of farm animals. The site includes several downloadable religious guides on the subject.
• AmericanCatholic.org posts resources
about St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. The site also keeps
a nationwide list of pet/animal
blessing ceremonies, many of which occur near his feast day, Oct. 4.
• Animal Chaplains maintains a state-by-state list of clergy and others with animal ministries.
• Animal Rights History describes
itself as an online library, literary research resource, animal rights timeline
and historical literature archive that “promotes and facilitates access
to information, education, literary research and the preservation of historical
literature on animal rights, animal welfare and the humane movement against cruelty
to animals.”
• Animal Rights National Conference holds
annual conferences, alternating in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Some speakers
are from religiously based animal rights and welfare organizations, and many
religiously based groups have exhibits. The conference’s Web site lists exhibitors and speakers from the 2008 gathering.
• The BBC’s Religion & Ethics Web site includes detailed accounts of different religions’ views
about animals. See, for example, how Christian thinking on the subject has evolved; what Islam requires when an animal is slaughtered; and what Judaism says about hunting.
• BBC also posts a number of articles on ethical issues involving animals.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica’s entry
on the modern animal rights movement includes a discussion of the varying
moral and theological viewpoints involved.
• The International Vegetarian Union maintains a page of articles on religion and vegetarianism.
• Islamic Concern is a Web site dedicated to animal welfare from an Islamic perspective.
• The Islamic Foundation maintains a page devoted to Islam and animal rights.
• The Jew and the Carrot is a blog for Jews interested in sustainability and the politics of food. It maintains a list of contributing writers.
• PaganVeg is aimed at followers of Earth-based religions and seeks to motivate them toward a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle as a way of acting out their faith.
• ShalomVeg is a networking site for Jewish vegans, vegetarians and animal rights activists.
• The Web site of the annual Taking
Action for Animals conference includes a list of speakers at the 2008
gathering, some of whom represent religiously motivated animal rights/welfare
groups.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service dedicates a section of its Web site to animal welfare issues.
• The USDA National Agricultural Library has an Animal Welfare Information Center with extensive resources on the topic.
MEDIA
• Humane Steward is an online publication focusing on news about animals and religion. The Humane Society of the United States produces it. Access the enewsletter by signing up through the Web site.
• The Animals Voice is a nonprofit animal rights organization that publishes an online magazine of the same name. Laura Moretti founded the group, which is based in Chico, Calif. Contact 4rights@animalsvoice.com.
• Heeb’n’vegan is a blog about Jewish veganism. Contact mcroland@gmail.com.
• Humane Religion was once a bimonthly magazine devoted to promoting a Christianity dedicated to animal welfare. Today, it is published online and is based in Sarasota, Fla. It is affiliated with all-creatures.org. Contact flh@all-creatures.org.
• Zoo Torah is the blog of Israeli Rabbi Natan Slifkin, who uses the Jewish scriptures to teach about Judaism and its relation to animals. Contact zoorabbi@zootorah.com.
NEWS
ARTICLES
• Read a Sept. 3, 2008, Religion News Service article (posted by Beliefnet) on a growing number of religious people applying their faith to their diets.
• Read an Aug. 21, 2008, McClatchy article in the Chicago Tribune on what different faiths say about an afterlife for animals.
• Read the transcript of an Aug. 15, 2008, Religion & Ethics
Newsweekly segment about the debate over animal rights and animal testing.
• Read “Faith and Factory Farms,” an
Aug. 13, 2008, essay by the Rev. Michael Bruner, a Presbyterian minister. The
column, which is posted on the Newsweek/Washington Post On Faith Web
site, discusses the Humane Society’s new All Creatures Great and Small
campaign.
• Read a July 23, 2008, KCPW News report about a Brigham Young University philosophy professor who suggests that the same Mormon scriptures discouraging caffeine and alcohol use can also be applied to the eating of meat. KCPW is a public radio station in Salt Lake City.
• Read a July 18, 2008, article in the Columbia Missourian about
the religious underpinnings for Rabbi Yossi Feintuch’s decision to be a
vegetarian.
• Read an opinion piece, “A Papal Mercy: How the Vatican views animals, and why Christians should care,” published
April 17, 2008, in TheHarvard Crimson.
• Read an April 12, 2008, column in Christianity Today titled “Keeping
Pets in Their Place: Why we can’t afford to treat animals like they’re
humans.” It’s written by Charles Colson with Anne Morse.
• Read a Nov. 6, 2007, Los Angeles Times article about
the faith community’s growing receptiveness to animal-welfare concerns.
• Read an Aug. 22, 2007, New York Times story, “Of Church and Steak: Farming for the Soul,” about
changes taking place in the agricultural industry as increasing numbers of the
faithful seek to reconcile their religious beliefs and the foods they consume.
• Read a Sept.
4, 2005, Washington Post article about religious rites for animals.
• Read a November 2004 Associated Baptist Press story about Christian hunting groups and how some churches are incorporating hunting-related events into their ministries.
• Read a Nov. 17, 2001, Toledo Blade article about the Christian Deer Hunters Association.
BUDDHIST
• Shabkar promotes vegetarianism as a way of life for Buddhists of all schools. It is based on the teachings of Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), a Tibetan yogi who espoused vegetarianism. Contact info@shabkar.org.
CHRISTIAN
• The American Scientific Affiliation describes
itself as a “fellowship of Christians in science.” It is based in Ipswich, Mass. Its Web site includes the writings of members who reconcile their faith with the use of laboratory animals. Search under “animal rights.” Contact
978-356-5656.
• Animal Families is a ministry that promotes the caring stewardship of animals as a biblical principle. It is a division of Russell Ministries. Contact info@animalfamilies.org.
• Catholic Concern for Animals in the United States would like to increase animal rights and animal welfare activism within the Catholic Church. Contact cca@catholic-animals.org.
• The Christian Bowhunters of America is based in Greenville, Ohio, and promotes Christianity among bowhunters. Its statement of faith includes biblical verses that it says support hunting. It maintains a list of chapters nationwide. Contact 937-548-0623.
• The Christian Deer Hunters Association is based in Silver Lake, Minn., and encourages the hunting of deer as a means to Christian fellowship and faith. Tom Rakow is its founder. Contact 320-327-2266, tom@rockdove.com.
• The Christian Hunters and Anglers Association seeks to encourage men to adopt an outdoor lifestyle as a way of deepening their Christian faith. The association, which is based in Tyler, Texas, advocates and engages in the hunting of animals. Contact 903-312-7390.
• The Christian Vegetarian Association promotes the practice of vegetarianism as a Christian principle. It is based in Cleveland and has a British chapter as well. Contact 216-283-6702, cva@christianveg.org.
• The Episcopal Network for Animal Welfare is a volunteer organization of clergy and lay people within the Episcopal Church who would like to raise awareness of animal welfare in Episcopal congregations. It maintains a list
of “animal-friendly” congregations. Contact Sue Grisham, enaw@franciscan-anglican.com.
• The Healing Species provides
classroom curricula and programs that bring rescued animals into schools in the
belief that engaging children with animals will teach them compassion and prevent
animal cruelty. Its Web site includes a statement of belief in a “Higher Power,” “Creator” and “Lord.” Cheri
Brown Thompson is its founder and director. It is based in Orangeburg, S.C. Contact cheri@healingspecies.org.
• The Universal Equalitarian Church is based on the principle that all species are created equal. It is based in Lamar, Mo. Contact 417-398-2800, equalitarian2003@yahoo.com.
• Universal Life is a Christian community that takes animal rights and welfare as one of its main concerns. Its American community is based in Woodbridge, Conn. Contact 800-846-2691.
• Vegetarian Friends is a Quaker organization dedicated to helping Quakers and others keep a vegetarian diet. The group publishes a monthly journal, The Peaceable Table, whose editor is Gracia Fay Ellwood. Contact graciafay@mac.com.
HINDU
• The Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary in
Bangor, Pa., rescues cows headed for slaughter because, among other things, “cows are dear to Lord Krishna.” Its
founder is Sankar Sastri. Contact 610-599-8824, sankar1@yahoo.com.
JEWISH
• Jewish Veg is the Web site of Jewish Vegetarians of North America. It is dedicated to promoting vegetarianism among Jews by linking it to Halakhah (Jewish law). Richard Schwartz is the president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, which is based in Newport News, Va. Contact via the Web site.
• Jews for Animal Rights promotes the vegetarian teachings of Rabbi Avraham
Kuk, the first chief rabbi of Israel , through Micah Publications, its publishing arm. Contact micah@micahbooks.com.
NEW
AGE
• The Culture of Life Community describes
itself as “a social-spiritual media, education, and commerce network designed to support individuals, communities, and the world to move from the predatory, exploitive consciousness of the culture of death to the Culture of Life, a loving lifestyle based on alive spirituality, alive people, alive relationships, alive parenting, alive food, and alive earth.” It
includes the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Ariz., and was founded by Dr. Gabriel Cousens. Contact 866-394-2520.
NONDENOMINATIONAL
• Animal Chaplains offers spiritual services, resources and information for clergy and laypeople about animals. It was founded by Nancy Cronk, an ordained Universal Life Church minister. Its Web site includes a list of animal chaplains around the country. Contact 303-766-3123, animalclergy@aol.com.
Note: These are secular organizations dedicated to reconciling animal welfare and animals rights issues with the needs of scientists. There are many of these organizations, which you will find links to on the Web sites of the following groups.
• AltWeb, the Alternatives to Animal Testing Web site, is an informational clearinghouse for those involved in animal research, welfare, testing and more. Its primary goal is to reduce animal testing by providing researchers with alternatives to animal testing. It is a project of the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing and maintains a list of its financial supporters. Contact 410-223-1692.
• The Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, which supports the use of animals in laboratory testing, maintains a list of other national and statewide organizations involved with the subject. Joanne Zurlo is the director. Contact 202-334-2590, jzurlo@nas.edu.
OTHER
• The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is a think tank in Grand Rapids, Mich., guided by free-market and Judeo-Christian social principles. It posts commentaries (scroll to bottom of page) on environmental stewardship, including essays dealing with dominion over animals. Contact 616-454-3080, info@acton.org.
National sources
Click
the map for interview sources
in your state and region
ETHICS
/ PHILOSOPHY AND ANIMAL RIGHTS / WELFARE
• Gary Lynn Comstock is a philosophy professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Much of his work is focused on the assumption that humans are superior to animals and entitled to treat them as they wish. He is currently a fellow at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Contact 919-549-0668 ext. 202, gcomstock@ncsu.edu.
• Hank Davis is a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of
Guelph in Ontario, Canada . He is credited with beginning the growing practice
of memorializing the lives of animals used in research and teaches workshops
internationally on the subject for laboratories. He says animal research is
necessary but should be done with great care, conservation and appreciation
for the sacrifice of the animals involved. Contact davis@psy.uoguelph.ca.
• Gary L. Francione is a professor of law and philosophy at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., where he is an expert in animal rights and teaches a seminar on the subject. He was the first academic to teach animal rights theory in an American law school. His books include Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement. Contact 973-353-5321, gfrancione@kinoy.rutgers.edu.
• Anita Guerrini is a history professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She teaches a course on the history of animal use in science and is the author of Experimenting With Humans and Animals: From Galen to Animal Rights. Contact 805-893-8827, guerrini@history.ucsb.edu.
• Tom
Regan is a philosophy professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh
and a leader in the animal rights movement. He attributes his interest in animals
and vegetarianism to his study of Gandhi. Regan’s books include The Case
for Animal Rights. Contact tom_regan@ncsu.edu.
• Bernard Rollin is a professor of philosophy, animal sciences and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He is the author of Animal Rights and Human Morality (third edition, 2006). Contact 970-491-6885, Bernard.Rollin@colostate.edu.
• Andrew
Rowan is executive vice president for operations at the Humane Society of
the United States and CEO of the Humane Society International. He has a doctorate
in biochemistry, is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and is former director of the Tufts University Center for Animals
and Public Policy. Contact 301-548-7770, arowan@humanesociety.org.
• Peter Singer is a bioethics professor at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. He is considered a pioneer in the animal rights movement and is the author of Animal Liberation, among other books. Contact 609-258-2202, psinger@princeton.edu.
• Bernard Unti is senior policy adviser and special assistant to the president
of the Humane Society of the United States. He holds a doctorate in U.S. history
and is the author of Protecting All Animals: A Fifty-Year History of the
Humane Society of the United States. Contact through Elizabeth Bergstrom,
301-258-1455, ebergstrom@hsus.org.
GENERAL,
RELIGION AND ANIMALS
• Laurel Kearns is an associate professor of the sociology of religion and environmental studies at Drew University in Madison, N.J. She is co-editor, with Catherine Keller, of Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth (2007) and is an expert on eco-theology. She teaches courses on Christianity and ecology and religion and the Earth. Contact 973-408-3279, lkearns@drew.edu.
• Kimberley Christine Patton is a professor of the comparative and historical study of religion at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where she has taught a course in animals and religion. She is co-editor of A
Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science & Ethics (2006). Contact
617-496-3395, kimberley_patton@harvard.edu.
• Lisa Portmess and Kerry Walters are philosophy professors at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa. They co-authored two books, one about the history of religious vegetarianism and the other on the history of ethical vegetarianism. Contact Portmess at 717-337-6576, lportmes@gettysburg.edu, and Walters at 717-337-6577, kwalters@gettysburg.edu.
• Tom
Regan is a philosophy professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh
and a leader in the animal rights movement. He attributes his interest in animals
and vegetarianism to his study of Gandhi. Regan’s books include The Case
for Animal Rights. Contact tom_regan@ncsu.edu.
• Bron Taylor is an associate professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he specializes in religion, the environment, nature and ethics. He maintains a Web site on the subject of religion and nature and is the editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (2008). Contact 352-392-1625, bron@religion.ufl.edu.
• Paul Waldau is an assistant professor of veterinary medicine and director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy, which has a program in ethics and values, at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. Among his research interests is how animals are viewed in religious and cultural traditions. He has written about Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and Islamic religious attitudes toward animals and is co-editor of A
Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science & Ethics (2006). Contact 508-887-4671, paul.waldau@tufts.edu.
• Robert Wennberg is a professor emeritus of philosophy at Westmont College
in Santa Barbara, Calif. He is the author of God, Humans and Animals: An Invitation to Enlarge Our Moral Universe. Contact 805-565-6167.
BUDDHISM
AND ANIMALS
• Christopher Key
Chapple is a professor of Indic and comparative theology at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles. He is an expert on Eastern religious traditions and
can discuss their attitudes toward animals. He is the author of Nonviolence
to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions. Contact 310-338-2846, cchapple@lmu.edu.
• Ron Epstein of the philosophy department at San Francisco State University
runs a page of resources on Buddhism and vegetarianism and animal welfare. Contact Epstein@sfsu.edu.
• Eric Reinders is an associate professor of religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He has written about Buddhist attitudes toward animals. Contact 404-727-6186, ereinde@emory..edu
CHRISTIANITY
AND ANIMALS
• Regis
John Armstrong is a professor of historical theology and spirituality at
Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. A Capuchin Friar Minor, he
is an expert on St. Francis of Assisi. Contact 202-238-1652, regisja@cua.edu/.
• Calvin DeWitt is a professor at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is concerned with the ethics of farming and uses of the natural environment, including animals. He is co-founder of the International Evangelical Environmental Network. Contact 608-265-2564, cbdewitt@wisc.edu.
• Laura Hobgood-Oster is an associate professor of religion and philosophy
at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Her areas of expertise include
St. Francis of Assisi. She is the author of Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals
in the Christian Tradition (2008). Contact 512-863-1669, hoboster@southwestern.edu.
• Andrew Linzey is a lecturer in theology at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England . He has written widely on animals and Christianity, including a series of liturgies for animals. Contact +44 (0) 1865 270790, andrewlinzey@aol.com.
• Stephen Webb is a professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. He is the author of On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals and Good Eating. Contact webs@wabash.edu.
HINDUISM
AND ANIMALS
• Christopher
Key Chapple is a professor of Indic and comparative theology at Loyola
Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is an expert on Eastern religious traditions
and can discuss their attitudes toward animals. He is the author of Nonviolence
to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions. Contact 310-338-2846, cchapple@lmu.edu.
• Lance Nelson is a professor of theology and religious studies at the University
of San Diego. He is an expert on Hinduism and has written about Hindu attitudes
and teachings on animals and ecology. Contact 619-260-4054, lnelson@sandiego.edu.
ISLAM
AND ANIMALS
• Richard Foltz is an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada . He is considered a pioneer in the academic field combining religion and ecology and is an expert in Islamic religious and cultural attitudes toward animals. He is the author of, among other things, Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures (2006). Contact 514-848-2424 ext. 5730, Richard.Foltz@concordia.ca.
• Ingrid Mattson is
director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim
Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn. She can discuss animal rights
and the Muslim faith and Islamic law. She wrote an article titled “Bismillah: Eating in the name of God” that appears on the Macdonald Center’s
Web site. Contact 860-509-9531, imattson@hartsem.edu.
• Aminah Beverly McCloud is a professor of religious studies at DePaul
University in Chicago and can discuss the place of animals in the Muslim world.
The notion of animal rights is a new one for Muslim societies, she says. Contact
773-325-1290, amccloud@depaul.edu.
JAINISM
AND ANIMALS
• Christopher Key Chapple is a professor of Indic and comparative theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is an expert in Jainism and can discuss Jainist attitudes toward animals. He is also an expert in other Eastern religious traditions and is the author of Nonviolence to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions. Contact 310-338-2846, cchapple@lmu.edu.
JUDAISM
AND ANIMALS
• Aaron S. Gross is a Jew, a scholar and animal activist. He holds a master’s of theological studies degree from Harvard University and is pursuing a doctorate in religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, focused on religious ethics. He consults for PETA on religious issues and can discuss Jewish values with regard to animals and the Torah’s
proscription, called tzaar baalei hayim, against inflicting pain on any creature. Contact 805-636-9182, aarongross@post.harvard.edu.
• Rabbi Harold S. White is Jewish chaplaincy director and senior Jewish
chaplain at Georgetown University, where he also teaches in the theology department.
He is deeply involved in animal protection issues. Contact 202-687-3480, whitehs@georgetown.edu.
NATIVE
AMERICAN TRADITIONS
• Rodney Frey is a professor of American Indian studies and anthropology at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. He is an expert on the religious and spiritual attitudes and practices of Native American tribes of the West and animals. Contact 208-885-6268, rfrey@uidaho.edu.
• Jace Garrett Weaver is an associate professor of American and religious studies and law at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. He can discuss the relationship of Native American religions to animals and the state of animal rights/welfare movement within Native American communities. Contact 203-432-0713,jace.weaver@yale.edu.
Authors, spiritual leaders
• Carol
J. Adams is an independent scholar and author of five books of prayers for
animals, including a series for children titled God Listens. She has
also written books on spirituality and vegetarianism. Adams, who is based in
Dallas, conducts workshops on spiritual relationships with animals as well
as on working with grief when a pet dies. Contact cja@caroljadams.com.
• Allen
and Linda Anderson run the Angel
Animals Network, a Web site for those who believe animals communicate
and guide people before and after their deaths. They are the authors of numerous
books about the spirituality of animals, including Angel Animals: Divine
Messengers of Miracles and God’s Messengers: What Animals Teach
Us About the Divine. They are based in Minneapolis. Contact 952-925-3309, angelanimals@aol.com.
• Rynn Berry is
the author of Food for the Gods: Vegetarianism & the World’s Religions and
an adviser to the North American Vegetarian Society. He is based in New York
City. Contact rynnberry@vegsource.com.
• The Rev. Susan
I. Bubbers is an Anglican priest and author of Pet Prayers:Prayers
for the Loving Creatures So Close to Your Heart (2006). She pastors
a church in Sebastian, Fla. Contact author@DrSusanBubbers.org.
• Judy Carman and Will Tuttle are co-founders of the Circle
of Compassion, an online prayer community for animals. They are based
in Lawrence, Kan. Contact via Tuttle at willtuttle@earthlink.net.
• Lynn L. Caruso is the editor of Blessing the Animals: Prayers and
Ceremonies to Celebrate God’s Creatures, Wild and Tame (September 2008).
Contact throughKate Treworgy at SkyLight Paths Publishing, 802-457-4000, publicity@skylightpaths.com.
• June
Cotner is the editor of Dog Blessings: Poems, Prose and Prayers Celebrating
Our Relationship with Dogs (2008). She lives in Poulsbo, Wash. Contact june@junecotner.com.
• The Rev. Bonnie Duncan runs All
Creatures Animal Sanctuary and Fellowship Church in Cedar Hill, Mo. Contact bonniesangels7@aol.com.
• Diana
L. Guerrero is an animal behaviorist and the author of What Animals Can
Teach Us About Spirituality. She is based in Southern California.
Contact 800-818-7387.
• Sandra
Helton is an astrologer and spiritualist who conducts animal
spirituality workshops. She is also active in animal
activism. Contact sandrahelton@sandrahelton.com.
• I.
Carter Heyward is an Episcopal minister and a professor of theology at
the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. She is the author of Flying
Changes: Horses as Spiritual Teachers. Contact 617-868-3450, carterheyward@aol.com.
• Jean
Houston is the author of Mystical Dogs: Animals as Guides to Our Inner
Life. She is based in Ashland, Ore. Contact 541-488-1200, theoffice@jeanhouston.org.
• Roberta Kalechofsky is the founder of Jews for Animal Rights and Micah
Publications of Marblehead, Mass. She participated in a panel on reaching
out to religious groups at the Animal Rights 2003 conference. She requests
that reporters contact her by email first at micah@micahbooks.com and
that they identify themselves fully in the subject line.
• Dr. Stephen Kaufman is chairman of the board of the Christian
Vegetarian Association and co-author of Good News for All Creation: Vegetarianism
as Christian Stewardship. He lives in Canton, Ohio. Contact 216-283-6702.
• The Rev. Gary Kowalski is pastor of the First Unitarian Universalist Society
of Burlington, Vt., and the author of many books on the spirituality of animals,
including The Souls of Animals. Contact 802-862-5630, gary@uusociety.org.
• Nechama Liss-Levinson and the Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette are co-authors
of Remembering My Pet: A Kid’s Own Spiritual Workbook for When a Pet Dies (2007).
Contact through Kate Treworgy at SkyLight Paths Publishing, 802-457-4000, publicity@skylightpaths.com.
• The Rev. Mitzi Lynton is an interfaith pastor who recently participated
in a grief
support Webinar for Best Friends Network that discussed how animals grieve
and how people mourn the deaths of animals. She is based in Arizona. Contact
602-769-5939, dare2create@aol.com.
• Susan Chernak
McElroy is the author of All My Relations: Living With Animals as Teachers
and Healers and Why Buffalo Dance: Animal and Wilderness Meditations
Through the Seasons (2006). Contact susanknilans@yahoo.com.
• Phelps is the former spiritual outreach director of the Fund for Animals
and a Unitarian Universalist and a Tibetan Buddhist. He is the author of The
Great Compassion: Buddhism & Animal Rights and The Dominion of Love:
Animal Rights According to the Bible. He works to encourage faith
communities of all traditions to include animals in their ministries. Contact n.phelps@myactv.net.
• Rita
Reynolds is the founder of Animals’
Peace Garden in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and the author
of Ask
the Cow: A Gentle Guide to Finding Peace (2008). She frequently
writes and speaks about the spiritual lessons taught by animals. Contact lajoieco1@aol.com.
• Matthew
Scully is the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of
Animals and the Call to Mercy, which argues for decent treatment of
animals from various points of view, including religious. He is a Los Angeles-based
journalist and a speechwriter for Republican vice presidential nominee
Sarah Palin. Contact DominionLetters@aol.com.
• Niki
Behrikis Shanahan is the author of several books on animals and Christian
spirituality, including There Is Eternal Life for Animals. She lives
in Tyngsborough, Mass. Contact eternalanimals@comcast.net.
• Kim Sheridan is
the author of the Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends’
Journey Beyond Death. She says that as more people have brought animals
into their homes, they have increasingly come to see them as spiritual teachers
and guides. Contact 760-796-7949.
• Richard
D. Stratton is the editor of Kindness to Animals
and Caring for the Earth: Selections From the Sermons and Writings of Latter-day
Saint Church Leaders. Contact rick@kindnesstoanimals.org.
Medical and pharmaceutical researchers, advocates
• Jacquie
Calnan is president of Americans for Medical Progress,
a nonprofit group that views the use of animals in medical research as vital
and opposes what it calls “animal rights extremism.” Its Web site
maintains a page with links to other organizations and groups. Contact 703-836-9595 ext. 100, amp@amprogress.org.
• Theodora Capaldo is president/executive director of the New
England Anti-Vivisection Society, which spearheads Project
R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories. Capaldo
is a licensed psychologist, a trustee of the American Fund for Alternatives to
Animal Research and past president of Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals. Contact 617-523-6020, tcapaldo@neavs.org.
• Dr. Larry Carbone is a veterinarian at the University of California,
San Francisco. He is the author of What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy
in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Contact 415-476-9409, larry.carbone@ucsf.edu.
• Kathleen
Conlee is director of program management for animal research issues at
the Humane Society of the United States. Conlee, who has worked with primates
in both laboratory and sanctuary settings, is responsible for the Humane Society’s
Chimps Deserve Better campaign, which seeks to end the use of chimpanzees in
biomedical research, and for the Pain & Distress Campaign, which works
to eliminate pain and distress in animal research. Contact through Elizabeth
Bergstrom, 301-258-1455, ebergstrom@hsus.org.
• Alan Goldberg is a professor of environmental health sciences and director
of the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing. The center works with scientists to find new methods to replace laboratory animals in experiments, reduce the number of animals tested and refine necessary tests to eliminate pain and distress. It is based in Baltimore. Contact 410-223-1692, Goldberg@jhsph.edu.
• Dr. Michael
Greger is a physician and director of public health and animal agriculture
in the farm animal welfare division of the Humane Society of the United States.
He is an expert on the public-health implications of using antibiotics and growth
hormones in livestock and other food-safety issues. Contact through Erin Williams,
301-721-6446, ewilliams@hsus.org.
• Betsy Nessen Merrill is director of development and communications for AltWeb, the Alternatives to Animal Testing Web site, a project of the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing in Baltimore. Contact 410-223-1692.
• Tracie Letterman is executive director of the American
Anti-Vivisection Society. Letterman has significant experience in public
interest legal advocacy and grass-roots campaigns relating to animal welfare,
fish conservation and consumer protection issues. Contact 215-887-0816, tletterman@aavs.org.
• Cathy Liss is president of the Animal
Welfare Institute and legislative director for the Society for Animal Protective
Legislation. Liss works on legislative issues related to the use of animals for
research and has expertise on the federal Animal Welfare Act. Contact 703-836-4300, cathy@saplonline.org.
• Andrew
Rowan is executive vice president for operations at the Humane Society of
the United States and CEO of the Humane Society International. He has a doctorate
in biochemistry and serves on the committees of several animal protection groups,
including the World Society for the Protection of Animals, the advisory committee
on animal testing for Royal Dutch Shell and the National Institutes of Health
ad hoc advisory committee on chimpanzee sanctuaries. Contact 301-548-7770, arowan@humanesociety.org.
• Martin
Stephens is vice president of the animal research issues department at the
Humane Society of the United States. He has a doctorate in biology and is a voice
for animals in policy networks that influence decisions regarding the use of
animals or alternative methods in testing. Contact 301-258-3040, mstephens@humanesociety.org.
• Michelle Thew is chief executive of the British
Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and has worked on a number of campaigns
regarding the use of animals for research and testing, including successful work
on a European Union-wide cosmetics testing ban. Contact +44 (171) 700 4888, michelle.thew@buav.org.
• Frankie Trull is founder and president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research, an organization that promotes the responsible use of animal testing in scientific labs. Contact 202-457-0654.
• John Young is director of comparative medicine at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center and chairman of Americans for Medical Progress, a pro-animal testing group. Contact via media representative Sandy Van, 1-800-880-2397.
• Dr. Elias Zerhouni is director of the National Institutes of Health. He has condemned the attacks aimed at UC-Santa Cruz researchers. Contact 301-496-5787.
• Joanne Zurlo is director of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research,
an organization that describes its mission as “to evaluate and disseminate information on issues related to the scientific, technological, and ethical use of animals and related biological resources in research, testing, and education.” It
supports the use of animals in laboratory testing and maintains a list of its financial supporters. Contact 202-334-2590, jzurlo@nas.edu.
Others
• Michael
Croland is the writer behind heeb’n’vegan,
a blog about Jewish veganism. Contact mcroland@gmail.com.
• Saurabh Dalal is president of the Vegetarian
Union of North America. He spoke at a panel on religious outreach at this
year’s Animal Rights Conference in Washington, D.C. He lives in Lanham, Md. Contact dala_s@yahoo.com.
• Christine
Gutleben is director of the animals and religion program for the Humane
Society of the United States. She has an undergraduate degree in religious
studies and a master’s degree from a theology school, where she studied theology
and ethical food choices. Contact 301-258-1437, cgutleben@humanesociety.org.
• Kris Haley is the multifaith outreach program manager for Best
Friends Animals Society, a nonprofit in Kanab, Utah, that runs an animal
sanctuary and many programs that benefit animals. Contact media@bestfriends.org.
Regional sources
NORTHEAST
• Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus is a professor of religion at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. He can discuss Jewish approaches to the treatment and rights of animals. Contact 508-286-3694, jkraus@wheatoncollege.edu.
• Lori Gruen is
an associate professor of philosophy and of women’s studies at Wesleyan
University in Middletown, Conn. Among her areas of interest is injustice to
animals. As a guest on a May 11, 2004, podcast of Philosophy Talk, she discussed the morality of eating animals. Contact lgruen@wesleyan.edu.
• The Rev. Nancy Taylor is senior pastor of the Old South Church, a United
Church of Christ congregation in Boston. In May 2006, she preached a sermon on the blessings given and received by animals. Contact 617-536-1970, nst@oldsouth.org.
• Kevin M. Trainor is associate professor of religion at the University
of Vermont, Burlington. He can discuss attitudes toward animals in Buddhism.
Contact 802-656-0799, Kevin.Trainor@uvm.edu.
• The Rev. Victoria Weinstein is pastor of First Parish Church of Norwell,
Mass., a Unitarian Universalist congregation. In May 2006, she delivered a sermon on the spiritual value of animals. Contact 781-659-7122.
EAST
• David Dion DeGrazia is a philosophy professor at George Washington University
in Washington, D.C. He has written about the ethics of animal research and
is the author of Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction. Contact 202-994-6913, ddd@gwu.edu.
• Katherine
C. Grier is professor of material culture studies in the University of
Delaware’s Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. She has studied
the relationships between humans and animals, and her books include Pets
in America: A History (2006). Contact 302-831-2388, kcgrier@udel.edu.
• Andrew
Isenberg is a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He
is an expert on the history of American environmentalism, especially in the American
West. He contributed a chapter on the moral ecology of wildlife to the book Representing
Animals. Contact 215-204-6175, aisenber@temple.edu.
• The Rev. Ginger
Luke is a minister at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda,
Md. In 2007, she preached a sermon on
the blessing of the animals. Contact 301-229-0400.
• Charles Robert Pinches is a professor of theology and religious studies
at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pa. He has written about Christian
approaches to animal well-being. Contact 570-941-4302, pinchesc1@uofs.edu.
• James
Serpell is a professor of humane ethics and animal welfare at the University
of Pennsylvania’s school of veterinary medicine. He directs the Center
for the Interaction of Animals and Society. Contact serpell@vet.upenn.edu.
• Donna
Yarri is an associate professor of theology at Alvernia College in Reading,
Pa. Among her interests is the ethical treatment of animals. Contact 610-796-8479, donna.yarri@alvernia.edu.
SOUTHEAST
• Chaplain of Pets is
an interfaith ministry to pets and their people. It’s based in Stone
Mountain, Ga. Contact 404-513-6640, chaplainkeith@chaplainofpets.com.
• Nathan Nobis is a philosopher specializing in animal rights and bioethics at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He can discuss and outline the debate over the treatment of laboratory animals. Contact 585-748-5987, nnobis@morehouse.edu.
SOUTH
• All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Shreveport, La., holds a
blessing of the animals service. Contact 318-868-3313.
• Mike Jaynes is a lecturer in the humanities and English at the University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has written for About.com about
animal rights, including a rebuttal of Christianity’s idea of dominion
over the animals. Contact Michael-jaynes@utc.edu.
• Jay McDaniel is a professor of religion and director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. Among his areas of specialty is religion and ecology, and he is the author of Of God and Pelicans: A Theology of Reverence for Life. He is also an expert in Buddhism. Contact 501-450-1366, mcdaniel@hendrix.edu.
• The Religious Order of the New Compassionests is an interfaith animal ministry in Perryville, Ark., that accepts members and monks. Contact Brother Ronald at 501-889-5355, newcompassionests@hotmail.com.
MIDWEST
• The Rev. David Bibbee is pastor of Creekside Church of the Brethren
in Elkhart, Ind., which will hold its second annual blessing of the animals service on Sept. 28, 2008. Contact 574-875-7800, pastordavid@creeksideconnected.com.
• Rabbi Yossi Feintuch is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia, Mo. He is a vegetarian and often discusses a plant-based diet as a Jewish ideal. Contact 573-499-4855, congbeth@tranquility.net.
• Matthew Halteman is
an assistant professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.,
where he teaches a course titled “Peaceable Kingdom: Transforming Our Relationship With Animals,” about
the Christian idea of stewardship with animals. He wrote a booklet for the
Humane Society of the United States titled Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation, which examines the connection between animals, food choices and faith. Contact 616-526-6726, mch7@calvin.edu.
• Nancy R. Howell is
a professor of theology and philosophy of religion at the St. Paul School of
Theology in Kansas City, Mo. She wrote an article titled “Going to the Dogs: Candid Ethology and Theological Reflection” for
the journal Zygon in 2006. She has also written several papers on the theological and philosophical implications of the interplay and relationship between humans and primates. Contact 816-245-4826, howellnr@spst.edu.
• The Rev. Thomas Hughson is
an associate professor of theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He
is a member of the American Academy of Religion’s group on animals and religion and author of a paper titled “Wolves and Religion: Can Christianity Assimilate ‘Religious Experience’ of Animals?” Contact
414-288-7170, thomas.hughson@marquette.edu.
• James Sterba is a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind. He is the author of Earth Ethics: Introductory Readings on Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics. Contact 574-631-5231, sterba.1@nd.edu.
SOUTHWEST
• Keith Akers is a Christian vegetarian and environmental activist who lives in Englewood, Colo. He operates the Compassionate Spirit Web site, which includes articles and commentary on animal welfare from a Christian perspective. Contact keith@compassionatespirit.com.
• J. Baird Callicott is a professor of philosophy and religion studies at the University of North Texas in Denton. He is an expert on the philosophy of ecology and environmentalism and has written about their intersection with religious beliefs. Contact 940-565-2266, callicott@unt.edu.
• John P. Gluck is a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Originally a comparative psychologist specializing in learning ability of nonhuman primates, he now studies the ethical justification of animal research. Contact 505-277-3420, jgluck@unm.edu.
• Nancy Jensen-Case is the founder of Dreamtime Sanctuary for animals outside Elgin, Texas. She is a graduate of the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, and is a chaplain. Contact nancy@dreamtimesanctuary.org.
WEST/NORTHWEST
• Khaled Abou El Fadl is a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written about Islamic attitudes toward dogs. Contact 310-206-5401, abouelfa@law.ucla.edu.
• Suzanne Crawford
O’Brien is an assistant professor of religion and culture at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. She is an expert on the religious and spiritual attitudes and practices of Native Americans and animals. Contact 253-535-8107, suzanne.crawford@plu.edu.
• Kathryn Paxton George is a professor emerita of philosophy at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. She has written about the moral imperatives behind sustainable agriculture and about the conflicts of ethical vegetarianism. Contact 208-885-7107, kpgeorge@uidaho.edu.
• Zayn Kassam is an associate professor of religious studies at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. He wrote an entry, “The Case of the Animals Versus Man: Towards an Ecology of Being,” in
the book A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science & Ethics (2006). Contact 909-607-4095, zayn_kassam@pomona.edu.
• David Gordon White is a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is an expert on the religions of South Asia and contributed an entry on dogs to The Encyclopedia of Religion. Contact 805-893-4627, white@religion.ucsb.edu.
This resource guide was supported by the Humane Society of the United
States.
