Religion and the Oppression of Animals
Location
CSU 201
Start Date
23-4-2007 1:00 PM
End Date
23-4-2007 2:30 PM
Student's Major
Philosophy
Student's College
Arts and Humanities
Mentor's Name
Craig Matarrese
Mentor's Department
Philosophy
Mentor's College
Arts and Humanities
Description
The thesis for this paper is that the literal view of the Bible, i.e. the view that the Bible should be read directly as it states, rather than thinking about it in a more abstract sense, is wrong. The reason for this view is due to the current oppression (and by oppression it is meant that there is a cruel exercise of power being used by a human against another, either human or animal) of animals. The reason that most people state for the current oppression of animals is the Biblical verse, "Man has dominion over animals" which people take to mean that man has the right to do whatever it pleases to animals. This is a historical issue, due to the fact that there is a history of oppression through Biblical verses. I will show this by giving past oppressive Biblical verses, such as those that held African Americans in slavery for decades, the verse that made Hitler and his followers believe that it was acceptable to murder millions of Jewish people, the verse that held back women in society for thousands of years, and the current verse that makes people believe it is right to oppress the homosexual community. The reason that this is historical is that every single time a Biblical verse is taken literally, a large group suffers tremendously, and for no empirical reason. Thus, the thesis is that the Biblical view that man has the right to "dominion" in the literal sense over animals is wrong, and I intend to prove this through a historical perspective.
Religion and the Oppression of Animals
CSU 201
The thesis for this paper is that the literal view of the Bible, i.e. the view that the Bible should be read directly as it states, rather than thinking about it in a more abstract sense, is wrong. The reason for this view is due to the current oppression (and by oppression it is meant that there is a cruel exercise of power being used by a human against another, either human or animal) of animals. The reason that most people state for the current oppression of animals is the Biblical verse, "Man has dominion over animals" which people take to mean that man has the right to do whatever it pleases to animals. This is a historical issue, due to the fact that there is a history of oppression through Biblical verses. I will show this by giving past oppressive Biblical verses, such as those that held African Americans in slavery for decades, the verse that made Hitler and his followers believe that it was acceptable to murder millions of Jewish people, the verse that held back women in society for thousands of years, and the current verse that makes people believe it is right to oppress the homosexual community. The reason that this is historical is that every single time a Biblical verse is taken literally, a large group suffers tremendously, and for no empirical reason. Thus, the thesis is that the Biblical view that man has the right to "dominion" in the literal sense over animals is wrong, and I intend to prove this through a historical perspective.
Recommended Citation
Rolfsrud, Bailey Breck. "Religion and the Oppression of Animals." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 23, 2007.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2007/oral-session-06/2
