Religious Food Taboos: Examining Ideology and Control Mechanisms

This essay explores the role of religious food taboos as a means of social control within ideological structures, arguing that these taboos extend beyond mere health or nutrition concerns. It examines how religion has historically been used to maintain power and justify social hierarchies, with food taboos serving as a key mechanism for differentiating religious groups and enforcing obedience. Specific examples, such as halal/haram in Islam, Lent in Christianity, and the lettuce taboo in Yazidism, are analyzed to illustrate the interplay between ideology and control. The essay also considers the evolving attitudes of younger generations towards these taboos, noting a shift towards scientific reasoning and a rejection of strict adherence in an increasingly secular world. Ultimately, it concludes that while religious food taboos may have once served as a powerful tool for social control, their influence is waning as individuals prioritize personal preferences and challenge oppressive religious policies.

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The aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of religion in the process of controlling
people in the society or the population of the nation. This reinforces the social privilege so also
produces inequality both in terms of power as well as control of the people in a society. Some
scholars point out religion to be the relation which control people in dynamic ways. In some
other cases, religion has been seen to challenge existing power structure and create the social
capital leading to the communal wellbeing. However, most of the important religion in this world
have imposed some prohibition on the food which can be considered exercise of power and
control over their subjects.
Since the initial stages of the human civilization, religion has drawn resources to capture
as well as maintain power. Therefore, it has become the legitimating and motivating force that
helps the people justify their suffering in this world in one hand and maintain their lives
according to disciplined and logical ways laid by their religion. In order to abide by all the
activities and decisions of the religion, people consider some implicit prohibitions extremely
repulsive or sacred that ultimately lead them to be taboo of that particular religion. Most of the
religious cult of the world differentiate them through the means of food habit. The religion put
ban on some of the food items which the followers cannot consume as these are considered to be
unclean or unhealthy for consumption. For example, in the Hindu religion, consumption of the
holy cow is prohibited similarly in Islam, the followers cannot have pork meat.
These religious taboos sometimes are explained in detail or not but followed. As pointed
out by Harvey (2015), religion begins with eating or non-eating as the acts of consumption
special foods allowed or constraints by the religion are closely associated with the value system
as well as performative traditions. To this scholar, food habits are the quintessential forms of
taboo which stricture the cultures and societies. This also includes the fasting, feasting for

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celebration and abstinence in different religion. It does not always mean that the religion is
primitive or irrational which did not take part in the cultural evolution. In most cases, the
prohibition over food originates from the mentality of controlling mass that can challenge the
authority of public order. In this regard, the concepts like fundamentalism or extremism can be
connected. The food habits according to the religious prohibition is the display of religious
affiliation too publicly that takes the people towards fundamentalism which ultimately gives
birth of wars of religion.
As the United Nations has decaled that individuals can believe in anything they want to,
the acceptance and manifestation of the religious beliefs have increased and so also the
identification of religion through food habits. In recent times, considerable emphasis is put on
the excavation of these representations, expressions and symbols so that the religious reaching,
ideologies and ideas can be understood properly. Soon, Chandia & Regenstein (2017), have
pointed out the importance of Halal in the Islam religion is closely related with the belief and
obedience to the God where people can choose two different paths either Haram or Halal. Halal
means the permitted and lawful act that oppose to the unlawful and forbidden acts. These
decisions of the followers as well as their actions are correlated with the food habit especially the
meat consumption. It is associated with the moral and religious act therefore, Islam expects its
subject to act religiously or morally.
Similarly, in the Christian religion, the importance of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday
and ending in the Easter Sunday has association with the food habit also. During this time, the
Roman Catholics spend 46 days of fasting and abstinence for preparing due to the resurrection of
Jesus Christ in the Easter Sunday (Asi, Teri & Meyer-Rochow, 2018). The act of fasting is the
complete restrictions on the quality of food for eating and abstinence is the complete avoidance

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of some particular foods. The Great Lent is stricter as the followers abstain from eggs, poultry,
meat and meat by products and dairy products for entire Lenten period. One of the most
important religion of the world, Hinduism forbids having cow as the followers as it is considered
to be embodiment of mother goddess. In addition to this, the Hindus celebrate various religious
festivals such as Navratri abstaining from leading meat or any type of non-veg for ten days
before celebration. The Hindu widows are forbidden to have non-veg for their rest of life after
their husband’s death (Zepro, 2015). One of the cost interesting fact is that most of the religions
of the world forbid having the non-vegetarian objects during a cited period of life but there are
here are food taboos regarding the vegetarian items also. The religions like Jainism and
Yezidism, forbid to have pants or plant parts due to special region., Jainism allows to consume
plants only after they are dried naturally in the field and Yezidism follow food taboo of not
having lettuce in their entire lives.
As mentioned before, the religiosity has close connection with the power equation and
control over the public that helps people to explain all the inexplicable and render life
meaningful (Harvey, 2015). Despite the fact that religion creates social bonds and bring
communities together is that their lives can be moral and ethical, it can be the reason of
corruption and conflict where people feel a type of competition to showcase their own religion to
be the best among all. All the food taboos therefore, are seen to have aspects of penance,
repentance, self-denial and complete submission to the religion. People indulge in alms giving
and sacrifice which is seen to be the method of controlling decisions and actions pf the people by
religion. As pointed out by Miller and Vuolo (2018), directional relationship between religious
institutions and delinquency has been due to the controlling nature of the religions. Religion

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control the lives and diet of the people such as alcohol is considered amoral as this is the source
of intoxication hence banned for true Islam.
Since the time immemorial, religion is biased and supported the method of controlling
people’s behavior (Jamal & Sharifuddin, 2015). However, with the change of time, technology
and generation, the religious connotations associated with food habits have changed. The young
generation is feeling empowered to think scientifically and avoid food according to the
geographical, environmental, medical and preferential aspects (Zellelew, 2015). The world is
gradually becoming more secular and bond among the religious communities are not so stretched
as obeying food taboos are not always possible.
Therefore, it can be concluded that religion and power are correlated in the contemporary
society where the people follow particular religion and obey the diet prescribed by it. These are
more execution of power rather than only controlling moral habits by the means of tabooing
food. Only performing religious abstinence in food, one cannot be moral rather it is completely is
psychological aspect that have no connection with food. With changing time, the young
generation has tried to avoid such taboos in their lives and consider religion to challenge the
oppressive policies of the state.

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Jamal, A., & Sharifuddin, J. (2015). Perceived value and perceived usefulness of halal labeling:
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British Food Journal, 119(1), 39-51. doi:10.1108/BFJ-04-2016-0150
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Markers of Religious Identity in Ethiopia. Signs and Society, 3(1), 44-70.
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