Do any modern day religions still practice animal sacrifice?

[ThisOlGirl]

I went to my city's annual "Trash Bash" this morning with my daughter and her Girl Scout troop. All kinds of groups get together and pick up trash around the city, then afterwards, there's a big get together/awards thing at the rec center. One of the awards was for the most unusual item found. The emcee announced the group that won, then, in a very serious tone, informed us that they couldn't bring the actual item to show everyone, and she was about to tell everyone why. So, dead silence, then she said that this particular group had stumbled upon a "voodoo altar with a dead rooster in a basket" (gasps and moans from audience, eye rolls and mumbles of "oh please!" from myself). Then she said, and I quote "Y'all, the rooster was missin' body parts! So they called the police and the police took everything".

 

I'm not one to stop folks from practicing the religion of their choice, but I feel like they shouldn't be able to break animal cruelty laws to practice their religion(if any were broken). Frankly, I'm more concerned that there may be some weirdo out there torturing and mutilating animals (I don't know if the rooster was mutilated or tortured). OTOH, how the hell did this lady or anyone else know that what they found was a "voodoo altar"? Does such a thing even exist? Maybe there was more to it than she was telling us, but it just seemed like kind of an overreaction on these people's part. Or maybe I'm under-reacting.

 

So does anyone here practice or know anything about Voodoo? I've never heard anything about practitioners of Voodoo sacrificing animals, though I admit I really don't know anything about Voodoo. I did read somewhere that Santerians(?) sometimes practice animal sacrifice, but it's pretty rare. Again, I know practically nothing about Santeria, so if anyone does, I'd love to hear all about it.

 

What say you, FJers?

[emmiedahl]

Some sects of Santeria still practice animal sacrifice. I think the body is "mutilated" after death, which is no different from cutting the flesh off a roasted chicken.

[masagoroll]

Yeah, Santeria, like in this court case I learned about in politics class:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_ ... of_Hialeah

I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.

People eat chickens and roosters all the time, and do you think they really treat them properly in factory farms? I don't see this as something to get upset about, unless you're upset about all eating and killing of animals.

[Alecto]

Some sects of Asatru/Heathenism/Theodism practice ritual sacrifice, however no one would really know outside of the group since what is sacrificed is usually eaten during the feast that follows.

[devilsadvocate]

Yes, sometimes people do kill animals like chickens for Santeria rituals.

Another thought is that finding a dead rooster could be related to illegal cock-fighting. Dog fighting and cock fighting are unfortunately common activities still.

[VodouDoll]

Vodou practitioners do sacrifice animals like chickens, but then they eat them. They don't torture them. They cut the throats, clean them, and cook them. It's probably a better death than they'd get at the poultry factory.

An altar would look something like this: http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/K ... _Altar.jpg. They're in people's houses. Not, like, out in the wild where a neighborhood cleanup would find one. A lot of the materials on these altars is expensive. Keeping one outside where the elements would ruin it wouldn't be very logical. I've never once heard of someone doing that.

[Sinister Rouge]

People eat chickens and roosters all the time, and do you think they really treat them properly in factory farms? I don't see this as something to get upset about, unless you're upset about all eating and killing of animals.

Vodou practitioners do sacrifice animals like chickens, but then they eat them. They don't torture them. They cut the throats, clean them, and cook them. It's probably a better death than they'd get at the poultry factory.

An altar would look something like this: http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/K ... _Altar.jpg. They're in people's houses. Not, like, out in the wild where a neighborhood cleanup would find one. A lot of the materials on these altars is expensive. Keeping one outside where the elements would ruin it wouldn't be very logical. I've never once heard of someone doing that.

Yeah, pretty much this, IMO. What was probably found was some emo teenager's experimentation with satanism or some wacky prank. I seriously doubt it was legit "Voodoo".

[ThisOlGirl]

Vodou practitioners do sacrifice animals like chickens, but then they eat them. They don't torture them. They cut the throats, clean them, and cook them. It's probably a better death than they'd get at the poultry factory.

An altar would look something like this: http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/K ... _Altar.jpg. They're in people's houses. Not, like, out in the wild where a neighborhood cleanup would find one. A lot of the materials on these altars is expensive. Keeping one outside where the elements would ruin it wouldn't be very logical.

Yeah, I wondered myself why a person would do it in a public recreation area instead of in the privacy of their own home or backyard. I guess what I was rolling my eyes at was the implied seriousness of it all--"Oh noes, we have teh ebil Vodou(thanx for the correct spelling) priests/priestesses in our midst! Call the law!" I live in the Dallas TX area, where there are no shortage of Christian Mega Churches, so you can imagine how a religion like Vodou or Santeria might go over in this area.

[GenerationCedarchip]

At least some Muslims still practice animal sacrifice. There are Muslim immigrants in pockets of Virginia(mostly in the DC suburbs), and many live in apartments. Every year the police end up getting involved because families will keep goats on their balconies and sometimes the actual sacrifice will take place there as well. I don't know which holiday this is for(Eid, maybe?), just that it seems to happen every year. There was an incident last year where someone cut a goat's throat out on a 3rd floor balcony and the wind blew everything around and people gathered on a balcony below for a party got drenched in goat blood. You can guess how that went over.

Re: the voodoo altar - that sounds kind of odd. There are so many religions practiced in this country - and so many variations on those religions- that it wouldn't surprise me but as another posted mentioned, it did seem a little weird to have all of that just sitting out where it was found.

[Kelya]

The Hmong faith/culture still sacrifices animals.

[Sobeknofret]

According to the SCOTUS, small animal sacrifice is legal, but there are restrictions on it, although I don't remember what they are ATM. I do know that they are generally eaten by the congregants though-- most practitioners of Santeria and other voudoun-derived faiths are generally too damn poor to afford to let it go to waste. What they found was probably kids fooling around and deciding to freak out a few people this close to Halloween.

[Soldier of the One]

Some sects of Asatru/Heathenism/Theodism practice ritual sacrifice, however no one would really know outside of the group since what is sacrificed is usually eaten during the feast that follows.

I am not an expert on Heathenism or Asatru but from my own reading, I thought that they only brought vegetable sacrifices in the form of libations (i.e. mead).

As for Voudon and Santeria: it is well possible that animals are 'sacrificed' but the method is probably not much different from a poultry farmer performing 'secular' slaughter by hand.

As for Judaism and Islam: Muslims do slaughter goats or sheep for Eid al-Adha, the feast commemorating what Jews call the 'Akeidah': Abraham near-sacrificing Isaac. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha

The question of animal sacrifice is a bit of a 'fine line' in a sense. If one ritually slaughters an animal (as Muslims and Jews do) invoking divine blessing, is that 'animal sacrifice' even though the slaughter is performed for consumption only? Interesting thought. To add onto that, Sikhs and Hindus actually forbid the eating of kosher and hallal meat. This is called Kutha meat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutha_meat

Just thought I'd chime in :)

[persuaded]

My former physician and family friend converted to Islam in adulthood and eventually became an Imam (I think that's the correct term.) He actually performed animal sacrifices, or ritual slaughters or whatever you want to call the practice. Knowing him, I am certain the procedure was humane and did not rob the animal of its dignity... or as much so as is possible with such a practice. I am confident that the animal was treated much better both in its life and in its manner of death than are the animals that are part of our factory farms here in the US.

[Soldier of the One]

My former physician and family friend converted to Islam in adulthood and eventually became an Imam (I think that's the correct term.) He actually performed animal sacrifices, or ritual slaughters or whatever you want to call the practice. Knowing him, I am certain the procedure was humane and did not rob the animal of its dignity... or as much so as is possible with such a practice. I am confident that the animal was treated much better both in its life and in its manner of death than are the animals that are part of our factory farms here in the US.

Kosher and Hallal slaughter, when done properly, should administer the minimal amount of pain to an animal, at least according to pre-industrial standards. A razor-sharp knife should be used that is twice the diameter of the animal's neck so that the animal can be dispatched in one, swell swoop. So yes, compared to industrial slaughter, I'd wager to say that it is generally more humane.

Ritual slaughter is supposed to grant us awareness and appreciation of animal life. If we feel conflicted about slaughtering animals for meat consumption, we should either not eat them or at least make sure they receive the most humane treatment possible :)

[Alecto]

I am not an expert on Heathenism or Asatru but from my own reading, I thought that they only brought vegetable sacrifices in the form of libations (i.e. mead).

I was married to one, and have been in the community for over 10 years, and while that might be the policy of some groups, there are others, especially among the Theodish who still engage in ritual sacrifice of animals. It's especially true of groups where you have actual farmers/ranchers or even hobby farmers who raise animals. Personally, I've never been involved, but I've seen plenty of pictures and even went to a workshop once about how it is done.

[Soldier of the One]

I was married to one, and have been in the community for over 10 years, and while that might be the policy of some groups, there are others, especially among the Theodish who still engage in ritual sacrifice of animals. It's especially true of groups where you have actual farmers/ranchers or even hobby farmers who raise animals. Personally, I've never been involved, but I've seen plenty of pictures and even went to a workshop once about how it is done.

Thanks for explaining, Alecto. I am really interested in all sorts of religions, including Asatru so I'd love to hear more about your experiences. What was it like being in a Heathen community?

[Alecto]

I am really interested in all sorts of religions, including Asatru so I'd love to hear more about your experiences. What was it like being in a Heathen community?

I started an Ask a Person Involved with the Asatru/Heathen Community thread

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4229

[Soldier of the One]

Great, thanks!

[duplessis3]

The Jewish ritual is Kapparot http://www.chabad.org/library/article_c ... -Thing.htm

[nuri]

There are also the occasional Hellenic pagans that sacrifice animals. Like Asatru, you eat what you sacrifice.

[HijabiLady]

It is it still practiced in Islam. Usually right after Ramadan and during Eid you slaughter a goat (or some other animal) and have the meat donated to the poor. The requirements for animal care during it's life are supposed to guarantee the animal a life of dignity and compassion. The animal is supposed to be slaughtered out of the view of other animals so as not cause them undue fear or pain. As someone previously described the slaughter is supposed to be done quickly and as painlessly as possible.

My husband has slaughtered goats for Eid when he lived in his home country and he feels very passionate about treating animals with kindness. He also refuses to throw any meat away because he thinks it shouldn't go to waste after the animal's life was sacrificed for our nourishment. So the local stray cats/dog get leftovers sometimes when I think they have gone bad.

[Soldier of the One]

The Jewish ritual is Kapparot http://www.chabad.org/library/article_c ... -Thing.htm

I can see how people might think that Kapparot is a 'sacrifice', but it isn't really in the strict sense of the word. True Jewish sacrifices were made in the First and Second Temples, which were both destroyed (the Second Temple in 70 C.E.)

Kapparot is a minhag (custom) and not halacha (law) and a live chicken OR a bag of coins is circled over one's head to symbolize repentance before the Day of Atonement. Then, the chicken is slaughtered and distributed among the poor OR the money is distributed among the poor. It's a form of charity.

And yes, HijabiLady: I am totally with you on that one :)