A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and the Rights of All Sentient Beings

The interfaith movement is a global community of people of faith united by conscience to heal the divisions wrought by religious conflict, war, and a multitude of social injustices. In recent decades, PoWR’s interfaith work has been pivotal in amplifying the voice of women and other groups who have been historically side-lined through years of cultural oppression. However, nonhuman animals remain overlooked in most interfaith discussions, despite the fact that all religions include proscriptions on the abuse of animals. It is time to put animals on the agenda of the interfaith movement. This session considers the ethical teachings vis a vis animals in diverse religious traditions, including Abrahamic, Eastern, and Goddess Spirituality traditions. Each presenter brings a unique lens, and collectively we assert the need for sustained and critical interfaith responses to animal abuse. A truly interfaith movement must go beyond human-centeredness to defend the rights of all sentient beings.