“Why Are Most Vegans Atheists?” — A Response. By Dr Chapman Chen

A member of our FB group Vegan Theology recently asked me “why most vegans are atheists or non believers in God.” Well, what we can say, based on survey research (e.g., Faunalytics 2014; Pew Research Center 2014) (n.1) in the UK, US, and parts of Europe, is that vegans are more likely than the general population to identify as atheist, agnostic, or religiously unaffiliated. But available data does not demonstrate a majority of vegans are atheists.

Many vegans who identify as atheists or non-believers are not rejecting goodness, love, or compassion — in fact, it’s often the opposite. Their journey into veganism usually begins with a deep moral awakening about suffering, justice, and non-violence. When they then look at religion, they sometimes see a painful contradiction: churches blessing a world built on animal exploitation, believers defending slaughter as “God-given,” and dubious scriptures in the Old Testament describing animal sacrifice as divinely commanded. To a compassionate vegan, this can make God appear to endorse violence rather than mercy.

The issue is often intensified by the way Jesus the Vegan Christ is commonly portrayed by the Pauline camp as a non-vegan. If Jesus is believed to have eaten fish, supported fishing, or approved of Passover lamb, then Christianity can seem morally behind modern compassion. Some conclude that secular ethics now surpass religious morality — not because they hate God, but because the version of God they were shown seemed to permit cruelty.

For some, the tension deepens when they read Paul the self-proclaimed Apostle. In passages such as 1 Corinthians 10, Paul tells believers to eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience. To vegans, this can sound like a direct dismissal of concern for the lives and suffering behind animal flesh — which makes faith seem ethically insensitive.

There is also deep disappointment with religious institutions. Many vegans see churches aligned with power, tradition, and dogma rather than standing with the vulnerable. This reminds them of the Pharisees whom Jesus criticised for outward religiosity without inner mercy. Add to this fear-based preaching about hell and punishment, and religion can feel coercive rather than loving.

Importantly, a large number of vegans are not truly against spirituality. Many believe in interconnected life, compassion as a universal law, or a higher moral order. What they reject is a picture of God that seems to justify hierarchy, domination, and bloodshed. In that sense, their atheism is often a protest against a violent image of God — not against divine love itself. From this perspective, vegan ethics may actually be closer to the heart of a truly compassionate God than much traditional religion has been. “For I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,” says Jesus (Matthew 9:13; 12:7; cf. Hosea 6:6).

Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/why-are-most-vegans-atheists-a-response-by-dr-chapman-chen

Notes

1. The most frequently cited dataset is the Faunalytics (formerly Humane Research Council) 2014 U.S. Study of Current and Former Vegetarians and Vegans, which found that among self-identified vegans surveyed, approximately 35–45% identified as atheist or agnostic, a proportion significantly higher than in the general U.S. population at the time (Faunalytics, 2014). Similarly, Pew Research Center (2014 Religious Landscape Study) shows that religiously unaffiliated Americans are overrepresented in animal-rights and vegetarian/vegan-leaning demographics compared to national averages. However, no major nationally representative dataset demonstrates that a majority (>50%) of vegans explicitly identify as atheists.