AIBU to not understand why religious people won't eat pork

[CreamolaFoamless]

I love a bit of pork

I have looked into the whole pork v's religion thing but I still am at a lose?

Why is eating pork so bad?

Does anybody actually know?

This has been bugging me for sometime so would love hear other peoples thoughts on this

I'm catholic and we always have fish on fridays

It's been answered though - repeatedly. That's why it sounds disingenuous.

Do you want to discuss the possible origin or reasons that it may have been considered useful then and/or now? That's a different issue which has a lot of opinions and things to consider. Parasites (pork is still one of the main sources of parasites, even in the world with fridges), their eating habits, and lots of the other things that have been discussed.

But the reason why religious people - within Judaism and Islam - do not eat pork is summed up in God says so and those who choose to adhere to the laws choose following God over a food, no matter how tasty.

method i agree with it being cultural, but most cultures come from religion/superstition.

'Many religious groups including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs feed pigeons for religious reasons. Many older Sikhs feed pigeons ceremoniously to honour the high priest and warrior Guru Govind Singh who was a known friend of the pigeon (or rock dove). Some Sikhs also feed pigeons because they believe that when they are reincarnated they will never go hungry if they have fed pigeons in their previous life. Other religious groups in India believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird (normally a pigeon) and therefore by feeding birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors. The pigeon is revered in India with huge flocks numbering many thousands of birds being fed daily at Hindu temples in town and city centres throughout the country.'

The ban on pork in religions which have their origins in the middle east is a sensible health precaution. Until refrigerators were introduced into this country, that is not until after the Second World War, there was a widespread belief not a religious one that pork should not be eaten unless there was an "R" in the month. In other words a simple easy to understand guideline.

Who cares - i recommend the Middle White myself, absolutely delicious.

and on a more serious note, of course Jesus got it right in saying that what comes out of a (wo)man's mouth is what defiles - not what goes in!

Yeah, he was bang on about most stuff

I travelled round India in the early 80's in my hippy days, and remember staying in ridiculously cheap accommodation in Goa.
I also remember having a poo and crouching in the outdoors toilet which was basically a hole into a ditch, where I could hear the pigs catching every drop and eating it with snuffly nom nom noises.
It was then that I thought pigs were unclean.
Still hasn't put me off a bacon sandwich though.
Or India, for that matter, I'd go back tomorrow if I could.

It is not just pork, it is also seafood like shellfish. Millenia ago it was damn hard to keep the food fresh and the only way to tell whether it is "off" or not was to smell it. Pork does not give a characteristic whiff when it is dangerous, hence a story to keep it off the menu because it is somehow "unclean".

I do not understand why all the s for what seems to be an innocent question.

And of course some religious people won't eat beef, or any meat etc etc.....

Because the average age of a pig is seven. Seven is not a good number, baby jesus doesn't like it.

BTW menstruating women are also "unclean" and must not be touched. Does not mean that everyone has to take this warning seriously.

And I thought seven was the most used number in the Bible...it crops up everywhere!?

I don't understand why so many posters are giving the OP such a hard time.
I'ts an innocent question and has also made an interesting thread.
Yes, we can all google for the facts, but sometimes personal experience/opinion makes those questions interesting.
In fact, let's google everything and never ever start a debate on MN.

My muslim friend puts it like this: the Koran was a bit of a 'guide to' part religion, part social guidelines, and part Mrs Beetons Household Management. In ye olden days in hot climes, pork was one of those meats that could make you really sick (pre refridgeration) with worms (yeurch) so it was better to avoid.

As will some religious teachings, what started out 'its a good idea if...' Became 'God says...'.

if you are menstruating you are not allowed into a Jain temple.

lady when i was being potty trained my mum would sit me on the pot in front of the telly and tell me to do a poo. She would then leave the room. I would poo and then get up and walk off. The dog would come over and eat it. Mum would come back and tell me off for not doing a poo and make me sit down again till i did one - despite my protestations. This went on for a while till she walked in and saw the dog salivating (pavlovs dog stylee) while i did a poo then greedily gobble it up! We still loved the dog tho - What's food to some species is not food to others.

yes front it's the same with anal sex...

My DH is a Muslim and tells me that it is because the Pig has historically been seen as a dirty animal in that it eats anything...including its own and others (including human) poo.

I witnessed this 1st hand on a trip to rural India. The toilet was....well, you had to go into the bushes and dig a hole...quickly, as whilst "in the act", you could hear the freely roaming pigs approaching! Very disconcerting! especially at night!!

Pigs are also prone to parasites so whilst modern farming methods can counteract some of the animal's unsavoury habits, they tend to require much medication.

Having said that, you can't beat a bacon butty eh?

Bemybebe, my understanding re menstruating women is that like a lot of old religious law these things very much also served the purpose of keeping the membership going (ie you didn't die by eating bad meat, you buried your dead within 24 hours etc)... under Jewish law (if I remember correctly) you end up effectively not being touched for around 12 days or so, then you have a mikvah (ritual bath) and can be touched - for most women this means that you're bang on being touchable (and probably quite keen to have sex after an almost 2 week hiatus) right around the time you'd ovulate...

...with huge respectful apologies for any offence I may have caused Jews and Muslims with the above explanation. It's a long time since I read about this.

What - worms??!!

When its my time of the month I can't do housework or be annoyed. Its my religious belief and anyone who tries to make me break my vows WILL go to hell.

My DM's dog used to eat the contents of the cat's litter tray if we didn't act fast enough - ewwwwww.

lacksaDAISY I might have not been telling the truth

Lady i think the 'hard time' was because the tone of the OP wasn't "Hey I've always wondered why some religions avoid pork: can anyone enlighten me?" it was just general ignorant sweeping statements. No-one is that stupid, which leads one to suspect it's a little light shit-stirring. Or shit-munching, if you're a pig

Dilys that is unSPEAKably grim

:o @ Tuftyfinch

Friday evening funny fatigue here!

Thanks for your replies.The one that hasn't come up though is the one that I ponder over and that is pork is so close to being human that it is essentially cannibalism.

People apparently taste like pork