to admire religious fasting for its discipline and commitment?

[catchingup1]

I’ve been thinking about this lately, especially with Ramadan just gone and the dry fasting of 24 hours by Jews and Mormons.

I can't help feeling impressed. Not in a gushy way, just genuinely. Going without food and water for long periods, while still getting on with normal life, work, family etc takes a level of willpower and discipline that I don’t think most people have.

It’s not even just the physical side. It’s the restraint, the routine, the intention behind it. The fact that people are doing it for something bigger than themselves, not just for a diet or health trend.

It's not just people who’ve grown up with it. There are converts every year across different religions who are doing these fasts for the first time as adults. They haven’t had years to “get used to it” and are choosing to take it on anyway. It’s a conscious decision, not just habit.

Even for people who have done it since childhood, plenty still find it challenging every year. It’s not like it becomes effortless, they’re still choosing to stick to it day after day.

Then you read so much now about people struggling with “food noise”, constantly thinking about what to eat next, cravings, snacking, not being able to switch off from it. So the idea of deliberately stepping away from all of that, even for a set period and managing your impulses like that. It does make me respect it.

I’m not saying it makes anyone better than anyone else, just that I admire the self control, discipline and commitment involved.

I came across this about the benefits of dry fasting:

www.bcm.edu/news/dawn-to-dusk-dry-fasting-leads-to-health-benefits-in-the-study-of-immune-cells

I am not selling anything.

If people we can see the links then why do people keep saying it is unhealthy. The quick google search that show most medics advise against it - where is their research?

Fasting of people of faith has been studied for a long time and more and more research is showing the beneficial effects.

It was one of the big four accountancy companies.

I guess it can happen if you have various social groups in the company for different religions etc. You just get someone sending out an email who is passionate about their religion. TBH I’m not entirely sure why that’s even needed in a workplace to begin with.

Ramadam is, yes.

The study you post the most had “14 subjects with metabolic syndrome with a mean age of 59 who fasted from dawn to dusk“. You can’t really say conclusively that it’s generally good from that.

I notice none of the studies compare dry fasting with fasting with water. It’s quite possible you can’t have the same or better with that.

This.

That’s simply not true, you may cook up a feast for the first evening or two but your appetite changes. Nobody eats much at all during Ramadan. Our stomachs shrink. Most people eat very little at sehri time (before sunrise)

Fasting makes you high. That's one reason it features so highly in religions (there are other reasons too) and people often enjoy intermittent fasting, at least for a while.

I agree with this sentiment.

If anyone told you that they were fasting in such a way outside of the context of religion, you would worry for their mental health.

Nope - don’t admire it - just think it is part of a weird religious (of any faith) ritual that I have no interest in or desire to find out more about or partake in.

No it seems pointless to me. If I went all day without drinking I’d get a very bad headache or migraine. For what reason would I bring that on deliberately?

Doesn’t impress me at all. People undertake these fasts for selfish reasons. Deep down, they believe supernatural powers are watching them and that they will be rewarded.

I’ll tell you what does impress me, however, and that is veganism. I mean people who go vegan because they cannot bear cruelty to animals (rather than for health reasons). Now their motives are different. They don’t become vegan because they’re told to by a book of Bronze Age myths. No animal is going to thank or reward them for not eating meat. And most of the vegans I know are atheists, so they don’t believe they’ll be rewarded in an afterlife either.

I completely agree with you OP and I think some of these replies are quite telling about some of our societies’ problems, in a way.

One is that many people have serious misunderstandings about Islam and other religion’s practices and motivations, but they believe that their stereotypes or limited experiences make them knowledgable.

Another is that people lack experience of focused spiritual or inner development, and don’t see it as valuable, even sneer at those who are interested in this. I don’t think you need to believe in God or other enlightened beings to want to develop your own good qualities and it’s a shame how many can’t see how practicing personal restraint and discipline is good for an individual, and for communities and society in general.

I am Buddhist and practice fasting from time to time, but nothing as impressive as Ramadan. One practice involves one day where you only have lunch, but still drink water, and on the second day dry fast until the morning. It’s an experience of stripping things away and practicing keeping a content and caring mind while experiencing some physical and mental hardship. It’s not hard to see why practicing this in a focused way helps a person build that ability, which benefits them and those around them.

I personally don’t like organised religion as I feel it’s often used as a weapon, or a cloak to hide abuse behind. I feel like there are little sheep following blindly, abusing women, children and anyone with a different perspective.
sorry but I can’t get behind any religions, pain and suffering of followers and non- followers often ensue

Majority of the time I only eat one meal a day on an evening and have for as long as I can remember, every doctor I’ve seen and mentioned this to over the years has said it’s called anxiety or an eating disorder and not healthy.

And I have posted numerous links and info about it being unhealthy and potentially dangerous. Confirmation biais much?

Intermittent fasting does not mean no hydration. I do it naturally because my belly is all swollen up in the morning so I wait until noon to eat when I can digest. It's ibs so not religious and not to lose weight- just pure comfort. Nothing to do with privation at all- quite the contrary.

My uncle does this but I think it's down to pure laziness😅

I don’t admire it at all. It also makes me quite ill at the thought that part of this ‘control’ is not to swallow one’s own saliva whilst fasting (as told by more than one Muslim colleague).

It’s the lack of water as others have said. I’d be angry constantly without food - DH calls me Joan Collins when I’m hungry but without water I’d be something else entirely! It’s also terrible when it falls during a heatwave, or obviously for those in hot countries. Genuinely don’t know how they survive without passing out daily.

I’m not muslim but I’ve fasted with a friend before who was isolated from her community (she was miserable and I was trying to support her). It was really bloody hard, but I would say a dry fast is downright dangerous.

The food is fine, most people can go without food, it’s the lack of liquids. It is very hard to do in summer. I do respect the willpower it takes to not drink something, it is easy to say it’s just skipping lunch if you’ve never done it. But I don’t actually think it’s a healthy practice. I think also muslims are specifically told not to overeat during Ramadan but obviously most people are quite tired, thirsty and hungry by the time they get to Iftar. No idea how Christians fast.

I do think a lot of these rituals religions adopt can be seen in pretty much any cult. The use of deprivation is a very common tactic. That doesn’t mean I don’t think religion can be useful but definitely there are elements that involve proof of loyalty and devotion that can be harmful to followers.

Dry fasting is the problem, fasting generally is fine although exceptions are made for people with health issues etc.

I do think it takes a lot of willpower though so yeah if someone is doing it I do admire the grit it takes.

Yes. It’s just another lever of control of the weak minded.

I’m sorry but I don’t believe you. Complaining about your fasting isn’t how it works.