The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Food

Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Benjamin E. Zeller

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350530768
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Agricultural Public Policy

This handbook is the first comprehensive volume to feature multi-religious, cross-cultural and multidisciplinary perspectives on the intersections of religion and food. It highlights recent trends and methodologies in religious studies and food studies from the humanities and the social sciences. A team of international scholars provide theoretical frameworks presenting food as integral to the materiality of religions and religions' functions in daily life, with studies drawing upon teachings from the Abrahamic religions, Asian religions, and indigenous religions as represented in a diverse body of sacred literature, historical sources, and personal narratives.

The volume features debates on moral questions and ethical principles related to food sources and food consumption, the nexus of ritual and theology, violence against and treatment of animals and the environment, animal rights, industrialization, racialization, gender, hunger, poverty, hospitality, and contemporary movements working towards social justice, eco-spirituality, and sustainability. Topics include the rhythms of feasting and fasting; notions of purity; forbidden foods;
and rituals such as sacrifices. Authors in this volume contribute to the psychology and sociology of food as an essential factor in the construction of individual and group identity, new religions, and to the growing practice of food as a tool in interreligious dialogue.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgments
• List of Contributors
• Introduction Benjamin E. Zeller and Yudit Kornberg Greenberg
• Part I: Religion and the Food Cycle
• Part II: Food, Ritual, and Practice
• Part III: Food and Ethics
• Part IV: Food, Identity, Religious Community
• Index