Do animals have souls?

The question of whether animals have souls can be deeply meaningful and also vexing. It might be pondered, for example, by people who love pets, consider the ethics of eating meat, or worry about the biosphere. The matter becomes complicated when we interrogate the words and categories. The word animal comes from the Latin word anima, meaning “soul.” Biologically, human beings are animals. The soul is a religious and philosophical idea. Different religions have varying understandings of souls, whether animals have them, and how they are similar to or different from human souls. The ensoulment of animals is a theological question. Thus, as an encyclopedia, we will approach it by offering a survey of how five different religious traditions provide unique answers and engage with the idea of animal souls in practice.

Judaism

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According to Judaism, animals as well as humans are nefesh ḥayyah, “living beings.” The nefesh is associated with bodily life, the senses, and blood. Later Jewish thought distinguishes this vital soul from the higher human soul, or neshamah, a Hebrew word meaning “breath.” Neshamah is mentioned in Genesis 2:7, when God breathes life into the nostrils of the first human. In many Jewish interpretations, this uniquely human soul exists after death, whereas an animal’s soul does not. However, in some strains of Kabbalah—mystical Judaism—transmigration of souls (gilgul) between humans and animals is possible. Jewish kosher laws (kashruth) prohibit consuming animal blood because an animal’s soul (nefesh) is contained in the blood.

Christianity

Christian traditions, broadly speaking, hold that animals have souls that are of a different quality from human souls. Animals possess souls that are sensitive and allow for movement, memory, and appetite. Humans, in contrast, have souls that are additionally capable of rational thought. This interpretation appears in St. Thomas Aquinas’s theological work Summa theologiae, drawing on the ideas of Greek philosopher Aristotle. The uniquely rational and spiritual human soul is thought to be capable of going to heaven, but the animal soul cannot. However, Methodism’s founder John Wesley believed that animals will partake of the resurrection and that they surely go to heaven since they are not moral beings capable of sin. Even if animals do not have humanlike souls, they can receive blessings, and many churches bless pets on October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, and on January 17, the feast day of St. Anthony of Egypt.

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Hinduism

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Hinduism generally posits that all animals and humans have a soul called a jiva or atman and that they are all stuck in an endless cycle of death and rebirth called samsara (literally “wandering”). Humans can be reborn as animals and vice versa. Many Hindu texts, beginning with the ancient Vedas, reveal uneasiness about killing animals, and they sometimes state that if a human kills and eats an animal in this life, the roles might be reversed in a future life. Being reborn as an animal, however, is not preferable and is regarded as the result of negative karma (“action”). Some Dharmashastra texts (Sanskrit manuals of ethics) suggest abstaining from killing animals or eating meat, and they encourage ahimsa (“nonviolence”). There is a preference for vegetarianism among many Hindu traditions, although not all Hindus are vegetarian. The daily drawing of rangoli threshold designs with rice flour is thought to feed the many souls of birds, ants, and other tiny creatures.

Buddhism

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In Buddhism all living beings are thought to be stuck in the system of samsara, but Buddhist thought rejects the notion of an eternal soul (anatta, “no self”). Through an intricate process of dependent origination, humans, animals, and other beings cycle around in endless rebirths based on past karma. In the tales of the Buddha’s past lives, the Jatakas, the Buddha was reborn as various animals. Yet it is as a human, rather than as an animal or other being, that one is best able to achieve nirvana and escape samsara, according to Buddhism. Later Buddhist traditions in China and Japan, however, debated the Buddha-nature of animals and plants. Some Buddhist holidays involve releasing captive animals to show compassion and earn merit.

Jainism

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Jainism holds that an infinite number of living beings in the world all have souls (called jivas), even microscopic beings called nigodas, often translated as “microbes.” Harming any of these beings results in negative karma, which further traps souls in samsara. Jainism therefore strongly encourages ahimsa toward all living beings, from animals to microbes, and vegetarianism is the norm. Monks and nuns take more stringent precautions to avoid harming creatures, even accidentally. Monastic Jains filter water, wear cloth masks, and do not eat after dark to avoid ingesting insects. Some Jains sweep the floor in front of them as they walk to prevent stepping on any beings. Jains typically do not eat root vegetables because harvesting them destroys the whole plant and harms life-forms around it. Jains are encouraged to maintain awareness of the myriad souls that fill the world and to act with vigilance to avoid harm.