alt=cow and a calf|thumb|An [[Indian cow and its calf— a late 7th century sculpture from Uttar Pradesh ]]
There are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions.
Cattle are considered sacred in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, as well as in some Chinese folk religion and in traditional African religions. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Israel, and ancient Rome.
In some regions, especially most states of India, the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat (beef) may be taboo.
In Indian religions
Legislation against the slaughter of cattle is in place throughout most states of India except Kerala and parts of the North-East.
Hinduism
thumb|upright|A bull [[bas relief, Mamallapuram]]
Modern Hinduism specifically considers the zebu (Bos indicus) to be sacred, but there is historical evidence for the slaughter and consumption of beef in ancient India. Indian historian Romila Thapar specifically points to Vedic scriptures, ritual, and cultural practice. Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas has argued that beef-eating became a widespread taboo in the Vedic period as non-Aryans became increasingly "Sanskritized" in order to elevate their caste status.
Respect for the lives of animals including cattle, diet in Hinduism and vegetarianism in India are based on the Hindu ethics. The Hindu ethics are driven by the core concept of Ahimsa, i.e. non-violence towards all beings, as mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad (~ 800 BCE). By mid 1st millennium BCE, all three major religions – Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism – were championing non-violence as an ethical value, and something that impacted one's rebirth. By about 200 CE, food and feasting on animal slaughter were widely considered as a form of violence against life forms, and became a religious and social taboo. India, which has 79.80% Hindu population as of (2011 census), had the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world according to the 2007 UN FAO statistics, and India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world put together. Despite the ethical commitment to nonviolence towards animals, in contemporary India, the beef-eating taboo is a core tenet of Hindu nationalism and is regularly used as justification for cow vigilante violence in India particularly targeting Muslims.
According to Ludwig Alsdorf, "Indian vegetarianism is unequivocally based on ahimsa (non-violence) as evidenced by ancient smritis and other ancient texts of Hinduism." He adds that the endearment and respect for cattle in Hinduism is more than a commitment to vegetarianism and has become integral to its theology. To the majority of modern Indians, states Alsdorf, respect for cattle and disrespect for slaughter is a part of their ethos and there is "no ahimsa without renunciation of meat consumption".
The cow in Hindu society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal figure, and Hindu society honors the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving, Ancient texts such as Rig Veda, Puranas highlight the importance of cattle. A Gryhasutra recommends that beef be eaten by the mourners after a funeral ceremony as a ritual rite of passage. In contrast, the Vedic literature is contradictory, with some suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat eating.
The interdiction of the meat of the bounteous cow as food was regarded as the first step to total vegetarianism. Dairy cows are called aghnya "that which may not be slaughtered" in the Rigveda. Yaska, the early commentator of the Rigveda, gives nine names for cow, the first being "aghnya". The literature relating to cow veneration became common in 1st millennium CE, and by about 1000 CE vegetarianism, along with a taboo against beef, became a well accepted mainstream Hindu tradition. The hymn 8.3.25 of the Hindu scripture Atharvaveda (~1200–1500 BCE) condemns all killings of men, cattle, and horses, and prays to god Agni to punish those who kill.
thumb|[[Prithu chasing Prithvi, who is in the form of a cow. Prithu milked the cow to generate crops for humans.]]
In the Puranas, which are part of the Hindu texts, the earth-goddess Prithvi was in the form of a cow, successively milked of beneficent substances for the benefit of humans, by deities starting with the first sovereign: Prithu milked the cow to generate crops for humans to end a famine. Kamadhenu, the miraculous "cow of plenty" and the "mother of cows" in certain versions of the Hindu mythology, is believed to represent the generic sacred cow, regarded as the source of all prosperity. In the 19th century, a form of Kamadhenu was depicted in poster-art that depicted all major gods and goddesses in it. Govatsa Dwadashi, which marks the first day of Diwali celebrations, is the main festival connected to the veneration and worship of cows as chief source of livelihood and religious sanctity in India, wherein the symbolism of motherhood is most apparent with the sacred cows Kamadhenu and her daughter Nandini.
Historical significance
thumb|A pamphlet protesting cow slaughter, first created in 1893. A meat eater (mansahari) is shown as a demon with sword, with a man telling him "don't kill, cow is life-source for all". It was interpreted by Muslims in [[British Raj to be representing them. Redrawn the Raja Ravi Varma (c. 1897).]]
The reverence for the cow played a role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against Company rule in India. Hindu and Muslim sepoys in the Presidency armies came to believe that their paper cartridges, which held a measured amount of gunpowder, were greased with cow and pig fat. The consumption of swine is forbidden in Islam and Judaism. Because loading the gun required biting off the end of the paper cartridge, they concluded that the East India Company was forcing them to break edicts of their religion and eventually mutinied.
A historical survey of major communal riots in India between 1717 and 1977 revealed that 22 out of 167 incidents of rioting between Hindus and Muslims were attributable directly to cow slaughter.
In Gandhi's teachings
The cow protection was a symbol of animal rights and of non-violence against all life forms for Mahatma Gandhi. His eclectic religious views included the Indian veneration of cows, and suggested ending cow slaughter to be the first step to stopping violence against all animals. He said: "I worship it and I shall defend its worship against the whole world", and stated that "The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection."
In the Jain religious tradition, neither monks nor laypersons should cause others or allow others to work in a slaughterhouse. Jains believe that vegetarian sources can provide adequate nutrition, without creating suffering for animals such as cattle.
thumbnail|Cattle at a temple, in [[Ooty, India]]
thumb|Cattle making themselves at home on a city street in Jaipur, Rajasthan
Meitei religion and mythology
thumb|A painting depicting [[Kao (bull)|Kao, being captured by hero Khuman Khamba]]
In ancient Meitei mythology and folklore of Ancient Manipur (Kangleipak), Kao is a divine cattle that plays a significant role in the legend of the Khamba Thoibi epic of ancient Moirang realm. Nongban Kongyamba, a nobleman, acting as an oracler, prophesied that calamities would arrive at the kingdom of Moirang, if the powerful Kao roaming freely in the Khuman kingdom, wasn't offered to God Thangjing (), the guardian deity of Moirang. Spreading the rumour, Nongban chose Khamba, the orphan Khuman prince, on purpose to eliminate him, as the two were rivals. Before encountering the dangerous divine bull, Khamba's elder sister Khamnu disclosed to Khamba the secrets of the bull, with whose help he succeeded in capturing the bull.
Buddhism
The texts of Buddhism state ahimsa to be one of five ethical precepts, which requires a practicing Buddhist to "refrain from killing living beings". Not only do some, mainly Mahayana, Buddhist texts state that killing or eating meat is wrong, it urges Buddhist laypersons to not operate slaughterhouses, nor trade in meat. Indian Buddhist texts encourage a plant-based diet.
Saving animals from slaughter for meat, is believed in Buddhism to be a way to acquire merit for better rebirth.
Meat eating remains controversial within Buddhism, with most Theravada sects allowing it, reflecting early Buddhist practice, and most Mahayana sects forbidding it. Early suttas indicate that the Buddha himself ate meat and was clear that no rule should be introduced to forbid meat eating to monks. The consumption, however, appears to have been limited to pork, chicken and fish and may well have excluded cattle.
Sikhism
thumb|'Sikh cowherds and their cattle', Singapore, ca.1938–39
During the 1860s, the Namdhari Sikhs opposed cattle-slaughter. According to a Khalsa Bahadur (Lahore) article dated to 5 September 1903, the Sikhs consider cattle to be a useful animal but do not go to the lengths of the Hindus by considering it to be sacred. According to Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, many Sikhs refrain from eating beef as cows, oxen, and buffalo are a central part of the livelihood of rural Sikhs, with many Sikhs coming from agricultural-backgrounds. Thus, Sikhs generally respect cattle and do not slaughter them for food.
Observant Jews study this passage every year as part of the weekly Torah portion called Chukat. A contemporary Jewish organization called the Temple Institute is trying to revive this ancient religious observance.
Traditional Judaism considers beef kosher and permissible as food,
as long as the cow is slaughtered in a religious ritual called shechita, and the meat is not served in a meal that includes any dairy foods.
Some Jews committed to Jewish vegetarianism believe that Jews should refrain from slaughtering animals altogether
and have condemned widespread cruelty towards cattle on factory farms.
Islam
Islam allows for the slaughter of cows for the consumption of beef, as long as the cow is slaughtered in a religious ritual called dhabīḥah or zabiha, similar to the Jewish shechita.
The sacrificial slaughter, or qurban, of a livestock animal to feed the poor plays a role in a major Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham. It is not Islamically required to sacrifice a cow in particular, but it is common in South Asia. Many Muslim rulers of the Mughal Empire imposed a ban on the slaughter of cows owing to the large Hindu and Jain populations living under their rule.
The second and longest surah of the Quran is named Al-Baqara ("The Cow"). Out of the 286 verses of the surah, 7 mention cows (Al Baqarah 67–73). The name of the surah derives from the story of the red heifer offering. In the Qurʾānic telling, Moses orders his people to sacrifice a cow in order to resurrect a man murdered by an unknown person. The Children of Israel, or the believers of Moses' time, quibbled disingenuously over what kind of cow was meant when the sacrifice was ordered:
Classical Sunni and Shia commentators recount several variants of this tale. Per some of the commentators, though any cow would have been acceptable, but after they "created hardships for themselves" and the cow was finally specified, it was necessary to obtain it at any cost.
Earlier in the surah, the worship of the golden calf is mentioned in disparaging terms: