Ben Ammi’s Adaptation of Veganism in the Theology of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem

This article will look at the ideology of veganism in the AHIJ. Since the early 1970s their diet has been a core part of their ideology and of their message to the world. Acknowledging that a black/Jewish meat-free diet is far from the exclusive property of the group, let alone a new development on...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
Main Author: Miller, Michael T. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2023
In: Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
Year: 2023, Volume: 9, Issue: 2, Pages: 417-444
Further subjects:B Black Judaism
B Hebrew Israelites
B Veganism
B African American religion
B Foodways
B Israel
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This article will look at the ideology of veganism in the AHIJ. Since the early 1970s their diet has been a core part of their ideology and of their message to the world. Acknowledging that a black/Jewish meat-free diet is far from the exclusive property of the group, let alone a new development on their part, I will argue that it is an expression of the syncretic “bricoleur” nature of Black Israelite thought (Dorman 2013), reflecting, drawing on, and transforming traditions existing in both African American and Jewish thought in and before the twentieth century – principally articulated as a concern for health in the former and a messianic return to the peaceful Edenic existence in the latter. However, Ben Ammi skillfully intertwines it into their theology by arguing that a return to the veganism of the Garden of Eden is part of the community’s redemption of humanity from primordial sin and ultimate overcoming of the curse of death.
ISSN:2364-2807
Contains:Enthalten in: Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.30965/23642807-bja10019