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Animal Ethics and the Nonconformist Conscience pp 45–61Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Innovation and Religious Discourses

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Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

Abstract

A corrective is proposed to the consensus narrative that animal friendly values emerged when Christian ‘dominion thought’ was displaced by modern attitudes. The late twentieth century saw a revival of interest in the influence of religious language on the growth of contemporary environmentalism. Rather than the Enlightenment, Protestant sources were found to have played a key role. This raises the possibility that religious language may have played a similar part in the growth of animal advocacy. This chapter finds substantial evidence for such a possibility in English nonconformity. The nonconformist conscience shaped a novel way of talking about animals, and framed new modes of social and political action such as welfare societies and legislative reform.

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  1. Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Oxford, UK

    Philip J. Sampson

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  1. Philip J. Sampson
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Correspondence to Philip J. Sampson .

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Sampson, P.J. (2018). Innovation and Religious Discourses. In: Animal Ethics and the Nonconformist Conscience. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96406-5_4

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