Life & Style

6 religions other than Islam that require fasting

Religions have more similarities than differences

Life&Style June 16, 2016

PHOTO: CHIANGRAITIMES.COM

While the month of Ramazan is known around the world to Muslims and non-Muslims alike as the month of fasting, there are several other religions that practice fasting as well on various religious occasions.

Here are six religions -- other than Islam -- that require their followers to fast.

How many hours will you be fasting this year?

1. Jews

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the best known fast day. The Jewish calendar has six other fast days as well, including Tish B'Av -- the day on which the destruction of the Jewish temple took place.

PHOTO: LELAND BOBBE/CORBIS

2. Buddhists

All the main sects of Buddhists practice some periods of fasting, usually on full-moon days and other holidays.

Monks Chanting at Wat Pah Nanachat. PHOTO: BUDDHISTTEACHINGS.ORG

3. Catholics

Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. They also abstain from meat on all Fridays in Lent.

Parishioner Jennifer has ash smudged on her forehead by a Reverand on Ash Wednesday. PHOTO: BANGORDAILYNNEWS/JOHN CLARKE RUSS

4. Hindus

Fasting is commonly practiced on new moon days and during festivals such as Shivarati, Saraswati and Puja.

PHOTO: TELUGONE.COM

5. Mormons

Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, Mormons fast on the first Sunday of each month.

PHOTO: LDSSMILE.COM

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6. Baha'is

The Baha'i fast takes place during Ala -- the 19th month of the Baha'i year, from March 2 to 20.

The Shrine of Baha’u’llah in Bahji, is the most holy site in the world for Baha’is. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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COMMENTS (16)

Cynthia K. | 1 year ago | Reply Eastern Orthodoxy recognizes not only Great Lent as a time for fasting but also four times throughout the year and on Wednesdays and Fridays all the time. Many of these fasts are strict fasts which eliminate meat dairy fish oil and alcohol.

Shakir Lakhani | 8 years ago | Reply @DG: Ramazan is not always in summer. The lunar year is 354 days, so Ramazan happens in all months, not only in June. Six years from today it will be in April, and so on.

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DG | 8 years ago | Reply What is the origin of the fasting season (Ramzan) ? Why is it during summer (N hemisphere) and not in winter ? Is it related to early days war and desert ?

Questioner | 8 years ago | Reply @Mian, where does the question of respect arise here, and why must we 'respect everything'? One key difference between Islam and most other religions - specially those not of Abrahamic origin - is the far greater degree of compulsion in these things, as in most other things. Individual agency and choice play relatively much smaller roles, and there is far greater theological and group-conformity.

PrasadDeccani | 8 years ago | Reply @kahnakacha: I am not posting this comment to enter into an argument, but to get answers from a rationale person for my questions about Ramazan. 1) I always read stories in this very new papers about prices of consumer items (vegetables, meat, fruits...) going up irrationally during Ramazan period. If most of you fast during this holy period, why should prices shoot up? It is counter intuitive to me. 2) I follow Shiridi Baba's teachings. I fast every Thursday (Yes, I do take a couple of cups of water during fasting). On Wednesday night, I don't eat any more food than what I eat on other nights. I eat my usual dinner on Wednesday, go to bed, get up next day and fast till 8PM and, have usual dinner. If I understood the way you fast, you eat a lot during early hours of a day (during Ramzan) and fast till evening. I do agree that your fasting is much stricter, to the extent that you don't even let saliva go into your stomach. Why do you keep yourself awake till early hours of a day to eat food when you are fasting?

Mian | 8 years ago | Reply If your relationship to God is important then we also value our relationship with our God. Your dismissal of ideology of other's faith tells a lot about how much you respect them@Sunil:

Xyz | 8 years ago | Reply @kahnakacha: So in essence the calorie intake does increase? There have been reports on Ramazan being associated with weight gain. And that is perfectly fine. Everyone has their own practices .... what I do not like is that it almost seems like a compulsion on Muslims that they absolutely have to fast. In all the other religions it's seen much more of a personal choice and belief.

Shakir Lakhani | 8 years ago | Reply I once read that certain tribes in China fast continuously for a whole week (no food, no water). I also understand that Hindus/Jains/Buddhists have to fast for 24 hours, again without food or water. So Muslims are very lucky, being able to stuff themselves with food and liquids between sunset and dawn during the holy month.

kahnakacha | 8 years ago | Reply @vinsin: "In Ramazan on average consumption doubles." Totally False. Can you prove scientifically that a human can switch to twice the amount of food in 24 hour period (suddenly not gradually) and then switch back to regular amounts, after a month? At the most, people eat excess amounts (more than their usual amount in a single meal) when they break their fast, to compensate for not having eaten entire day. They try to eat same amount of food in two meals (in Ramazan), as they would normally eat in their usual 3 meals (plus a snack or two) in rest of the year. But that doesn't mean that total consumption of food in 24 hour period is doubled, per person. Also I have noticed that quality of food changes as well during Ramazan. Many people tend to eat more greasy food and sweets during Ramazan, which is against any doctor's recommendations as well as goes against the spirit of fasting in Islam.

Mega | 8 years ago | Reply @Someone: Your are misinformed. Only people who want to drink water, drink. Rest keep complete fast whole day in dharmic religions. Also drinking water is not diet plan since water have no calories. Diet plan is when you eat balanced food with less calorie. In ramadan people fast during day and eat in evening whatever they want.. That's the basic difference between both fasting.

Lakhkar Khan | 8 years ago | Reply @vinsin: You wrote: “it is based on warrior diet” You are lying about the facts. Fasting in Ramzan teaches to feel how poor and less fortunate feels when they are hungry. In addition to that Ramzan is also the month of giving charity to less fortunate.

Someone | 8 years ago | Reply @vinsin: the difference is, in Ramadan, you abstain from all food/water during the fasting period. Whereas in Hindu fasting, you can consume liquids but not certain type of foods. Which makes it more of a dieting plan rather than fasting.

Babar Ali | 8 years ago | Reply IN these long summer fasts you cannot double your consumption.

Fawad | 8 years ago | Reply Ramazan is not true fasting, time of eating is shifted, people eat just don't eat during daylight. In other religion they don't eat whole day or reduce their consumption, but in Ramzan it is all about eating, even read article about good diet During fast, people talk more about food than anything else.

Sunil | 8 years ago | Reply Please leave Buddhists and Hindus out. We are not part of Abrahamic world, we know what we have to do. We do not have to fast but can do. For Sanatana Dharma, we have a relationship with God, that is more important to us.

vinsin | 8 years ago | Reply You forgot Jains. Ramazan is not exactly a fasting - it is based on warrior diet. Fasting is about abstaining from or reducing amount of food/water consume. In Ramazan on average consumption doubles.

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