Adhering to a vegetarian diet is central to many religions. Buddhism shows kindness to all living things and its believers hold many animals to be scared for what they provide to humans whether it is milk or as work animals to help plow fields. Followers of Chris- tianity had different views when it came to being a vegetarian.
Chris-tians believe that humans reign over all other living things on Earth meaning that they believe that animals are here for their use whether that means as beasts of burden or as a food source. However, that does not mean that all Christians are carnivores.
Throughout history, different sects of Christians have broken with the mainstream beliefs and preached a vegetarian lifestyle. Vegetarianism played a key role for Christians in Eastern Europe; among these groups were the Bogomils that rose up in the 900's in what is now modern day Bulgaria. The Bogomils were seen as heretics because they spoke out against what they saw as the excesses of monasteries and the Eastern Orthodox Church; they rejected the physical world and forswore the consumption of eggs, meat, and cheese that led them to lead a vege-tarian lifestyle.
