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Well there is a major distinction here. We aren't talking about "i don't care for meat." We are talking about someone's deeply held convictions on morality. Oft

Well there is a major distinction here. We aren't talking about "i don't care for meat." We are talking about someone's deeply held convictions on morality. Oftentimes vegetarianism is a major part of their identity and culture. A vegetarian diet can be part of a relgious practce. Plenty of Indian religions emphasize a vegetarian diet - Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. As well as well as the Seventh-day Adventist, a Christian religion.

baddox 12y ago
How do you test the depth of one's convictions on the morality of various diets? Do you think that people can willfully choose their own convictions?
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  "A fixed or firm belief" - hm, sounds like religion all right. So, just like a person can't choose a religion, neither can they willfully choose a conviction?
- UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
  People can willfully choose their own religion too but it is considered unethical to force a group of people to convert to your preferred religion. In fact that can be considered a form of ethnic cleansing in some situations. FYI - i personally am a vegetarian (for over a decade) for ethical reasons and being forced to eat meat would be extremely horrific for me. And i don't think that i would be able to eat fish at all without vomiting. Feel free to make fun of me or whatever.
  - baddox 12y ago
    > People can willfully choose their own religion too but it is considered unethical to force a group of people to convert to your preferred religion. That's why I asked for a test procedure. Someone can claim that they genuinely believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and therefore must wear a colander on their head, and without a test, how do you distinguish that from a clothing restriction from a major world religion? You either need some internal test on the mindset of the individual (e.g. a polygraph, if those worked), or an external test on the claimed religion (e.g. a minimum number of global followers).

baddox 12y ago

How do you test the depth of one's convictions on the morality of various diets? Do you think that people can willfully choose their own convictions?

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
"A fixed or firm belief" - hm, sounds like religion all right. So, just like a person can't choose a religion, neither can they willfully choose a conviction?
UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
People can willfully choose their own religion too but it is considered unethical to force a group of people to convert to your preferred religion. In fact that can be considered a form of ethnic cleansing in some situations. FYI - i personally am a vegetarian (for over a decade) for ethical reasons and being forced to eat meat would be extremely horrific for me. And i don't think that i would be able to eat fish at all without vomiting. Feel free to make fun of me or whatever.
- baddox 12y ago
  > People can willfully choose their own religion too but it is considered unethical to force a group of people to convert to your preferred religion. That's why I asked for a test procedure. Someone can claim that they genuinely believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and therefore must wear a colander on their head, and without a test, how do you distinguish that from a clothing restriction from a major world religion? You either need some internal test on the mindset of the individual (e.g. a polygraph, if those worked), or an external test on the claimed religion (e.g. a minimum number of global followers).