Russian Studies in Culture and Society (Sep 2022)
PROTESTANTISM – REGULATION OF CONSUMPTION
Abstract
In the article, the author examines the gastronomic culture and its regulatory function, expressed in the regulation of eating behavior and food consumption by people through the existence of prohibitions and permits. In particular, it is indicated that such tools, as a rule, find their place in religious canons (codes of rules). Speaking about the religious regulation of consumption, the author examines Protestantism and its currents and trends. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that within the framework of Adventism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc., there are tools for regulating food consumption that have a characteristic similarity with those in Judaism, Islam and Catholicism. Of course, Protestantism, being a denomination of Christianity, along with Catholicism, can borrow some rules and features. Meanwhile, drawing an analogy with these religions and confessions, we can talk about the existence of prohibited and permitted food, while in some areas of Protestantism restrictions are not as strict as in others. Religion, acting as a regulator of eating behavior, designates products originating from “unclean” and “pure” animals and birds. At the same time, in the Bible, the signs that make it possible to differentiate food have a symbolic meaning – “unclean” food sources symbolize mundanity, the impossibility of turning to God, the sinfulness of man. As a result, a gastronomic cultural layer is formed, within which the nutrition of believers, that is, the products they use daily, also taking into account national characteristics, not only have an impact on health, but also have a symbolic meaning of commitment to God, enlightenment, etc. According to the results of the study, the author formulated the factors that are important in determining eating behavior and consumption: a) symbolizing; b) cleansing; c) providing and d) adapting (relevant to the current situation of globalization of the world space and the technologization of life spheres).
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