Fasting in the world’s religions

Religious traditions give overlapping reasons for fasting. It can be an act of worship commanded by God, a sign of repentance and humility, a way of strengthening self-control over bodily desires, a means of focusing attention on prayer and a way of sharing the experience of hunger with the poor. Most traditions also connect fasting with charity.

Fasting during Ramadan, sawm, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. For the whole lunar month, adult Muslims who are able abstain from food, drink, smoking and marital relations from dawn until sunset. The day begins with a pre-dawn meal, suhur, and the fast is broken at sunset with iftar, traditionally with dates and water.

The Quran presents fasting as a way to attain taqwa, God-consciousness. People who are ill, travelling, pregnant, nursing, elderly or otherwise at risk are exempt, and missed days are made up or compensated. Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr. Muslims also fast voluntarily on other days, such as Mondays and Thursdays or the day of Arafah.

The most important Jewish fast is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a 25-hour fast from food and drink devoted to prayer and repentance. Tisha B’Av, another full fast, mourns the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem. Several minor fasts run from dawn to nightfall.

Jewish law exempts those whose health would be endangered, since preserving life takes priority. Fasting in Judaism is closely linked to teshuvah, returning to God.

Early Christians fasted following the example of Jesus, who fasted forty days in the wilderness. Lent, the forty days before Easter, is the main fasting season. Catholics fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent.

Orthodox Christians keep the strictest fasts, abstaining from meat, dairy, fish, wine and oil on many days, including most Wednesdays and Fridays and several fasting seasons. Many Protestants fast voluntarily, for example before important decisions, and some give up a particular food or habit for Lent.

Hindus fast, upavasa, on particular days of the week, festivals and lunar dates, often as a vow to a deity. Ekadashi, the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, is a common fast day for Vaishnavas. During Navaratri many Hindus fast for nine nights in honour of the Goddess. Fasts range from complete abstinence to avoiding grains or eating one meal a day. Karva Chauth is a fast observed by many married women in north India.

Buddhist monks and nuns in many traditions do not eat solid food after midday. Lay Buddhists may observe this rule on uposatha days, observance days linked to the lunar calendar, along with additional precepts. The Buddha rejected extreme fasting as a path to awakening, teaching the Middle Way between indulgence and severe asceticism.

Jainism places great value on fasting as a means of self-purification and removing karma. During the festival of Paryushana, many Jains fast for one or more days, and some undertake longer fasts. In rare cases, a person near the end of life may undertake sallekhana, a gradual fast, under strict conditions.

Sikhism, by contrast, does not regard fasting as spiritually meritorious. The Gurus taught that ritual fasting does not bring one closer to the Divine; instead they emphasized remembrance, honest living and sharing food through the langar.

Religious traditions generally exempt people for whom fasting would be harmful, such as the sick, children, pregnant women and the elderly. Medical guidance is recommended for people with health conditions who wish to fast.

Fasting is a widespread religious practice. Muslims fast from dawn to sunset in Ramadan, Jews fast on Yom Kippur and other days, Christians fast especially in Lent, Hindus and Jains fast on sacred days and festivals, and Buddhist monastics refrain from eating after midday. Sikhism is a notable exception that does not treat fasting as a religious duty.