Whether it’s movies, toys or theme parks, Disney continues to expand its global reach, and for some, is viewed as sacred. Religious studies scholar Hannah McKillop weighs in on Disney's societal ...

In the intriguing practice of zoolatry, or animal worship, certain creatures are revered as deities, symbolizing profound connections between humanity and the natural world.

R reminds of religion, and the religion chapter presents and discusses strong teachings about compassion to animals in each of the world’s major religions. E represents environment.

Ancient people built rituals, beliefs, and entire mythologies around animals they viewed as sacred. Some were worshipped for their strength, others for their wisdom or mysterious nature.

Sacred animals were depicted in forms that skillfully blended the animal and the human, and as a result they appear in semi-human forms with a human body and an animal head.

The book gives deep consideration to animal emotions, tracing their deep origins, their homologies, and their manifestations in human animals. Source: Oxford University Press, with permission.

Sacred animals The study examined the skeletons of 36 sacred baboons entombed at an animal necropolis at Gabbanat el-Qurud, near Luxor in southern Egypt. (Image credit: Bea De Cupere, CC-BY 4.0) ...

Animals of all kinds were important to the Ancient Egyptians, and featured in the daily secular and religious lives of farmers, craftsmen, priests and rulers. Animals were reared mainly for food ...

"In the Indigenous religion everything is sacred — animals, plants, trees, rivers," said Tiwari, who has studied the biological and cultural diversity of Meghalaya’s sacred forests.