Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have held significant and diverse roles in the religions and mythologies of numerous cultures throughout human history. In the context of the history of religion, the roles of dogs range from symbolic representations of virtues like loyalty and protection to teachings about purity and ritual practices.Following the questions about animals' interaction with religion, Aaron Gross highlighted that, "Although the imagination of animals and the human/animal border are fundamental to a surprising number of religious traditions and to the academic study of religion generally, this significance has been largely ignored". The significance of dogs in religion transcends cultural boundaries and spans across time, reflecting the universal themes of loyalty, protection, and guidance. In Animals and World Religion, animal ethicist Lisa Kemmerer explores the relationship between animals and global religious traditions. The work examines how different religions perceive and engage with animals, emphasizing their roles in religious narratives and rituals and highlighting the connection between humans and animals in spiritual contexts.
In mythology, dogs often served in companion and protective roles, such as guarding the gates of the underworld in Indo-European mythologies. Historian Julien d'Huy identifies a common set of three narratives about dogs that appear in various religious traditions. The first narrative emphasizes a connection to the afterlife, reflecting the gatekeeping role often seen in Indo-European mythologies. The second narrative focuses on the bond between humans and dogs, while the third pertains to the association of dogs with the star Sirius. Evidence presented by d'Huy suggests an association between the mythological records from various cultures and the genetic and fossil records related to dog domestication.
Aztec religion
Dogs had a major religious and symbolic significance to the Aztec peoples of central Mexico. Several ancient burial sites for dogs have been discovered in Mexico. Xolotl, an Aztec god of death, was depicted as a dog-headed monster.
Chinese tradition
The dog is one of the 12 animals honoured in Chinese astrology. The second day of the Chinese New Year is considered to be the birthday of all dogs, and Chinese people often take care to be kind to dogs on that day. In China, Korea, and Japan, dogs are viewed as kind protectors. Panhu is a dragon-dog who transformed into a man and married a princess.
Dogs have a significant presence in Chinese tradition and folklore, not only in astrology and mythology but also in religious and cultural aspects. Here are additional information about the role of dogs within Chinese tradition:
Guardians of temples and homes: Dogs have been regarded as protectors and guardians in the Chinese culture. They are often depicted at the entrances of temples, homes, and other essential settings. In Chinese folk religion, it is believed that dogs have the ability to ward off evil spirits and protect against negative energies. This tradition of utilizing dogs as protectors is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture that emphasizes their role as symbols of loyalty and vigilance. According to an article by Henrieta Hatalova, the popular allegory of Zhuangzi asserts that "The dog is not regarded as good according to its good barking, so the man is not considered virtuous and able according to his nice words."
In spite of the positive judgements of dogs in the Chinese tradition, dogs were previously banned from China for over 60 years before June 1928. Robert A. Bickers and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom mentioned that "The potency of 'dog' as an insulting and dehumanizing epithet in China undoubtedly exacerbated the insult, and also made the story of the sign's outrageous wording seem all the more plausible".
Christianity
In Christianity, dogs are mentioned in the narrative about the rich man and Lazarus, in which dogs were viewed as bringing healing (as they licked the wounds of Lazarus). The academic Justin David Strong notes that "this act would have been perceived by a first-century audience as a sign of sympathy from the dogs, who have been caring after Lazarus as though his nurses." The Book of Tobit, which is found in the Apocrypha section of Lutheran and Anglican Bibles, as well as in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible, notes that a dog faithfully accompanies Tobias and the archangel Raphael on their journeys.
In Christian folklore, a church grim often takes the form of a black dog to guard churches and churchyards from sacrilege.
Roman Catholicism Within Roman Catholicism specifically, the iconography of Saint Dominic includes a dog, after the saint's mother Blessed Joan of Aza dreamt a dog with a torch in its mouth sprang from her womb, and became pregnant shortly after that. As such, the Dominican Order (Ecclesiastical Latin: Dominicanus) sounds close to "dog of the Lord" or "hound of the Lord" (Dómini canis).
The Catholic Church recognizes Saint Roch (also Saint Rocco), who lived in the early 14th century in France, as the patron saint of dogs. It is said he caught the plague while doing charitable work and went into the forest, expecting to die. There, he was befriended by a hunting dog which licked his sores and brought him food, helping him recover. The feast day of Saint Roch, August 16, is celebrated in Bolivia as the "birthday of all dogs."
Saint Guinefort was the name given to a dog which was venerated as a folk saint at a French shrine from the 13th century to the 20th century, when the Church suppressed its cult.
In 2017, a Franciscan friary in Cochabamba, Bolivia, adopted a stray schnauzer dog, naming him “Friar Carmelo”. Photos of Friar Carmelo, nicknamed “Fray Bigotón” (“Friar Moustache”) and dressed in a miniature Franciscan habit, went viral on the Internet. His son, Metodio, and a ginger cat named “Fray Michi”, have also been adopted by the monastery.
Ancient Egyptian religion
The Ancient Egyptians are often more associated with cats in the form of Bastet, but dogs are found to have a sacred role and figure as an important symbol in religious iconography.
Dogs were associated with Anubis, the jackal headed god of the underworld. At times throughout its period of being in use the Anubieion catacombs at Saqqara saw the burial of dogs. Anput was the female counterpart of her husband, Anubis; she was often depicted as a pregnant or nursing jackal, or as a jackal wielding knives.
Other dogs can be found in Egyptian mythology. Am-heh was a minor god from the underworld. He was depicted as a man with the head of a hunting dog who lived in a lake of fire. Duamutef was originally represented as a man wrapped in mummy bandages. From the New Kingdom onwards, he is shown with the head of a jackal. Wepwawet was depicted as a wolf or a jackal, or as a man with the head of a wolf or a jackal. Even when considered a jackal, Wepwawet usually was shown with grey, or white fur, reflecting his lupine origins. Khenti-Amentiu was depicted as a jackal-headed deity at Abydos in Upper Egypt, who stood guard over the city of the dead.
The historical connection between dogs and religion traces back to some of the earliest civilizations known to humanity. In ancient Egypt, dogs were revered and associated with Anubis, the god of mummification and the afterlife, often depicted with a canine head. This association reflects the belief in the dog's ability to guide souls to the afterlife. Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge explains that, "Egypt primitive man must have worshipped animals ... because they possessed strength, and power, and cunning greater than his own, or because they were endowed with some quality which enabled them to do him bodily harm or to cause his death". This insight into the ancient Egyptian mindset offers a glimpse into the reasons why certain animals, including dogs, held significant roles in their religious practices, shedding light on the cultural and spiritual dynamics that underlie the historical connection between dogs and religion.
Greek mythology Dogs were closely associated with Hecate in the Classical world. Dogs were sacred to Artemis and Ares. Cerberus is a three-headed, dragon-tailed watchdog who guards the gates of Hades. Laelaps was a dog in Greek mythology. When Zeus was a baby, a dog, known only as the "golden hound" protected the goat, Almatheia, who nursed the future King of Gods. In Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, when the disguised Odysseus returns home after 20 years, he is recognized only by his faithful dog, Argos, who has been waiting all this time for his return.
Based on Greek mythology, three of the 88 constellations in Western astronomy also represent dogs: Canis Major (the Great Dog, whose brightest star, Sirius, is also called the Dog Star) Canis Minor (the Little Dog) Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs)
Hinduism In Hindu mythology, Yama, the god of death, owns two watchdogs who have four eyes. They are said to watch over the gates of Naraka. The hunter god Muthappan from the North Malabar region of Kerala has a hunting dog as his mount. Dogs are found in and out of the Muthappan Temple and offerings at the shrine take the form of bronze dog figurines. The dog (shvana) is also the vahana or mount of the Hindu god Bhairava.
In the Mahabharata, when Yudhishthira reaches the gates of heaven (Svarga), Indra allows him to enter but refuses entry to the dog that accompanied him. Yudhishthira, unwilling to abandon his loyal companion, refuses to enter heaven without the dog. Impressed by Yudhishthira's unwavering loyalty towards those who didn't leave him, Indra finally allowed the dog to enter heaven with Yudhishthira.
Dogs are also depicted in the iconography of Hindu deities such as Dattatreya and Khandoba. The Ramayana contains a tale about a dog receiving justice, passed by Rama.
Islam
The view on dogs in Islam is mixed, with some schools of thought viewing their saliva as unclean.
The majority of both Sunni (except for the Maliki school) and Shi'a Muslim jurists consider dogs ritually saliva unclean.Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, s.v. "Dogs in the Islamic Tradition and Nature." New York: Continuum International, forthcoming 2004. By: Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl It is uncommon for practicing Muslims to keep dogs as pets.Susan J. Armstrong, Richard G. Botzler, The Animal Ethics Reader, p.237, Routledge (UK) Press However, the majority of Muslims would touch and pet dogs as long as they are completely dry because touching dry dogs is believed to remove impurities from them. In Britain, police sniffer dogs are carefully used, and they are not permitted to touch passengers, instead, they are only permitted to touch their luggage. They are required to wear leather dog booties whenever they are inside the Muslim homes, and also for when they enter and search mosques.
There are a number of traditions concerning Muhammad's attitude towards dogs. According to one hadith presented in Muwatta Imam Malik, he said that the company of dogs, except as helpers in hunting, herding, and home protection, voided a portion of a Muslim's good deeds.Malik ibn Anas, al-Muwatta (Egypt: al-Babi al-Halabi, n.d.), 2:969. Reported in El Fadl On the other hand, he advocated kindness to dogs and other animals.Abu Huraira Volume 3, Book 40, Number 551. Abu Huraira narrated that the prophet said: