animal sacrifice
Offering through bloodshed
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as an offering to a deity, spirit, or supernatural force.
The practice appears across cultures and religions throughout history, from ancient Greek hecatombs to contemporary Santería ceremonies.
The animal—often livestock like goats, chickens, or cattle—may be burned, buried, or consumed in a communal meal after the killing.
The court ruled that laws banning animal sacrifice violated religious freedom.
Sacred ritual table
- offeringSomething presented or given
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- incenseAnger greatly, or aromatic resin
- libationCeremonial drink offering
bloodletting · consecration · purification · invocation · divination · oracle · shaman · rites
Worshipped supernatural being
- templeSacred worship structure
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
expiation · holocaust · immolation · sacred · divinity · piety · devotion · veneration
Those from whom one descends
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- tribalOf a clan
- paganNon-mainstream religion follower
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
custom · heritage · folklore · mythology · Santeria · Vodou · shamanism · animism
Deliberate harm-causing disposition
- welfareComfort and prosperity
- sentienceCapacity for subjective experience
- moralityRight and wrong principles
- activismDirect effort for reform
protest · debate · legislation · ban · regulation · compassion · exploitation · inhumane
altar
Sacred ritual table
- offeringSomething presented or given
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- incenseAnger greatly, or aromatic resin
libation · bloodletting · consecration · purification · invocation · divination · oracle · shaman · rites · procession
deity
Worshipped supernatural being
atonement · expiation · holocaust · immolation · sacred · divinity · piety · devotion · veneration · theology
ancestors
Those from whom one descends
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- tribalOf a clan
- paganNon-mainstream religion follower
totem · custom · heritage · folklore · mythology · Santeria · Vodou · shamanism · animism · ethnography
cruelty
Deliberate harm-causing disposition
- welfareComfort and prosperity
- sentienceCapacity for subjective experience
- moralityRight and wrong principles
activism · protest · debate · legislation · ban · regulation · compassion · exploitation · inhumane · suffering
- blood loreblood rituals, blood magic, blood oaths, blood covenant, blood rites
- Mesoamerican ritualsbloodletting, ritual offerings, sun worship, fertility rites, death rites
- Ancient RomeRome, Julius Caesar, Caesar, gladiator, gladiators
- VikingsViking, longships, longship, raiding, Norse settlers
- witchcraftwitch, spell, spellwork, witches, spells
- animal remainsbones, bone, skeleton, carcass, carrion
animal sacrificeprayer
Address to deity
incense offering · meditation · libation · flower offering · fasting
animal sacrificeanimal rescue
Saving distressed fauna
animal liberation · animal welfare · animal rights activism · animal protection · veganism
animal sacrificehunting
Pursuing wild game
butchering · factory farming · slaughter · sport hunting · pest control
animal, animals, sacrifice, sacrificing, sacrificed, sacrificial, animalistic, animality, sacrificers