Why cats are gladly allowed into churches and temples, and dogs are politely escorted to the exit

Interestingly, the cat is not expelled from the Orthodox Church, mosque or Buddhist temples. God’s creation walks around like at home, feels confident and calm. Why isn’t a dog, man’s best friend, welcome to the temple?

At the course on religious studies, the teacher talked about religious syncretism and about the fact that different religions converge in some positions. So in Islam and Orthodoxy, the creator is one, only it is called differently. In Islam, the cat is a sacred animal. Cats are not expelled from mosques and dogs are considered unclean animals.



In the Holy Scriptures, cats are not mentioned, but dogs are said to be unclean. When we talk about animals, we need to consider the context. In the book of Leviticus, so were dogs in the sense that God, allowing to eat pure animals: herbivores and mammals with bifurcated hooves, called unclean dogs, thereby forbidding them to eat. In the Bible, cats and dogs are unclean.



It is worth saying that in religion there are many rules, both in Orthodoxy and in other religions. In the mosque, it is customary to take off their shoes, and in an Orthodox church sometimes women can not be or take communion, which is already about dogs. If you take the purity of the animal literally, then, indeed, cats, even homeless, are purer than dogs.

All because cats do not have their own smell, they do not like to lie in a puddle and constantly make sure that their hair does not smell anything outside. Dog hair has a peculiar smell. In addition to what a dog can inherit in a temple like anyone in it, the dog is a larger, noisier, and often impatient animal.



In the Bible, the word “dog” has a negative meaning. And superstitious people believe that a demon can invade a dog. Cats, on the other hand, scare away evil spirits. But in living quarters, cats have long had a special mission - to protect the house from rodents. The church stores prosphoras and candles, and other equipment that mice can easily chew.

By the way, if you think about it, mice are also living creatures, so why is it acceptable to get rid of them? The Bible says that mice are creatures of the devil. When the Ark was created, mice tried to chew a hole in its bottom. That’s why cats still behave in temples.



Scientists have found that the mere presence of a cat in a building on a permanent or recurrent basis reduces the birth rate of mice by 14%. Even if the cat does not catch a mouse. They smell a cat smell that is elusive to humans. Rodents are stressed out and refuse to reproduce, focusing on their own survival.



In Buddhist temples, the cat symbolizes tranquility. It is believed that the cat with its silent gait and lack of fuss disposes a person to prayer and peace. These creatures really like to sleep in a corner or soak up in the sun. The preaching of the father or the censil will not frighten them, while the dog can attack a person with fright.



There are breeds of dogs, terriers that catch rats, specifically for this purpose bred. It's not about mice and rats, it's about ancient traditions. Both in Russian Orthodox and in many other cultures, the dog is an unclean animal, it is not kept at home, only in the yard. They are not allowed into the temple either. The cat can live in the house and the temple is not closed. In the old gates of the monasteries you can even see special holes for cats.