Alcohol in Religion: Why Almost Every Faith Warns Against It
Alcohol is often presented as a symbol of enjoyment, celebration, or modern lifestyle, but if we look at the teachings of major religions, we find one powerful similarity: almost all religions discourage or forbid alcohol because of its harmful and destructive nature. Below are clear references from multiple religions showing why alcohol can never be justified spiritually.
- Islam (اسلام)
Islam has the strongest and clearest stance against alcohol.
The Qur’an directly declares intoxicants as “Haram”, calling them the work of Satan because they destroy judgment, cause moral decline, and lead people away from righteousness. Muslims are instructed to avoid it completely, as it harms the mind, body, society, and spirit.
- Christianity (عیسائیت)
Christianity contains multiple warnings about alcohol.
The Bible advises believers:
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless living.”
The Christian message focuses on self-control, purity, and staying spiritually awake. Alcohol is seen as something that weakens moral discipline and causes people to fall into sinful behavior.
- Judaism (یہودیت)
Judaism also warns against drunkenness.
The Torah highlights that losing control of the mind is shameful and sinful. Jewish teachings emphasize discipline, purity, and wise decision-making—qualities alcohol directly harms. Moderate consumption is discussed in some contexts, but drunkenness is strictly condemned.
- Buddhism (بدھ مت)
Buddhism teaches avoiding all intoxicants.
The Fifth Precept clearly instructs followers to abstain from substances that cloud the mind. According to Buddhist philosophy, alcohol blocks spiritual growth, destroys mindfulness, and leads to suffering—a complete opposite of the Buddhist path.
- Hinduism (ہندو مت)
Many Hindu scriptures strongly discourage alcohol.
Texts like the Manusmriti warn that intoxication brings impurity, violence, and spiritual downfall. Alcohol is linked with loss of wisdom and the destruction of self-control, which are considered great obstacles in achieving inner peace.
Conclusion
When almost every religion—Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism—agrees that alcohol weakens humans spiritually and morally, then supporting or promoting it becomes difficult to justify.
My stance is not against individuals, but against a substance that harms health, damages families, ruins judgment, and pulls people away from righteousness.
If all religions call alcohol harmful, then standing against it is not narrow-mindedness—it is responsibility.
One could argue religion has done more harm than alcohol could ever do!
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
I understand that many people feel this way because of how certain individuals or groups may have misused religion throughout history. But it’s important to remember that the actions of people do not represent the core teachings of any faith.
Most religions—whether Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, or others—actually emphasize peace, discipline, kindness, and protection from harmful habits, including alcohol.
If some people caused harm in the name of religion, that is a misuse, not the purpose of religion itself.
My point in the post was simply that almost every faith warns against alcohol because of its proven physical and social harms, and this shared teaching shows a universal concern for human well-being.
I appreciate your opinion, and respectful discussions like this help all of us understand each other better.
Fully following your argument dear @tengolotodo
Beer with or without alcohol probably joined more friendly people together as religion did.
The third most drunken liquid on earth based of the fermentation.
This created, even several hundred years ago, a solid drink without the danger of all the stuff you had that time with "dirty" water
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I am having hundreds of thoughts in my mind at the moment after seeing some chats, arguments, and these comments.
I will try to keep it short and simple. Would you like it if @tengolotodo and @detlev entered a mosque/masjid and started preaching that Jesus is the saviour? Similarly, when you are posting in a BEER community, you should do BETTER!
At max, you can avoid voting for anyone with BEER in their posts or use your freedom in whatever way you like, but do remember, for every action, there is a reaction.
It's the same for the VEGAN community. People don't read the rules about what is considered VEGAN and start posting there to offend them, which doesn’t turn out good. But if they post on a different community page about eating MEAT, no one will care much.
Muslim Friendly BEER:
https://impossibrew.co.uk/blogs/journal/halal-beer-demand-in-muslim-communities
Thanks for this interesting beer. Love to taste it.
There is a big low alc beer movement around for those who like the refreshing factor of beer and nowadays this brews are tasting well.
I personally enjoy the intro a lot but as I love free speech as well - we beerlovers can handle different approaches in our community.