Coffee And Religion Essay

Coffee invades the daily routine of today’s society. Its pungent smell fills city streets and business meetings. Often, coffee-making is one of the first thoughts in the mornings for many adults. Through an online survey in 2013, the National Coffee Association discovered 83% of American adults drink coffee with an average of three cups per day.1 Long before the rise of Starbucks, founding father Thomas Jefferson noticed coffee’s important societal role, calling it “the favorite drink of the civilised world”.2 Nevertheless, coffee was not always a priority in society. Religion played a significant role in increasing awareness and therefore consumption of the bitter drink. Specifically, the practices of Islam and Christianity throughout history
contributed to the increased worldwide consumption of coffee that is found today. Coffee’s unknown origin quickly led to an early rise in its consumption. Ethiopians first discovered coffee beans between the ninth and eleventh century. Soon after, coffee trade increased on the Arabian Peninsula.3 In a journal published by the University of Minnesota Press, Steven Topik discusses the role of Sufi Islam4 in the early Arabian coffee trade. Scholars believe Sufis were the first to utilize coffee in religious rituals. They hoped it would allow them to “transcend the material world and find peace” (Topik, 87) as its caffeine content kept them awake for long periods of time and disturbed their senses. Their increased use spread coffee consumption from Ethiopia to Yemen and north to Saudi Arabia. Because the drink was popular among Muslims, the religious group Christians were in conflict with, Ethiopian Christians prohibited coffee “on religious grounds” (Topik, 86). However, the Christian ‘coffee ban’ did not hinder its growing influence. After initial trade, coffee remained well-liked in the Middle East.
Uzi Baram’s article, “Clay Tobacco Pipes and Coffee Cup Sherds in the Archaeology of the Middle East:Artifacts of Social Tensions from the Ottoman Past” discusses coffee’s role as a cultural symbol. It represented “a sign of hospitality” (Baram, 139) at the time. David Grigg continues to explain the cultural symbolism. In Grigg’s article “The Worlds of Tea and Coffee: Patterns of Consumption” he declares that coffeehouses quickly surfaced throughout Middle Eastern countries, the first appearing in 1470 in the Islamic holy city of Mecca. As the Ottoman Empire spread at the end of the 15th century so did mass coffee consumption. The Ottomans accepted coffee as a beverage, and it quickly became significant to their culture. Grigg claims the drink became associated with Islam. Noticing coffee’s popularity among Muslims, the Roman Catholic Church labeled coffee as the “bitter invention of Satan” (“The History of Coffee”), urging the Pope to ban it. Pope Clement VII tasted the drink and legalized it for Christians.5 Even so, outsiders began to see coffee as a Muslim ritual rather than a drink to benefit
all. With the rise of coffeehouses came dispute. People met in coffeehouses to discuss current events. The meetings made drinkers feel educated and intellectual, increasing their use of coffeehouses and their coffee consumption. Coffeehouses “became centers of political intrigue and fleshly vice” (Topik, 90) as people finally felt free to debate and support their opinions. Because of the growth of political discourse, the elite class feared losing their power. Lower classes could easily express their frustration of the rich in these coffeehouse conversations. Uzi Baram’s article in International Journal of Historical Archaeology further explores how coffeehouses threatened the social hierarchy of the 15th and 16th centuries. The people began “renegotiating the social hierarchy and...challenging the social order” (Baram, 141). Murad IV, Sultan of Ottoman Empire, noticed the cultural change and banned coffee in 1663. The ban was short-lived, though, as most Muslims drank coffee daily. The cross-continental coffee trade grew with the Dutch East India Company and the England East Indian Company, which imported coffee to Western Europe.6 As European influence spread with colonialism, access to coffee increased beyond Western Europe. Matthew Lange’s article “Colonialism and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Spanish and British Colonies” considers religion’s role in colonialism and the coffee trade. The goals of colonialism involved profit, power and expanding Christian religion. The American Journal of Sociology article claims international trade, such as the coffee trade, helped fund colonialism for Spain and Britain. The expansion increased knowledge and interest in coffee, bringing it to the New World. As the Spanish sought agricultural lands, they discovered that Latin America’s climate was similar to Africa’s climate. Soon, the first coffee crops of the New World appeared and flourished. In 18th century Europe, people continued to challenge social order. As coffeehouses spread across the continent, people were sober enough to hold intellectual discussions on religion and politics. Enlightenment ideas grew as “urban coffee-drinking intellectuals” (Topik, 83) desired a change in the social system. The History Channel also explores coffee’s role in the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. Enlightenment thinkers began to question authority over cups of coffee. Coffeehouses became “new venues for ideas to circulate” (“Enlightenment”) in Europe. People “embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change” (“Enlightenment”), spurring anti-religious thought. History.com explains that Christians battled their faith with rational thought during this time period. Although Christian and Muslim groups disagree often, both recognized it as an alternative option to alcohol, especially as it encouraged sober Enlightenment thought. Coffee acted as the “Great Soberer”. 7 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, coffee derives from the Arabic word qahwah, originally meaning ‘wine’ or ‘a kind of wine’. Although religious canons of both Christianity and Islam prohibit wine8, coffee was more respectable in religious tradition. The religions forbid alcohol as it affects the mind; it is sinful. But coffee “stimulated the body while clearing the mind” (Topik, 93). The religions encouraged, and still encourage, coffee consumption in order to decrease the consumption of alcohol. Muslims also appreciated the caffeine content of coffee. The drink allowed people to stay awake longer during the month of Ramadan. One of the Five Pillars of Islam involves spiritually fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan. Following fasting, Muslims drank coffee to stay awake and eat after dusk. Caffeine also allowed Muslims to stay awake during long religious services. Though mosque attendance varies throughout the week, Pew Research Center explains that generally Muslims visit their local mosques for communal worship on Fridays, observing jumuah, or Friday prayer. The Five Pillars includes praying five times a day, so religious services such as jumuah are important in the religious tradition.9 In addition to Ramadan and the significance of religious services, Islamic tradition asks that each capable member of the faith make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the city mentioned previously for having the first coffeehouse. As Muslims traveled to Mecca and discovered coffee, they brought their knowledge home. They increased the awareness of coffee throughout the civilized world among fellow Muslims and their neighbors.10 Although Christians in the past opposed coffee based on their perceptions of Muslims, today’s Christian churches encourage coffeehouses for their sociality.
ChristianityToday.com, a website to encourage Christian thought and provide commentary for cultural and theological issues, offers the perspective of Christian believers today. In his online article, “Coffee: The Beverage That Fuels the Church”, Martyn Wendell Jones argues for the significance of coffee in modern Christian churches. A large aspect of the Christian faith involves community. Consistent community allows Christians to grow closer to God.11 Jones describes coffee as “a comfort blanket” for the congregation. It provides a way for the Christian church community to interact with one another instead of creating uncomfortable situations. The author asserts that churches recently increased the amount of coffee sold
congregants. Today, some Christian churches also sell coffee from Central America as charity, to support the less-developed countries. Amy Reynolds explains the impact of the coffee fair-trade network on Christian evangelism in her article “Networks, Ethics, and Economic Values: Faith-Based Business and the Coffee Trade in Central America”. Fair-trade limits the exploitation of Latin American coffee farmers by creating a more direct relationship between the farmers and consumers. Christian communities hold companies in the fair-trade network accountable with their own ethic code. The “religious networks facilitate connections between sellers and buyers” (Reynolds, 116). The Latin American Research Review article further explores the connection between the Latin American coffee economy and Christian religion. Christian groups take mission trips to Latin American countries, such as Nicaragua and Honduras, encountering first-hand the daily life of the underdeveloped countries. Christian missionaries seek to better life in the countries. Through relationships with coffee farmers, they can “introduce values—Christian values, Christian ethics, transparency, and stewardship” (Reynolds, 123). Coffee’s rise to fame did not take place overnight. Rather, it expanded gradually throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, spreading into the conquering nations’ colonies, and reaching the levels of modern-day consumption. National Coffee Association USA claims that “after crude oil, coffee is the most sought commodity in the world” (“The History of Coffee”) today. Modern consumption of coffee is not directly tied to Islam like it was before the 16th century. There are few religious connotations between modern coffee consumption and religion. Nevertheless, coffee’s influence in today’s society would not be as strong as it is without the development of Christianity and Islam. Their early expansion also expanded people’s awareness of coffee beans and their bitter aroma.