David Grumett Books on modern French Catholic theology Books on theology and food Articles Chapters Reviews Presentations Media and impact

David's new book Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet was published in paperback and hardback with Routledge in February 2010. It was the principal output of a research project 'Vegetarianism as Spiritual Choice in Historical and Contemporary Theology', funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the place of food in Christian tradition and offer practical insights into the relationships between food, theology and spirituality today. It has generated considerable public interest and David has appeared on BBC Radio 4 and BBC One television.

'A new generation of British theologians is taking the debate over diet to the highest levels of scholarly and moral reflection, and Grumett and Muers are leading the way. Rather than trying to score points or pick fights, they demonstrate how food lies at the intersection of the spiritual and the material, and they offer their readers the tools, including the historical context, to make eating one of the primary tasks of thinking. This is now the book to read in seminary and college courses in moral theology, or simply to deepen your own practice of thoughtful eating.'  Prof Stephen Webb, Wabash College

'In this outstanding book David Grumett and Rachel Muers offer us something quite original. Despite their own different moral positions on relevant issues, the authors have produced a seamless common text that is invariably informative about the complexities of Christian attitudes over the centuries, sometimes amusing but always challenging. Without doubt they have succeeded in putting food on the menu of important unresolved theological issues that merit further consideration.'  Prof David Brown FBA, University of St Andrews

'Theology on the Menu is a rich exploration of the diversity and complexity of Christian attitudes toward meat, fasting, and broader dietary issues. Drawing on an eclectic range of historical and scriptural sources, Grumett and Muers have used food as a fruitful entry point for the study of lived religion. Theologians, historians, and anyone interested in religious foodways will find their work valuable and thought-provoking.'  Prof Peter Harle, University of Minnesota

'In this sweeping study of the practice and interpretation of Christian dietary choice from antiquity to the contemporary period, Grumett and Muers illuminate the web of common impulses and deep ambiguities surrounding food abstinence, especially vegetarianism. The choice not to eat animal flesh, while associated in Christian tradition with sanctity, discipline, spiritual purity, and liturgical rhythms, also incites suspicion of heresy, pagan and Jewish sympathies, and non-communal elitism. The authors demonstrate through analysis of scripture, ritual, historical food practices and controversies, that the Christian menu signifies understandings of creation, animals and humans as created beings, sacrifice, and the place of the body in religious identity.'  Prof Teresa Shaw, Claremont Graduate University

David is Research Fellow in Theology in the University of Exeter, UK. He is Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Theology and a member of the Executive Committee of the British Teilhard Association and the American Academy of Religion.

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