Mainstream Christian thinking about animals is rooted in the Book of Genesis,where God is said to have granted man dominion over all the animals. St. Thomas Aquinas interpreted that verse as implying that it simply does not matter how man behaves toward animals; the only reason why we should not inflict whatever cruelties we like on animals is that doing so may lead to cruelty to humans.
主流基督教的动物思想植根于《创世纪》。在《创世纪》中，据说教皇授予人们主宰一切动物的地位。圣托马斯·阿奎那对这段经文的解释是，它表明人不论如何对待动物都没有关系；我们之所以不应该随心所欲虐待动物，唯一原因是这样做可能导致虐待人类。