Religious views on smoking vary widely. Indigenous peoples of the Americas have traditionally used tobacco for religious purposes, while Abrahamic and other religions have only been introduced to the practice in recent times due to the European colonization of the Americas in the 16th century.
Abrahamic religions
With the exception of a few Christian denominations, the Abrahamic religions originated before tobacco smoking was introduced to the Old World from the New World. Therefore, these religions do not address it in their foundational teachings; however, modern practitioners have offered interpretations of their faith with regard to smoking.
Christianity
In the 19th century, smoking was considered as inappropriate by certain Christians. In the autumn of 1874 George Frederick Pentecost got into the so-called Daily Telegraph scandal: a smoking controversy, over which his counterpart Charles Spurgeon, known as the 'prince of preachers', was exploited by the tobacco industry. Tobacco was listed, along with drunkenness, gambling, cards, dancing and theatre-going, in J.M. Judy's Questionable Amusements and Worthy Substitutes, a book featuring anti-smoking dialogue which was published in 1904 by the Western Methodist Book of Concern. However, Johann Sebastian Bach was known to enjoy smoking a pipe, and wrote poetry on how doing so enhanced his relationship with God.
Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church does not condemn smoking per se, but considers excessive smoking to be sinful, as described in the Catechism (CCC 2290):
Orthodoxy
Though there is no official canonical prohibition regarding the use of tobacco, the more traditional among the Eastern Orthodox Churches forbid their clergy or monastics to smoke, and the laity are strongly encouraged to give up this habit, if they are subject to it. One who smokes is considered to be polluting the "Temple of the Holy Spirit" (i.e., the body), which has been sanctified by the reception of the Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments). In Orthodox cultures, various derogatory terms have developed to describe smoking, such as "incense of Satan". Father Alexander Lebedeff described the Orthodox approach as follows:
Other churches
The view of the body being the "temple of the Holy Spirit" is also common in Protestant circles, and is quoted as a basis against not only tobacco use, but recreational drugs, eating disorders, sexual immorality, and other vices which can be harmful to the body. The Bible reference is I Corinthians 6:7-20.
Methodist churches recommend abstinence from the use of tobacco, reflecting their support of the temperance movement.
Jehovah's Witnesses have not permitted any active members to smoke since 1973.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church also recommends that its members abstain from tobacco use. It has called for governments to enact policies that include "a uniform ban on all tobacco advertising, stricter laws prohibiting smoking in non-residential public places, more aggressive and systematic public education, and substantially higher taxes on cigarettes." North American Adventist health study recruitments from 2001-2007 found that 98.9% of Adventists were non-smokers.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the use of tobacco is against the Word of Wisdom (the church's Health Code which is necessary for baptism and church participation, for example, entry into the church's temples, service in full-time missionary work, and attendance at church schools. However, violation of the Word of Wisdom is not normally grounds for withdrawal of membership or other disciplinary action.
Islam
Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur was one of the first authorities to take action on smoking in 1602, towards the end of his reign. The ruler of the Saadi dynasty used the religious tool of fatwas (Islamic legal pronouncements) to discourage the use of tobacco. A couple of years later, his ally, the Christian ruler James I would publish his treatise, Counterblaste to Tobacco.
The holy book of Islam, the Qur'ān, does not specifically prohibit or denounce smoking, but gives behavioral guidance: "Don't throw yourself into danger by your own hands ..." (el-Bakara: Quran 2:195) and, in recent years, tobacco fatwas have been issued due to health concerns. The prominent scholar Yusuf al Qaradawi argues that smoking is no longer an issue of dispute among Islamic scholars due to the knowledge of health risks.