In some places in religions, animals are not treated as highly.

[Zanuku]

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

So that kind of says that humanity was created superior to animals and that animals can’t be equal with him.

That's not what I'm getting at though...
In religion, animals may not be considered as humans (Obviously the religious believers may think totally otherwise) BUT:

What if something superior to humans came along?
Something like...
Aliens.

Would they be considered the same as animals in the eyes of the holy books?...

 

[Willamena]

We'll rule it over them whether god tells us to or not.

That's just who we are.

 

[Draka]

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

So that kind of says that humanity was created superior to animals and that animals can’t be equal with him.

That's not what I'm getting at though...
In religion, animals may not be considered as humans (Obviously the religious believers may think totally otherwise) BUT:

What if something superior to humans came along?
Something like...
Aliens.

Would they be considered the same as animals in the eyes of the holy books?...

Would depend upon the holy books. There are many different ones in the world and not all have the same position when it comes to animals or other life. Not to mention that many religions have no "holy books" or "official scriptures" either. It would really vary religion to religion as to how the aliens fit into the grand scheme of existence in relation to us.

 

[Quintessence]

To be cynical, I imagine the painfully anthropocentric and specisist segments of humanity would continue to perpetuate it's delusions of superiority. They'd rationalize and find some feeble excuse as to why they're better than everything else in the universe. After all, we do it with non-human animals constantly.

And then there are the religions that aren't painfully anthropocentric or stick humans on an undeserved pedestal over everything else. They'd continue to NOT be painfully anthropocentric and recognize the strengths and weaknesses of all things; they'd continue to not think in hierarchical terms, but in ecological terms.

 

[Vinayaka]

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

So that kind of says that humanity was created superior to animals and that animals can’t be equal with him.

That's not what I'm getting at though...
In religion, animals may not be considered as humans (Obviously the religious believers may think totally otherwise) BUT:

What if something superior to humans came along?
Something like...
Aliens.

Would they be considered the same as animals in the eyes of the holy books?...

Why do you think the alien stories often talk about genital mutilation or holes punched you know where? They're just getting seeds and growing us. I hope its for slave labour, and not food, but hey, who knows if the resulting 'beings' would even be human any more raised in such a foreign environment.

 

[Me Myself]

superior is subjective. I ll void harming animals unless necessary for my survival and that of my species and if another spcies com along crying "superior" and doing things to my species I do not approve

I AM GOING JEDI ON THEIR ++++ !

:sw:

 

[quizas]

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

So that kind of says that humanity was created superior to animals and that animals can’t be equal with him.

That's not what I'm getting at though...
In religion, animals may not be considered as humans (Obviously the religious believers may think totally otherwise) BUT:

What if something superior to humans came along?
Something like...
Aliens.

Would they be considered the same as animals in the eyes of the holy books?...

In islam there are many hadith and versses argue us to care about animal
It is not allowed to torture animals

Not allowed to look door on animal without serving food for him

 

[Luke Morningstar]

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

If you want to follow a holy book to the letter instead of to the spirit, make sure you are looking for the most compassionate interpretations.

"rule" is commonly presented as "dominion." And dominion doesn't mean the unchallenged mastery over, but responsibility for the protection and care. Between the fall of Rome and the rise of reason, the moral authority of rulers was that they cared for their people. Being human with unchecked power, this rarely occurred, but it's important to keep in mind when looking at a passage like this.

Also, take this into consideration of Jesus's highest commandments: love God, and lover others as yourself. Now, if you were to be ruled, how would you want it to be? Torture? Food stock? Painful experimentation? Being treated like a worthless inferior?

If you answered no to those, then why would you want to do it to animals or other beings?

We have stories of aliens that do that, because we recognize that's the kind of aliens we would be if we discovered inferior aliens today. But, unlike animals, we have the power to change ourselves and spread that change to the entirety of humanity.

And that is why we have dominion, because we are capable of it.

Animals are treated as highly as you want to treat them. You can find excuses in holy texts to justify your decision, whatever you decide.

Edit: And some translations choose "responsibility" over dominion or rule/reign. I like that best of all. It fits the modern mind. Words change. Sometimes the best translation is not going back to the source.