Religion

Key Issues 1. Where are religions distributed? 2. Why do religions have different

distributions? 3. Why do religions organize space in

distinctive patterns?4. Why do territorial conflicts arise among

religious groups?

• “There has been more evil done in the name of god then ever good”- Coach Mike Blackman; Baptist Preacher

The Roots of ReligionAnimism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a Shaman.

• Such beliefs are common among hunter-gatherers. These were the first people

• 10% of Africans follow such traditional ethnic religions.

• These beliefs are losing ground to Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.

Nigerian Shaman

Key Issue 1: Where are religions distributed?

• There are 2 types of religions: – Universalizing- religions that attempt to

be global and appeal to all people.• The 3 main universalizing religions are:

– CHRISTIANITY- BUDDHISM-ISLAM • The other two main universalizing religions

other than the above three are:– Sikhism 24 million followers, 21 of which are

clustered in the Punjab region of India.– Bahá’í 7 million followers dispersed across the

globe.

• CHRISTIANITY- 2 billion followers in N. and S. America, Europe, Australia, and some Asian and African countries.

• 50% Roman Catholic, • 25% Protestant, • 10% Eastern Orthodox• 15% miscellaneous.

– About 90% of the Western Hemisphere is Christian.

– 95% Roman Catholic in Latin American – 50% Protestant in the U.S.

Christianity• 2 billion adherents make it most practiced in the world.

• Originated in Bethlehem (8-4 BC) and Jerusalem (AD 30) with Jesus Christ.

• Spread by missionaries and the Roman Empire (Constantine A.D. 313).

(Apostle Paul)

Christianity in the U.S.

• ISLAM- 1.3 billion followers in Middle East, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. – Core of beliefs is based on the 5 pillars of

faith:• There is no god worthy of worship other than the

one God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.• A Muslim must pray 5 times daily facing the city of

Mecca.• A Muslim gives generously to charity, as an act of

purification and growth.• A Muslim fasts during the month of Ramadan, as an

act of self-purification.• If physically and financially able, a Muslim makes a

pilgrimage to Mecca.– The two main branches of Islam are Sunni

(83%) and Shiite (16%).

Islam• 1 billion + adherents

• Originated in Saudi Arabia (Mecca and Medina) around AD 600.

• Spread originally by Muslim armies to N. Africa, and the Near East.

• Sunni (83%) - throughout the Muslim world.

• Shiite - Iran (40%), Pakistan (15%), Iraq (10%)

Islamic Calender• Begins in AD 622 when

Muhammad was commanded to Mecca from Medina (Hijra).

• Lunar calendar makes Ramadan move through the seasons (30 year cycle - 19 years with 354 days and 11 with 355).

Reading the Koran, Brunei

Prophet: MuhammadHoly Text: Koran

Hajj

The 14x46 displays are located on I-26 at mile-marker 125 and US 301N in Orangeburg

• BUDDHISM- 365 million followers in China and S.E. Asia mainly. – Based on the 4 Noble Truths:

• All living beings must endure suffering.• Suffering, which is caused by a desire to live, leads to

reincarnation.• The goal of all existence is to escape from suffering

and the endless cycle of reincarnation into Nirvana (a state of complete redemption), which is achieved through mental and moral self-purification.

• Nirvana is attained through an Eightfold Path that stresses rightness of belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and meditation.

– The branches of Buddhism are Mahayana (56%), Theravada (38%), and Tantrayana (6%).

• 300 million + adherents primarily in China and S.E. Asia

• Originated near modern Nepal around 530 BC by prince Siddhartha Guatama.

• Cool story on how this happens

• Spread originally in India and Sri Lanka by Magadhan Empire (250 BC).

• Widely accepted because of the Caste System practiced in India

• Indian traders brought it to China in 1st century AD.

• By 6th century it had lost its hold on India, but was now in Korea and Japan.

Buddhism

Theravada - the older, more severe form which requires the renouncing of all worldly goods and desires.

Buddha is a teacher

Mahayana - focuses on Buddha’s teachings and compassion.

Buddha is a god

Karma - your past bad or good actions determine your progress toward Nirvana through reincarnation. You are your own God.

• The second type religion – Ethnic- religion that primarily appeals

to one group of people living in one place. More closely tied to the physical geography of a particular region, especially with agriculture.

Animism

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~ Chief Seattle

Bear Dance

• ANIMISM- traditional African religions that focus on the animate qualities of normally considered inanimate objects, like stones, water, etc.

• Animism is a sort of all-encompassing term rather than a specific religion

• 900 million + adherents, primarily in India (4th largest)

• Hinduism is an ancient term for the complex and diverse set of religious beliefs practiced around the Indus River.

Hinduism• HINDU- the world’s 3rd largest religion with 820 million adherents. 97% live in India

• The four sacred texts are ancient hymns called the Vedas, but few Hindus historically could read.

• Coastlines and river banks most sacred sites.

• Many, many festivals, often surrounding harvest or spring or the birth of Gods.

Ganges River, Varanasi, India

The first principle of Indian thought, therefore, is that the ultimate reality is beyond description. It is something that can be experienced only by bringing the mind to a stop; and once experienced, it cannot be described to anyone in terms of the forms of this world. - Joseph Campbell

Brahman In the Hindu religion, Brahman is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, and being.

Another important concept is that Hinduism believes in the omnipresence of the Supreme God in every individual. There is no "fall." Man is not cut off from the divine. He requires only to bring the spontaneous activity of his mind to a state of stillness and he will experience that divine principle within him.  - Joseph Campbell

• Brahman is the divine creator but is manifested in literally hundreds of gods, of which Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu are most common.

The Purusharthas or The Four Aims of Human Life:

1. Dharma (righteousness)

2. Artha (wealth)

3. Kama (desire)

4. Moksha (salvation or liberation) – release from the endless cycles.

Hindu Beliefs and PracticeReincarnation – the soul is immortal but the body endlessly cycles to higher or lower levels of existence.

Yoga – the practices or tools used to break from habits of past lives. Includes various meditations and physical practices.

Brahma (The Creator) - depicted with four

faces each continually reciting one of the Vedas. The force of creation and birth.

Shiva (The Destroyer)

- Shakti or power; the dissolving force in life; centrifugal force;

entropy.

Vishnu (The Preserver)

- peace; balance; Sustainer of life.

The Trinity of Brahman

A hint of monotheism-

How does Christianity stack up?

Judaism• JUDAISM- 6 million followers in

U.S., 4 million in Israel, 2 million in Russia, 2 million elsewhere. First religion to support monotheism- the belief in only 1 god, as opposed to polytheism- the belief in many gods.

• 14 million adherents

• Monotheistic

• Pentateuch– First five books of the Old

Testament• Sects

– Orthodox, Conservative, Reform• Israel

– Homeland for Jewish people– Created 1948– Conflict between Israel and

Palestine

The Geography of Religion

* Ethnic Religions versus Universalizing Religions (proselytic) * Polytheism versus Monotheism

Other Religions

• Eastern Religions– Confucianism (China)– Taoism (China)– Shinto (Japan)

• CONFUCIANISM- mainly in China, stresses ethical lifestyles; More of a philosophy then a religion

• TAOISM- mainly in China also, followers seek the dao (tao) meaning the way or path.

• SHINTO- mainly in Japan, before WWII was the state religion and emperor was regarded as divine.

14th Century Chinese painting depicting Lao-tze and Confucius protecting Sakayumi, the future Buddha.

• Branch- a large fundamental division within a religion.

• Denomination- a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.

• Sect- a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination.

• Pilgrimage- a sacred religious journey.

How do Universalizing and Ethnic Religions

Differ?Universalizing

• Appeal to people everywhere

• Individual founder (prophet)

• Message diffused widely (missionaries)

• Followers distributed widely.

• Holidays based on events in founder’s life.

Ethnic• Has meaning in particular

place only.

• Unknown source.

• Content focused on place and landscape of origin.

• Followers highly clustered.

• Holidays based on local climate and agricultural practice.

• Which type religion has more bearing on the global landscape?

• How does ethnic religions try and hold their identity

• Give three examples of positive influences and three negative

• How is this either unsuccessful or successful in today’s culture

Key Issue 2: Why do religions have different distributions?

• As a general rule, universalizing religions have origins based on a specific individual’s life in the past, ethnic religions typically have either no origin or an unclear one at best.

• Some religious origins:– Christianity- based on the life of Jesus– Islam-trace lineage back through Abraham’s other son

Ishmael; based on the life of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam.

– Buddhism- based on the life of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became Buddha (the enlightened one)

– Sikhism- founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago. • Hindu- did not originate with a specific founder.

Beginnings of Hindu date back to before recorded history. It is the oldest living religion

• Missionaries- individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through relocation diffusion.

• Pagan- followers of polytheistic religions in ancient times.

• Ghetto- city slum designated for Jew habitation.

• Cosmogony- creation story.• Solstice- day when sun is at highest or

lowest point in the sky.

• Diffusion of Religions– Christianity spread mainly through the work of missionaries,

and also by some conquest and colonization.– Islam spread mainly through conquest.– Buddhism spread mainly through missionaries and trade

merchants.• Buddhism and Islam are the universalizing religions that

place the most emphasis on identifying shrines/holy places. – In universalizing religions, the holy places are generally

locations at which memorable events happened in the founder’s life

• Mecca is in Islam because it is Muhammad’s birthplace. • Holy places in ethnic religions are often physical features

that are closely tied to the religion.– Hindu one of the most important rituals is the bathing of

oneself in the Ganges River.

Diffusion of Christianity

Diffusion of Islam

Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in America. Only a small part of this growth is from black Muslims and the Nation of Islam.

Diffusion of Buddhism

• Ethnic religions rarely diffuse, and when they do, it is to a small extent.

• universalizing religions diffuse mainly at the expense of the smaller ethnic religions, and often a semi-hybrid religion will result with concepts from both the ethnic religion and the universalizing religion intertwined. – Judaism is an exception in that it has diffused

widely throughout the years, mainly because its people have had to flee persecution from many areas in the world.

• Cosmogony and calendars also differ betwixt universalizing religions and ethnic religions. – Ethnic religious creation stories tend to deal

with the physical environment and natural events

– Ethnic religions typically organize their calendars around the seasons, other natural events, or the physical geography.

– universalizing religion stories often attempt to explain the mystical.

– Universalizing religions’ main purpose in calendars is to commemorate events in the founder’s life, thus the seasons or weather are not central to the structure.

Syncretism - the mixing of two or more religions that creates unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs.

Examples include syncretism of Christianity and indigenous beliefs in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

• Caribbean Voodoo (Haiti, Louisiana)

• Christianity in Indigenous Latin American

Voodoo Dolls, Haiti

Shrine, Bangalore, India

Syncretism - the mixing of two or more religions that creates unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs.

Key Issue 3: Why do religions organize space in distinctive

patterns?• The distribution of religious elements on the landscape

reflects the importance of religion in people’s values.– In Christianity, the landscape is dominated by a high density

of churches. They are critical because of the emphasis placed on regularly attending worship.

– In Islam, mosques are the places for general assembly. They are not viewed as a sanctified place but rather a convening point for the community. A mosque normally has a central courtyard surrounded by classrooms.

– In Hinduism, temples are built within the home or individual community. They have a central room to house a spirit, with rooms for rituals, and outer purifying pools. In both Buddhism and Shinto, pagodas are the common architecture. They are typically built to enshrine sacred religious artifacts.

– In Bahá’í, the church officials decided to open seven Houses of Worship on multiple continents to stress the universality of their religion.

Religion and Environment• Burial practices

– Judeo-Christians bury.

– Hindus and Buddhists cremate.

• Relationship with nature– Sacred Spaces– Sacred

architecture– Role of religion

in domination of earth?

• The disposing of the dead differs from religion to religion. Some prefer to bury while others choose to cremate.

• Religion often influences the place-names of certain regions. – Ex. The vast amount of places named for saints in

predominantly Roman Catholic Quebec. • Hierarchical religion- well-defined geographic structure

with a high degree of organization.Ex. The Roman Catholic Church

• Diocese- the basic geographic unit of the R.C.C.• Autonomous religions- self-sufficient religions with little

organization.Ex. Islam prefers to unify by faith rather than

specific boundaries.

• Most ethnic religions are autonomous. Protestant faiths vary.

Key Issue 4: Why do territorial conflicts arise among religious

groups? • RELIGION IS ARGUABLY THE MOST VOLITALE

OF ALL HUMAN RELATIONS AND THE SOURCE OF MOST VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

• Fundamentalism- the literal interpretation and strict intense adherence to one’s religious principles. – Fundamentalists try to return society to its religious

ways. The most obvious example is the Taliban in Afghanistan.

• Caste- the class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu was assigned according to religious law.

• Religion is nearly always suppressed in communist countries. – Leaders believe that religion has a tendency to upset

stability and therefore ban it altogether, though often they just concrete the people’s religious adherence instead of destroying it.

• Other times, when people of different religions live in close proximity to one another, engage in contact often, or share interests in a particular location, especially violent interaction will occur. – Ex. The Middle East. Jews, Christians, and Muslims

have fought for over 2,000 years to control the same small strip of land in the East Mediterranean.

– Historically the Crusades between Christians and Muslims played out as each fought to control the Holy Lands.

– Hostilities continue in the modern era over these same lands.

Social Impact of Religion• Gender

roles– Women’s

rights• Diet

– Vegetarians

– Pork, beef

– Alcohol• Ethics

and morals

• Schools and institutions

World Distribution of Hogs

Economic Impact• Banking and lending

- Biblical prohibition against usury (lending at interest). Still followed in Muslim world (only fees are charged).

• Protestantism and capitalism – Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic; argues that individualism of Protestantism leads to acquisitiveness.

• Catholic Church and capitalism – Pope John Paul II praised free markets but with the caution that they cannot meet all needs and salaries must be “just.”

• Confucianism versus individualism- Confucius elevated the status of noble bureaucrats and commitment to societal good. This allows Asian nations to attract top talent to government jobs. Also, diligence with regard to savings and spending may be a consequence of Confucian ideas.

• The controversy in Ireland occurred when predominantly Catholic South Ireland wished to secede from predominantly Protestant Great Britain. – However, the northernmost six counties of Ireland are

overwhelmingly Protestant and wished to remain part of the U.K.

– When the split occurred a small number of Roman Catholics in both N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a militant organization devoted to achieving Irish unity by whatever means necessary.

– A Protestant organization has formed in return.• Violence continues as extremists from both sides disrupt

the lives of peaceful civilians.• “Bloody Sunday” – U2

Secularization - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim no allegiance to any church.

Some of these people are atheists. Others simply do not practice. Still others call themselves spiritual, but not religious.

• Common in Europe and the cities of the U.S.

• Common in former Soviet Union and China.

Fundamentalism - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim there is only one way to interpret worship.

Fundamentalists generally envision a return to a more perfect religion and ethics they imagine existed in the past.

• Common in the U.S. and in some Islamic nations.

Religious ConflictThe Big Question: Can secular society exist alongside traditional and fundamentalist religious sects and states?• We are quick to notice fundamentalism abroad (i.e.

Salman Rushdie’s death sentence by Shia clerics) and not so quick to recognize it at home (abortion clinic bombings; Southern Baptist Convention’s calls for women to submit to their husbands’ authority).

• American evangelical Christianity and Islamic fundamentalism are the two most influential fundamentalist movements in the world.

• Fewer and fewer states are governed by an official church.

• Rubenstein, James- Cultural Landscape; An Introduction to Human Geography

• http://www.glendale.edu/geo/reed/cultural/cultural_lectures.htm

• http://www.quia.com/pages/mrsbellaphg.html

• Google