Distribution of Religions Universalizing and Ethnic Religions Universalizing
Distribution of Religions Universalizing and Ethnic Religions
Universalizing Religions • Attempts to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just to those of one culture or location • Three main universalizing religions – Christianity – Islam – Buddhism
Christianity • Branches of Christianity – Roman Catholic (52%), Protestant (21%), and Eastern Orthodox (10%) • In Europe, where are the majority of Roman Catholics located? Protestants? • Where are the Eastern Orthodox Christians located? • 90% of people in the Western Hemisphere are Christian – How are Catholics distributed in the Western Hemisphere? – How are Protestant churches distributed in the US?
Islam • 1. 3 billion Muslims in the world – SW Asia and North Africa – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India • Five Pillars of Islam • Branches of Islam: – Sunni 83% – Shiite/Shia 16% • Islam in Europe – France and Germany • Islam in North America – Nation of Islam
Buddhism • China and SE Asia • Four Noble Truths • Main Branches: Mahayana, Theravada, and Tantrayana • Buddhists can also belong to other religions – Especially in China and Japan
World Distribution of Religions Fig. 6 -1: World religions by continent.
World Population by Religion Fig. 6 -1 a: Over two-thirds of the world’s population belong to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism. Christianity is the single largest world religion.
Christian Branches in the U. S. Fig. 6 -3: Distribution of Christians in the U. S. Shaded areas are counties with more than 50% of church membership concentrated in Roman Catholicism or one of the Protestant denominations.
Christian Branches in Europe Fig. 6 -2: Protestant denominations, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy are dominant in different regions of Europe—a result of many historic interactions.
Ethnic Religions • • • Appeals primarily to one group of people living in one place 24% of people belong to ethnic religions Most ethnic religions are located in Asia and Africa Clustered distribution Major Ethnic Religions: – – – Hinduism Confucianism Daoism Shintoism Judaism animism
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