Religions Ch 6 AP Human Geography Religion Overview

Religions Ch. 6 – AP Human Geography

Religion Overview

Classifications of Religions • Monotheistic – belief in one deity • Polytheistic – belief in many deities • Animistic – objects (trees, mountains, rivers) have spirits • Atheistic – belief that there is no deity • Cultural Religions – limited to the national culture of a single region – Shinto, Daoism, etc. • Abrahamic Faiths – faiths with a historical association with Abraham, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Key Characteristics of Religion • Set of doctrines or beliefs relating to a god or gods • Structure or hierarchy of officials • Rituals for birth, death, reaching adulthood, marriage, prayer, routine services on a Fri, Sat, or Sun • Religions are often syncretic • Religions may also provide an explanation of the beginning of the world, or cosmogony

Impact of Religion • Can affect calendars, holidays, agriculture, toponyms, slogans on coins or flags, etc. • Potential positive impacts – education, medicine or health care, the arts, etc. • Potential negative impacts – blocked scientific study, oppression, supported imperialism, can keep women inferior

Universalizing Religions

Universalizing Religions • Religions that actively seek converts because members believe they offer belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal • Ex: Christianity • Global in nature

Universalizing Religions • Main religions include Christianity, Muslim, and Buddhism • Branches – a large and fundamental division within a religion • Denomination – a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single administrative body • Sect – can mean a small group that broke away from a bigger group or a religious denomination

Ethnic Religions

Ethnic Religions • Religions whose adherents are born into the faith and whose members do not actively seek converts • Ex: Hinduism • Local in nature

Ethnic Religions • Main: Hinduism – 900 million people • Others • Judaism • Chinese Traditional (Taoism, Confucianism) • Asian and African Primal Indigenous (Shamanism) • Juchte • Spiritism

Religious Hearths, Diffusion, and Distribution

Religions of the Semitic Hearth • Christianity and Judaism share similar hearths around Eastern Mediterranean and present-day Israel • Islam originated in present-day Saudi Arabia and spread through hierarchical and relocation diffusion

Where Religions are Distributed • Christianity • 2 billion adherents, more than any other religion • 90% of the people in N. America are Christians • 93% of Latin America is Catholic (29% in N. America) • Baptists are the largest protestant group in the US • Smaller branches of Christianity include: • Coptic Church of Egypt and the Ethiopian Church • Armenian Church • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Where Religions are Distributed • Christianity • Originated with teachings of Jesus and the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John • Catholicism is headed by the Pope • Eastern Orthodox split from Roman Catholics in 1054 • Protestantism came after the Reformation (first headed by Martin Luther and later others)

Where Religions are Distributed • Islam • 1. 3 billion people on Earth • Sunni – 83% of Muslims • Shiite is the other sect • 5% of Europe’s population are Muslims • 5 million Muslims in the US and Canada

Where Religions are Distributed • Islam • Origin begins similarly to Judeo-Christian traditions • Line follows Abraham’s other son • Muhammad was considered a prophet of God • Split between Shiites and Sunnis come from a disagreement over the line of succession in Islamic leadership

Where Religions are Distributed • Buddhism • 400 million adherents around the world • Branches include Mahayana, Theravada, and Tantrayana

Where Religions are Distributed • Buddhism • Began with Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BCE • Siddhartha became the “Buddha” and spent 45 years preaching • Sikhism • Founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago • Baha’i • Established in Iran in the 19 th century

Where Religions are Distributed • Hinduism • Third largest religion in world • India

Where Religions are Distributed • Hinduism • No known founder • Existed prior to recorded history • Earliest documents were written around 1500 BCE

Diffusion of Universalizing Religions • Christianity • Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries • Contagious Diffusion: Holy Roman Empire • Hierarchical Diffusion: Emperor Constantine • Expansion Diffusion: Europeans moving

Diffusion of Universalizing Religions • Islam • Expansion Diffusion: Conquering armies • Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries • Contagious Diffusion: Traders to Indonesia • Buddhism • Hierarchical Diffusion: Asoka • Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries • Contagious Diffusion: Traders to China, then to Korea, then to Japan

Diffusion of Ethnic Religions • Lack of Diffusion of Ethnic Religions • No missionaries to carry the message • However, some ethnic and universalizing religions have mingled over time • Judaism • Practiced in many places • Diaspora by the Romans • Migration to Europe • Ghettos • WWII

Religion, Society, and Globalization

Holy Places in Universalizing Religions • Buddhist Shrines • Lumbini in Southern Nepal, Bodh Gaya, Deer Park in Sarnath, Kusinagara, Sravasti, Samkasya, Rajagrha, Vaisali • Holy places in Islam • Mecca home to Al—Ka’ba, the Great Mosque • Medina home to Muhammad’s tomb • Holy places in Sikhism • Darbar Sahib – the Golden Temple

Holy Places in Ethnic Religions • Hinduism • Riverbanks and coastlines • The Ganges River

Sacred Space • Pilgrimages – journey to a sacred place or site • Community, Identity, and Scale – religion can provide both a basis for community and identity • Ex. Muslim community can be expressed at global or local scales • Religion and Settlement • Diasporas (especially among Jewish) • Migration to escape persecution (Mormons movement to Utah) • Places can become sacred through a process of sanctification

Religious Law and Social Space • Christianity • In US, typically a separation between church and state • Some states have Sunday-closing laws or blue laws (where sale of nonessential merchandise is prohibited) • Judaism • Sabbath (Friday to Saturday evening) • Jewish law, halacah, and Kosher dietary principles derived from the Torah • Islam • Sharia – Islamic law derived from the Qur’an

Religious Conflicts

Tradition and Change • Modernism refers to increased scientific thought, expansion of knowledge, and belief in progress • Secularization reduces the scope or influence of religion • This can cause a lot of conflicts!

Religion vs. Gov’t Policies • Fundamentalism is a literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion • Fundamentalism allows a group to maintain a cultural identity • Many religious groups oppose gov’t policies that would affect social change

Religion vs. Social Change • Taliban vs. Western Values • Taliban in Afghanistan spread very strict laws as they saw them in the Qur’an • Taliban banned all “Western activities” and destroyed Buddhist statues • Hinduism vs. Social Equality • Caste system conflicts with idea of social mobility

Religion vs. Communism • Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam vs. the Soviet Union (USSR) • Bolshevik Revolution and creation of the USSR brought conflict • End of USSR brought a resurgence in religion • Buddhism vs. Southeast Asian Countries • Destruction of shrines • Self-immolation in protest

Religion vs. Religion • Religious Wars in Ireland • N. Ireland • Protestants v. Roman Catholics • IRA • Ulster Defense Force

Religion vs. Religion • Religious Wars in the Middle East • Christians, Muslims, and Jews all value the “Holy Land” and Jerusalem • Crusades between Christians and Muslims • Arab army invaded Europe as far as France • Arabs controlled Spain until 1492 • Crusades to take Jerusalem started in 1099

Religion vs. Religion • Jews vs. Muslims in Palestine • Started in the 1930 s • Israel and Palestine has conflict over holy land