Unit 3b: Religions and Power Subjugation Katie Marx, Emma Lomax, Natalie Claypool, Rachel O’Bryan, and Connie Douglas

Definitions: Religion: A system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities Secularism: Indifference to or rejection of a formal religion Monotheistic: Believe in a single deity Polytheistic: Believing in more than one deity Animistic: the belief that inanimate objects posses spirits and should be revered Universalizing Religion: Actively seek converts; view themselves as belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal

Definitions cont. Ethnic Religion: Members are born into the faith and converts are NOT actively sought Interfaith Boundaries: the boundaries between the world’s major faiths Intrafaith Boundaries:: the boundaries between a single major faith

Judaism Hearth: Middle East/ Israel Founder: Abraham Ethnic Religion- born into the faith and not actively seeking new converts (very difficult to convert to Judaism) Zionism- belief that Jews should not be absorbed into other societies Beliefs-  Messiah hasn’t came yet  God can not be subdivided into different persons  Moses was the greatest prophet Holy Text- Tanakh  Three parts of Text-  Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim

Hinduism Hearth: Indus River Valley No single founder Major tenet: Karma Three Sects of Hinduism: Vaishnavism, Saivas, Saktism God that created all: Brahma Believe in reincarnation; you get demoted or promoted based on how you act Holy Text: Vedas  Worship is more individualized than something done as a community Dharma: duty, virtue, and morality

Confucianism Founder: Confucius Location of Hearth: China Ethnic Religion * Ren: Empathy for human life Religion focuses on Respect for parents, elders, and ancestors * Major Beliefs:  Hierarchy  Ruler to Subject  Father to Son  Husband to Wife  Elder to Younger  Friend to Friend

Islam Universalizing religion (2nd largest) * Beliefs:  Qur’an is the word of Allah  Center on the appreciation and preservation of life * 5 Pillars of Faith 1)Pray 5 times a day 2)There is no God but Allah 3)Fast on Holy days 4)Give money to charity 5)Pilgrimage to Mecca Founder: Muhammad Location of Hearth: Mecca

Buddhism Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) Major Beliefs: The Four Noble Truths Karma Wheel of Life 5 Realms of the Universe Enlightenment and Nirvana Location of Hearth: India Universal Religion

Daoism Ethnic Religion  to join, you must go directly to ethnic leaders in China Location of Hearth: China Founder: Lao-Tsu Polytheistic Diffused along the silk road in China Major Beliefs: Living in harmony with nature (vegetarians) Yin and Yang The Jade Emperor, Yu-huang Daoist Body (body is a mini universe) Following the Dao (most important text - Laozi’s writings) Feng Shui Qi (Ch’i) worship people, animals, and dragons

How is religion seen in the cultural landscape? Sacred sites ●places or spaces people infuse with religious meaning ●pilgrimage: adherents voluntarily travel to a religious site to pay respects or participate in a ritual at the site wailing wall in Jerusalem (Judaism) Roman Catholic Cathedral in Europe (0ften located in urban centers)

Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism Religious fundamentalism: religious movements whose objectives are to return to the foundations of faith and to influence state policy (passing laws based on religious beliefs) Religious Extremism: religious fundamentalism carried to the point of violence (terrorist attacks)

Power Subjugation ●Power Relationships are assumptions and structures about who is in control and who has power over others ●they affect affect identities directly ●Power relations affect the cultural landscape by determining what is seen and what it not o Racial Classification is an example of this and was used to JUSTIFY subjugation  In the 19 th century, Western European nations colonized and attempted to justify subjugation of the native people  Racial categories were imposed on people through: ●residential segregation ●racialized divisions of labor ●racial categories defined by government

Power Subjugation ●The Power Relationships do more than shape the cultural landscape o can also subjugate entire groups of people, enabling society to enforce ideas about the ways people should behave or where people should be welcomed or turned away—thus altering the distribution of peoples ●Governments create policies to limit access of things to certain people o Example: The Jim Crow Laws in the U.S. used to separate “black” spaces from “white” spaces ●The statistics governments collect and report reflect the power relationships involved in defining what (and who) is valued and what (who) is not. ●some people blame the government for under- counting minorities

Power Subjugation ●Even without Government support, people create places where they limit the access of other peoples o Example : In major cities in the United States, local governments do not create or enforce laws that define certain spaces or belong to members of a certain gang, but the people themselves create spaces through graffiti, and building colors etc. o Example : Belfast, Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants defined certain neighborhoods and excluded the “other” by painting murals, hanging bunting, and painting curbs

Sources ●Fouberg, Erin H. ( ). Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture, 10th Edition (Page ). Wiley Higher Ed. Kindle Edition. ●Malik, Kenan. Confucius. Digital image. Pandeamonium. 27 Mar Web. ●N.d. Web. 8 May