© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 6: Religion The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? In Geography, the focus is on WHERE and WHY (not theologians) Tension between globalization & local diversity: religion essential element of culture; some are designed for appeal to many while others are more localized; also travels (migrates) with people Universalizing religions –Seek to appeal to people globally – 58% of world (Christianity, Islam and Buddhism=3 biggest) Ethnic religions –Appeal to a smaller group of people living in one place- 26% of world (16%= no religion)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. World Distribution of Religions Figure 6-3

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Breakdown by Numbers: Christianity: 31% of world, especially in Europe and the Western Hemisphere Islam: 22% of world, especially in northern Africa and SW and SE Asia Hinduism: 13% of world, mostly India Buddhism: 6% of world, especially in East and SE Asia Other ethnic religions: 13%, especially in Africa and Asia Nonreligious or atheist: 16% of world Branch (Roman Catholic vs. Protestant); Denomination (Baptist vs. Methodist); Sect ( small!)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? Universalizing religions –Christianity (based on teachings of Bible, New Testament) The largest world religion (about 2 billion adherents) and most widespread distribution Three major branches –Roman Catholicism (51 percent) (L. & S. America & Southern/Eastern Europe –Protestant Christianity (24 percent) (N. Europe, Great Britain, and Southern U.S.) –Eastern Orthodox (11 percent) (Greece, Russia & countries bordering Russia) »Other, smaller branches of Christianity comprise 14 percent of all Christians

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Distribution of Christians in the United States Figure 6-2

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? Universalizing religions –Islam The second-largest world religion (about 1.3 billion adherents) –Significant clusters in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, & India) –½ live outside M.East Core of Islamic belief = the five pillars Two significant branches –Sunnis (83 percent) –Shias or Shiites (16 percent)- Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? Universalizing religions Others: Sikhism (India) & Baha’i (Africa & Asia) –Buddhism About 400 million adherents (difficult to quantify) –Significant clusters in China, Southeast Asia The Four Noble Truths Three branches –Mahayana (China, Japan, Korea)- 56% –Theravada (Southeast Asia) –Tantrayana (Tibet, Mongolia) ** HARD TO COUNT b/c practiced mostly in private AND can be a Buddhist PLUS another religion!

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? Ethnic religions –Hinduism The third-largest religion in the world (900 million adherents) 97 percent of Hindus are found in India Many paths to spirituality

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Where Are Religions Distributed? Ethnic religions –Other ethnic religions Confucianism (China) Daoism (China) Shinto (Japan) Judaism (today: the United States, Israel) –The first monotheistic religion Ethnic African religions –Animism

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Ethnic Religions Figure 6-4 Figure 6-5 BuddhismHinduism

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Religions of the United States

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? Origin of religions –Universalizing: precise origins, tied to a specific founder Christianity (2000 years old) –Founder: Jesus Islam (1,500 years old) –Prophet of Islam: Muhammad Buddhism (2,500 years old) –Founder: Siddhartha Gautama

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? Origin of religions –Ethnic: unclear or unknown origins, not tied to a specific founder Hinduism –No clear founder –Earliest use of term Hinduism = sixth century B.C., to refer to people from India –Archaeological evidence dating from 2500 B.C.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? Diffusion of religions –Universalizing religions: –Primarily b/c of migration, missionaries, trade, wars & political leaders choosing Christianity (hearth=present-day Israel) –Diffuses via relocation and expansion diffusion (including heirarchical and contagious) Islam (hearth=present-day Saudi Arabia) –Diffuses to North Africa, South and Southeast Asia –-primarily relocation diffusion Buddhism (hearth=prsent-day Nepal & Northern India) –Slow diffusion from the core

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions Figure 6-6

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? Limited diffusion of ethnic religions –Universal religions usually compete with ethnic religions –Examples of mingling: Christianity with African ethnic religions Buddhism with Confucianism in China and with Shinto in Japan –Ethnic religions can diffuse with migration (Mauritius example) –Judaism = exception (b/c of massive migration- relocation diffusion)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? Holy places –In universalizing religions Holy places=cities or associated w/founder’s life Buddhist shrines; Holy places in Islam = associated with the life of Muhammad (Mecca) –In ethnic religions Holy places= physical environment (mts, rivers) Holy places in Hinduism = closely tied to the physical geography of India (Ganges River) –BOTH make pilgrimages to these sites! –Cosmogony in ethnic religions (origins of universe) = give nature a larger role

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions Figure 6-17

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions? The calendar –In ethnic religions = celebration of the seasons (more tied w/nature) The Jewish calendar (based on events in agricultural calendar in Israel) The solstice (Pagan religions) –In universalizing religions = celebration of the founder’s life (dates coincide w/important events in his life) Experience of holidays vary based on WHERE live (northern vs. southern hemisphere)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Organize Space in Distinctive Ways? Places of worship –Many types: Christian churches, Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, Buddhist and Shinto pagodas, Bahá’í houses of worship –Availability of building materials in local environment effects structures Figure 6-19

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Organize Space in Distinctive Ways? Sacred space –Disposing of the dead Burial (Christians, Muslims, and Jews) Different attitudes about how to dispose of bodies, and sacredness of space (Christian vs. Muslim) Other ways of disposing of the dead: Cremation (being encouraged in China because running out of land for burial grounds!) ; oldest form! Hindus: Cremation Tibetan Buddhists: Practice exposure –Utopian Religious settlements: Ex: Salt Lake City (Mormons) –Religious place names: Roman Catholics (saints)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Religious Toponyms Figure 6-21

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Religions Organize Space in Distinctive Ways? Administration of space: Universalizing religions (NOT ethnic religions!) –Hierarchical religions (well-defined geographic structure & organizes territory into local admin. Units). Latter-day Saints/Mormons (divides into wards) Roman Catholics! (provinces, archbishops, dioceses, bishops) –Locally autonomous religions (self-sufficient religions w/loose cooperation & shared ideas) Islam (keeps people organized through govt., pilgrimages, & strict rules) Protestant denominations (varies by denomination)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Roman Catholic Hierarchy in the United States Figure 6-22

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise? Religions versus government policies –Religion versus social change (LDCs import values of MDCs by participating in the global economy) Taliban vs. Western values (Strict interpretation of Islam; brutal punishments; destroyed Buddhist statues) Hinduism and social inequality –Caste system (created hereditary CLASS for each person; originally 4 castes plus “untouchables”; more sub-castes now and less –Religion versus Communism (against religion!) Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam (“Stan” countries) in the former Soviet Union Buddhism in Southeast Asia (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise? Religion versus religion –Fundamentalism (strict interpretation of a religion; a way to fight globalization and maintain cultural identity!) –Religious wars in Ireland (due to religious boundary) Ireland: 87% Roman Catholic; N. Ireland: 40% R. Catholic Discrimination and violence against Catholics in N. Ireland Extremists keep the conflict going! IRA (Catholics) & UDF (Prot.) –Religious wars in the Middle East (2000 years!) Jerusalem & Palestine: Holy sites of Islam, Judaism, & Christianity Crusades (Christians in Muslim lands; tried to recapture Jerusalem in s) Jews and Muslims in Palestine (partition debate today)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Distribution of Protestants in Ireland Figure 6-23

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Two Perspectives on Palestine/Israel Figure 6-26

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Israel’s “Separation Fence” Figure 6-27

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The End. Up next: Ethnicity