Religion Overview

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

Where are Religions Distributed?

Classifying Religions Geographers distinguished two types of Religions Universalizing religions: attempt to be global by appealing to all people, not just those in a particular location 58% of the world’s population practices a universalizing religion Christianity- 2.1 billion adherents Islam- 1.5 billion adherents Buddhism- 376 million adherents

Classifying Religions Ethnic religions: appeal primarily to one group of people living in one place 26% of the worlds population practices a Ethnic religion Hinduism-900 million adherents (Chinese traditional )Confucianism/ Taoism-394 million Asian Primal-Indigenous- 300 million African Traditional- 100 million

Unaffiliated 16% of the Earth’s population is non religious, either rejecting religion or simply not taking part in it Atheists: reject the existence of God altogether Agnostics: believe that existence of God can’t be proven empirically

FIGURE 6-3 WORLD DISTRIBUTION OF RELIGIONS The pie charts show the share of major religions in each world region.

FIGURE 6-4 ADHERENTS OF WORLD RELIGIONS Nonreligious includes atheists and agnostics.

Universalizing religions tend to be internally divided into Branches, Denominations, and Sects

Branch: is a large and fundamental division within an religion Examples include: Christianity Catholic/ Protestants/ Orthodox Islam Sunni v. Shiite

Denomination: is a division of a branch that unites a number of congregations in a single legal and administrative body Protestant: Baptist, Episcopal, Congregational, Lutheran, Methodist Pentecostal… Baptist: Southern Baptist, National Baptist Convention, National Missionary Baptist...

Sect: is a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination

Distribution of Christians Branches: Roman Catholic (51 %), Protestant (24%), Orthodox (11%) Europe Southwest and east- Roman Catholicism Northwest- Protestantism East and southeast- Orthodox (Russia) Western Hemisphere Most people are Christian (nearly 90%) Latin America- Roman Catholic USA- Protestant The Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormons): regard their church as a branch of Christianity separate from other branches (3%), large percentage clustered in Utah.

Distribution of Islam Predominant of Middle East (from North African to Central Asia)- half the world’s Muslim live in four countries outside this area (Indonesia Pakistan, Bangladesh, India). Branches of Islam Sunni- 83% from Arabic “people following the example of Mohammed” Shiite-16% from Arabic “sectarian”, clustered in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq. In recent years Muslim population in Europe and North America has increased rapidly with migration from North Africa Muslims account for 5 percent of European population, France= 4 million, Germany= 3 million, Southeast Europe = 4million North America varies between 1- 5 million, 1/3 of Muslims can trace their ancestry to Pakistan and other South Asian countries.

At least 80 percent of the population adheres to Islam in Southwest Asia & North Africa and selected countries in Southeast Asia FIGURE 6-8 DISTRIBUTION OF MUSLIMS At least 80 percent of the population adheres to Islam in Southwest Asia & North Africa and selected countries in Southeast Asia.

Distribution of Buddhists Clustered primarily in East Asia and South Asia Branches Mahayana- 56% primarily in China, Japan and Korea Theravada – 38% especially in Cambodia, Laos Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Vajrayana- 6% primarily in Tibet and Mongolia Difficult to count adherents because few people participate in Buddhist institutions Functions performed primarily by a few monks Followers can be both Buddhist and in other Eastern religions- differs from Christianity and Islam that state can only follow one religion.

At least 40 percent of the population adheres to Buddhism in East Asia and Southeast Asia. At least 40 percent of the population adheres to Sikhism in northwestern India. FIGURE 6-9 DISTRIBUTION OF BUDDHISTS AND SIKHS At least 40 percent of the population adheres to Buddhism in East Asia and Southeast Asia. At least 40 percent of the population adheres to Sikhism in northwestern India.

Other universalizing Religions Sikhism- mostly clustered in Punjab region of India Founder: Guru Nanak from Pakistan (1469-1538) 5th Guru Arjan edited the Holy Granth or Enlightenment (1604) 10th Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) introduced baptism and turbans Baha’i-dispersed in many countries primarily Africa and Asia Grew out of the Babi faith founded in Iran (1844) with goal to overcome disunity of religions and establish a universal faith though abolition of racial, class and religion prejudices

Distribution of Ethnic Religions Tend to remain within the culture where they originated with clustered distribution Hinduism- 90% clustered in India Allegiance to a particular god Vaishnavism largest group worship Vishnu incarnated as Krishna as loving god Sivaism second largest group dedicated to Siva a protective and destructive god Chinese Traditional Confucianism- follow Confucius (551-479 BC) who emphasized ethical principles and orderly conduct Taoism- organized by Lao-Zi (604-531 BC) who emphasized the mystical and magical aspects of life

FIGURE 6-10 DISTRIBUTION OF HINDUS All but 10 percent of the world’s Hindus live in India.

Distributions of Ethnic Religions Primal Indigenous: Southeast Asia or South Pacific Islands God dwells in all things Shamanism-invisible forces or spirits affect the lives of the living Paganism- ancient Greek or Roman practices with multiple gods in human form Juche: North Korean religion organized Kim Il-sung (1948-1994) where people are self reliant. African Traditional: supreme god with hierarchy of divinities Animism-inanimate objects have spirits and life Spiritism: mostly in Brazil, belief that the human spirit continues to exist after death and can communicate with the living through medium or psychic

FIGURE 6-12 DISTRIBUTION OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS The percentage of animists in sub-Saharan Africa has declined from more than 70 percent in 1900 to around 12 percent in 2010. As recently as 1980, some 200 million Africans—half the population of the region at the time—were classified as animists. Followers of traditional African religions now constitute a clear majority of the population only in Botswana. The rapid decline in animists in Africa has been caused by increases in the numbers of Christians and Muslims. The percentage of animists in sub-Saharan Africa has declined from more than 70 percent in 1900 to around 12 percent in 2010. As recently as 1980, some 200 million Africans—half the population of the region at the time—were classified as animists. Followers of traditional African religions now constitute a clear majority of the population only in Botswana. The rapid decline in animists in Africa has been caused by increases in the numbers of Christians and Muslims.

Ethnic Religions Judaism: 2/5 in the United States and 2/5 in Israel First religion to adopt monotheism Christianity and Islam find their roots in Judaism 4,000 years ago Abraham the father of Judaism migrated from Iraq to Israel along the fertile crescent 2,000 years after Abraham- Jesus is born 500 years after Jesus- Muhammad is born Both trace ancestry to Abraham