Religion (Christianity)

Christianity largest world religion Three major branches about 2 billion adherents Many adherents in Europe, the Americas Three major branches Roman Catholicism (51% of all Christians) Protestant Christianity (24%) “denominations” include Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Episcopal etc. Eastern Orthodox (11%) Other (14%) Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopians, Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Jehovah’s Witnesses

Christian Holy Places Relate to life of Christ = universalizing Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre Bethlehem (birth) Nazareth (childhood) Later sites associated with saints and “miracles” Examples Lourdes, France Fatima, Portugal

Diffusion of Christianity To Europe Roman Empire follows Jewish diaspora pattern RELOCATION “pagans” convert CONTAGIOUS HIERARCHICAL missionaries conversion of authorities then followed by acceptance of the people

Islam in Europe (Ottoman Empire)

Christianity in Europe South/Romance = Catholic Italy, Spain, Portugal, France North/Germanic = Protestant UK = Anglican = Protestant political not doctrinal Scandinavia Sweden, Norway, Denmark other Nordic Iceland Uralic Finland Estonia Does Ireland fit this pattern? Ireland = Catholic Why? ethnic identity/nationalism Christianity in Europe

Christianity in Europe East/Slavic = Orthodox Missionaries from the Eastern tradition Cyrillic alphabet Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece Exceptions = Poland Catholic, why? between Protestant Germany and Orthodox Russia ethnic identity/Nationalism

Cyrillic Alphabet (Eastern Europe, Slavic, Eastern Orthodox)

Religion in the Balkans Islam = legacy of Ottomans Albania, Kosovo Ottoman Turk influence Former Yugoslavia SHATTERBELT “region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces” Leads to civil war in the 1990s Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia Eastern Orthodox Croatia, Slovenia Roman Catholic Bosnian identity is Muslim

Religion in Europe Multi-religious states Netherlands Germany Switzerland Latvia

European “belief in God”

Diffusion of Christianity Global Secondary hearths influence global distribution Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City Spanish, French colonies = Catholic Latin America Orthodox = Constantinople/Istanbul Moscow = “the Third Rome”?????? Eastern Europe/Russia had Orthodox missionaries Siberia Protestantism = Northern Europe (Germany) British/Dutch colonies = Protestant North America (we will handle tomorrow) Australia, New Zealand Africa is mixed-up based on colonial holdings (see later map)

World Distribution of Religions

Dark Red = Catholic Pink = Protestant Magenta = Eastern Orthodox