Where are Religions Distributed?

For many people, religion is the most important cultural trait that defines who they are & how they understand the world around them Helps us understand many aspects of human culture (population, int’l policies etc.)

Religious affiliation is on the decline in some parts of the world’s core regions 14% of the world have “no religion” indifference or rejection of organized religious affiliations Not necessarily atheist (2-3%) Agnostic? Secular?

All share some set of teachings that imply a value system All include some notion of the sacred a person, set of texts, symbol etc. All include some ideas about the place of human beings in the universe Many also have a creation story to explain origins of humans & the universe

Source Areas (Hearth) Major contemporary religions originated in a relatively small area Judaism & Christianity -- Israel & Jordan Islam – Mecca, Saudi Arabia Hindu – Indus region of Pakistan Buddhism – northern India

Universalizing Appeal to people everywhere Individual founder (prophet) Message diffused widely (missionaries) Followers distributed widely. Holidays based on events in founder’s life. Has meaning in particular place only. Unknown source. Content focused on place and landscape of origin. Followers highly clustered. Holidays based on local climate and agricultural practice. Ethnic

Why have some religions spread so far & others have remained primarily local? Some religions seek to unite people from diverse backgrounds while others seek to ground people in local traditions & landscapes Religions that seek to unite = universalizing More bound to one place = local/ethnic religions

About 62% of world adheres to a universalizing religion 3 main ones; Christianity, Islam & Buddhism Branches of Universalizing Religions Three principal universalizing religions divided into branches, denominations, and sects. A branch is a large and fundamental division within a religion. A denomination is a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body. A sect is a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination

2 billion ppl & most widespread distribution *N.A., *S.A., Europe, Australia Three major branches include… 1. Roman Catholic (51 percent of the world’s Christians) 2. Protestant (24 percent of the world’s Christians) 3. Orthodox (11 percent of the world’s Christians) Distributions Roman Catholicism dominant branch in southwestern and eastern Europe. Protestantism dominant branch in northwestern Europe. Orthodoxy dominant branch in eastern and southeastern Europe.

Fig. 6-2: Protestant denominations, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy are dominant in different regions of Europe—a result of many historic interactions.

Branches of Christianity in the Western Hemisphere 93 percent of Christians in Latin America are Roman Catholic. 40 percent in North America Protestant churches have approximately 82 million members in the United States. Baptist church has largest number of adherents (37 million).

1.3 billion ppl & most prominent in Middle East Branches of Islam Two major branches include… 1. Sunni Largest branch in most Muslim countries in Southwest Asia and North Africa 83 percent of all Muslims 2. Shiite Greatly concentrated in the Middle Eastern countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Oman, and Bahrain 16 percent of all Muslims

Branches of Buddhism Three major branches include… 1. Mahayana 56 percent of Buddhists Located primarily in China, Japan, and Korea 2. Theravada 38 percent of Buddhists Located primarily in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand 3. Vajrayana 6 percent of Buddhists Located primarily in Tibet and Mongolia. Sikhism & Baha’i 25 million vs 8 million

About 24% of the world adheres to a local/ethnic religion Often remain within the culture where they originated. Much more clustered than universalizing religions

Hinduism largest # of followers with 860 million 3 rd largest religion & oldest religion 90% of Hindus are found in India Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Shintoism East Asia, co-existence vs. exclusive belief Blending or combining of several traditions is known as syncretism. Judaism 2/5 in USA (large cities such as NYC), 2/5 in Israel Christianity & Islam find their roots in Judaism Animism 100m Africans (12%) Inanimate objects & spirits declining

Evangelical – expand their membership by using missionaries to recruit new followers Monotheistic – Teach the primacy of a single God Polytheistic – Teaching that there are numerous Gods or spiritual powers