1. Religion (Christianity)

2. 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), Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Jehovah’s Witnesses

3. 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

4. Diffusion of Christianity
To Europe (Roman Empire)
follows Jewish diaspora
RELOCATION
“Paul’s letters”
“pagan” = “country dweller”
HIERARCHICAL
“pagans” = convert
CONTAGIOUS
Outside of Europe
colonization
missionaries
conversion of authorities (kings, chiefs, tribal leaders)
followed by acceptance by common people
Diffusion of Christianity

8. Islam in Europe (Ottoman Empire)

9. 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
Latvia (split)
Uralic
Finland
Estonia
Does Ireland fit this pattern?
Ireland = Catholic
Why?
ethnic identity/nationalism
Christianity in Europe

10. Diffusion of Christianity
Global
Secondary hearths influence global distribution
not the place of origin but place from which there was significant change
Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City
Spanish, French colonies = Catholic
“Latin” America
Protestantism = Northern Europe (Germany/UK)
British/Dutch colonies = Protestant
North America (we will handle tomorrow)
Australia, New Zealand
Eastern Orthodox = Constantinople (now Istanbul)
Orthodox missionaries → Eastern Europe/Russia
St. Cyril and Methodius = Cyrillic Alphabet
Moscow = “the Third Rome” after fall of Constantinople to Muslims
relocation diffusion to Siberia

11. Christianity in Europe
East/Slavic = Orthodox
Exceptions = Poland
Catholic, why?
between Protestant Germany and Orthodox Russia
ethnic identity/Nationalism

12. Cyrillic Alphabet (Eastern Europe, Slavic, Eastern Orthodox)

13. Religion in the Balkans
Islam = legacy of Ottomans
Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia
Ottoman Turk influence
Former Yugoslavia/Balkans
SHATTERBELT
a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals
Leads to civil war in the 1990s
Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia
Pro-Russian
Eastern Orthodox
Croatia, Slovenia
Pro-Germany (WWII)
“Western” focus
Roman Catholic
Bosnian
identity is Muslim
Religion in the Balkans

14. Religion in Europe Multi-religious states Netherlands Germany
Switzerland
Latvia

15. European “belief in God”

16. Diffusion of Christianity
Global
Secondary hearths influence global distribution
not the place of origin but place from which there was significant change
Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City
Spanish, French colonies = Catholic
“Latin” America
Protestantism = Northern Europe (Germany/UK)
British/Dutch colonies = Protestant
North America (we will handle tomorrow)
Australia, New Zealand
Eastern Orthodox = Constantinople (now Istanbul)
Orthodox missionaries → Eastern Europe/Russia
St. Cyril and Methodius = Cyrillic Alphabet
Moscow = “the Third Rome” after fall of Constantinople to Muslims
relocation diffusion to Siberia
Africa = based on colonial holdings (see later map)

17. Dark Red = Catholic
Pink = Protestant
Magenta = Eastern Orthodox

18. World Distribution of Religions