1. Religions
Ch. 6 – AP Human Geography

2. Religion Overview

3. Classifications of 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Universalizing Religions

7. Universalizing Religions
Religions that actively seek converts because members believe they offer belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal
Ex: Christianity
Global in nature

8. Universalizing Religions
Main religions include Christianity, Muslim, and Buddhism
Branches – a large and fundamental division within a religion
Denomination – a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single administrative body
Sect – can mean a small group that broke away from a bigger group or a religious denomination

9. Ethnic Religions

10. Ethnic Religions
Religions whose adherents are born into the faith and whose members do not actively seek converts
Ex: Hinduism
Local in nature

11. Ethnic Religions Main: Hinduism – 900 million people Others Judaism
Chinese Traditional (Taoism, Confucianism)
Asian and African Primal Indigenous (Shamanism)
Juchte
Spiritism

12. Religious Hearths, Diffusion, and Distribution

13. Religions of the Semitic Hearth
Christianity and Judaism share similar hearths around Eastern Mediterranean and present-day Israel
Islam originated in present-day Saudi Arabia and spread through hierarchical and relocation diffusion

14. Where Religions are Distributed
Christianity
2 billion adherents, more than any other religion
90% of the people in N. America are Christians
93% of Latin America is Catholic (29% in N. America)
Baptists are the largest protestant group in the US
Smaller branches of Christianity include:
Coptic Church of Egypt and the Ethiopian Church
Armenian Church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

15. Where Religions are Distributed
Christianity
Originated with teachings of Jesus and the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Catholicism is headed by the Pope
Eastern Orthodox split from Roman Catholics in 1054
Protestantism came after the Reformation (first headed by Martin Luther and later others)

16. Where Religions are Distributed
Islam
1.3 billion people on Earth
Sunni – 83% of Muslims
Shiite is the other sect
5% of Europe’s population are Muslims
5 million Muslims in the US and Canada

17. Where Religions are Distributed
Islam
Origin begins similarly to Judeo-Christian traditions
Line follows Abraham’s other son
Muhammad was considered a prophet of God
Split between Shiites and Sunnis come from a disagreement over the line of succession in Islamic leadership

18. Where Religions are Distributed
Buddhism
400 million adherents around the world
Branches include Mahayana, Theravada, and Tantrayana

19. Where Religions are Distributed
Buddhism
Began with Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BCE
Siddhartha became the “Buddha” and spent 45 years preaching
Sikhism
Founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago
Baha’i
Established in Iran in the 19th century

20. Where Religions are Distributed
Hinduism
Third largest religion in world
India

21. Where Religions are Distributed
Hinduism
No known founder
Existed prior to recorded history
Earliest documents were written around 1500 BCE

22. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Christianity
Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries
Contagious Diffusion: Holy Roman Empire
Hierarchical Diffusion: Emperor Constantine
Expansion Diffusion: Europeans moving

23. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Islam
Expansion Diffusion: Conquering armies
Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries
Contagious Diffusion: Traders to Indonesia
Buddhism
Hierarchical Diffusion: Asoka
Contagious Diffusion: Traders to China, then to Korea, then to Japan

24. Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
Lack of Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
No missionaries to carry the message
However, some ethnic and universalizing religions have mingled over time
Judaism
Practiced in many places
Diaspora by the Romans
Migration to Europe
Ghettos
WWII

25. Religion, Society, and Globalization

26. Holy Places in Universalizing Religions
Buddhist Shrines
Lumbini in Southern Nepal, Bodh Gaya, Deer Park in Sarnath, Kusinagara, Sravasti, Samkasya, Rajagrha, Vaisali
Holy places in Islam
Mecca home to Al—Ka’ba, the Great Mosque
Medina home to Muhammad’s tomb
Holy places in Sikhism
Darbar Sahib – the Golden Temple

27. Holy Places in Ethnic Religions
Hinduism
Riverbanks and coastlines
The Ganges River

28. Sacred Space Pilgrimages – journey to a sacred place or site
Community, Identity, and Scale – religion can provide both a basis for community and identity
Ex. Muslim community can be expressed at global or local scales
Religion and Settlement
Diasporas (especially among Jewish)
Migration to escape persecution (Mormons movement to Utah)
Places can become sacred through a process of sanctification

29. Religious Law and Social Space
Christianity
In US, typically a separation between church and state
Some states have Sunday-closing laws or blue laws (where sale of nonessential merchandise is prohibited)
Judaism
Sabbath (Friday to Saturday evening)
Jewish law, halacah, and Kosher dietary principles derived from the Torah
Islam
Sharia – Islamic law derived from the Qur’an

30. Religious Conflicts

31. Tradition and Change
Modernism refers to increased scientific thought, expansion of knowledge, and belief in progress
Secularization reduces the scope or influence of religion
This can cause a lot of conflicts!

32. Religion vs. Gov’t Policies
Fundamentalism is a literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion
Fundamentalism allows a group to maintain a cultural identity
Many religious groups oppose gov’t policies that would affect social change

33. Religion vs. Social Change
Taliban vs. Western Values
Taliban in Afghanistan spread very strict laws as they saw them in the Qur’an
Taliban banned all “Western activities” and destroyed Buddhist statues
Hinduism vs. Social Equality
Caste system conflicts with idea of social mobility

34. Religion vs. Communism
Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam vs. the Soviet Union (USSR)
Bolshevik Revolution and creation of the USSR brought conflict
End of USSR brought a resurgence in religion
Buddhism vs. Southeast Asian Countries
Destruction of shrines
Self-immolation in protest

35. Religion vs. Religion Religious Wars in Ireland N. Ireland
Protestants v. Roman Catholics
IRA
Ulster Defense Force

36. Religion vs. Religion Religious Wars in the Middle East
Christians, Muslims, and Jews all value the “Holy Land” and Jerusalem
Crusades between Christians and Muslims
Arab army invaded Europe as far as France
Arabs controlled Spain until 1492
Crusades to take Jerusalem started in 1099

37. Religion vs. Religion Jews vs. Muslims in Palestine
Started in the 1930s
Israel and Palestine has conflict over holy land