1. Distribution of Major World Religions
Where Can I
Get an Amen?

2. Monotheism: the assertion that God is One
SOME BASICS
Religion: a large-scale system of symbolic practices and beliefs concerning man’s ultimate place in the universe
Monotheism: the assertion that God is One
Secular: not concerning religion or religious topics

3. UNIVERSALIZING RELIGIONS
Definition: a religion that attempts to be global in its distribution and to appeal to all people regardless of their local culture
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism

4. The three universalizing religions are divided into smaller parts
DIVISIONS
The three universalizing religions are divided into smaller parts
Branch: a large and fundamental division within a religion
Denomination: a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single body
Sect: a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination
Roman Catholic 52%
Protestant 21%
Eastern Orthodox 10%
Sunni 83%
Shia 17%
Mahayana 56%
Theravada38%
Tantrayana 6%

5. Much of Subsaharan Africa
CHRISTIANITY
It is the world’s most populous religion with over 2 billion adherents.
Predominant In:
North America
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Australia
Much of Subsaharan Africa
In Europe, Catholicism dominates in the southwest and east,
Protestantism in the northwest,
and Orthodoxy in the east and southeast.
Regions of Catholic and Protestant majorities often have sharp boundaries:
Netherlands and Switzerland-- Protestants north, Catholics south
Orthodox church is divided into 14 self-governing church denominations
In the Western Hemisphere, nearly 90% of people are Christian
Regional divisions are often sharp:
Catholics are 93% of Latin America, only 40% in North America (clustered southwest/northeast US, Quebec)
28% of Americans over age five identify themselves as protestant, with Baptists as the largest.

6. AMERICAN RELIGIOUS GEOGRAPHY
FACTORS INFLUENCING
AMERICAN RELIGIOUS GEOGRAPHY
MORMONS
Original Migration: began in the eastern US, migrated to escape persecution
Subsequent Migration: families grew/spread nearby to farm arable land
Lack of in-migration: During second/third peaks of US in-migration European migrants came primarily to urbanized east coast areas
Physical geography: arid/rigorous, unappealing for major development.
LUTHERANS
Original Migration: Germans and Scandanavian Lutherans migrated from Europe (peak 2 and 3). Railroad companies and governments recruited Lutherans to farm the upper Midwest, then chain migration caused others to follow.
Lack of in-migration: little urban development, so later religious groups and rural-urban migration from the South did not enter region
BAPTIST
METHODIST
Indigenous Religion: Based on European Calvinism, Baptist religion matured as an indigenous in the rural south. It has no requirement for formally credentialed clergy. It appealed heavily to African American communities excluded from mainline protestant denominations.
Baptists included other groups that created locally specific church communities.
Lack of in-migration: little urban development, so other immigrant groups were not attracted to the mainly agricultural region.
Original Migration: Methodism was brought to the US in the 1700s by Irish immigrants who slowly spread through the upper midwest to farm the frontiers of the expanding American territory. (map)

7. Entire Mid-East Region
ISLAM
The world’s second largest religion (fastest growing) with over 1.3 billion adherents.
Predominant In:
Entire Mid-East Region
½ of world’s muslims live outside the middle east:
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Indonesia
India
Sunni muslims comprise 83% of the total population and are the largest branch in most muslim countries.
Shia muslims comprise 16%.
30% of Shia live in Iran (90% of pop),
15% in Pakistan,
10% in Iraq (>50% of pop)
US and European Muslim population is growing rapidly.
Muslims are now 5% of Europe’s population.
4 million live in France (largest pop).
3 million live in Germany. Both have former colonies in mideast.
5 million muslims live in US and Canada.

8. BUDDHISM
Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion with 400 million adherents.
Predominant in:
China
Japan
The Koreas
Southeast Asia
Mahayana Buddhists comprise 56% of population. Mostly in:
China,
Japan
and Korea.
Theravadins comprise 38% of pop. Mostly in:
Cambodia, Loas, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
It’s difficult to count Buddhists:
A) Most do not participate in formal institutions.
B) Buddhism does not require exclusive membership. One can be Buddhist AND another religion

9. OTHER UNIVERSALIZING RELIGIONS
Sikhism
Baha’i
25 million Sikh (sic) worldwide
Most clustered in the Punjab region in India
Begun by Guru Nanek in the 1500s
Guru Gobind Singh introduced formal practice in the 1600s
8 million Baha’i worldwide
Dispersed globally, but heavy in Africa and Asia
Founded in 1844 in Shiraz, Iran by Siyyid, Ali Muhammad, the Bab
Baha’u’lluh is the prophet of Baha’i

10. MORE BASIC
TERMS
Polytheism: the assertion that God is many
Pagan: Early Christianity’s word to refer to non-christians.
Animism: belief that the various processes and features of nature are conscious and have discrete spirits
Shamanism: a religion that involves community acceptance of a shaman, a religious leader/healer who can intercede with and interpret the spirit world

11. ETHNIC
RELIGIONS
A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are based on the physical geography of the place where they concentrate.
Hinduism
Confucianism
Taoism
Shintoism
Judaism

12. The world’s third largest religion with 900 million adherents.
HINDUISM
The world’s third largest religion with 900 million adherents.
Predominant in:
India (97% of world population)
Nepal
Vishnu (68%)
Shiva (27%)
Shakti
Hinduism has no central authority or set of orthodox doctrine and dogma.
Most Hindu will follow one of four spiritual disciplines (yogas) towards moksha (enlightenmentt):
Bhakti,
Jnana,
Karma,
Raja
Followers of bhakti yoga will usually devote themselves to one of many incarnations of Brahman (God)

13. CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM
Many people in East and Southeast Asia practice Confucianism and/or Taoism WITH Buddhism.
Predominant in:
China
Buddhism does not require exclusive adherence, and so many Chinese practice Taoism or Confucianism alongside Buddhism.
Confucianism was developed from the teachings of Confucius (500s BCE)
Taoism was developed from the teachings of Lao Tzu (late 500s BCE)
Taoism was banned by the communist Chinese, but is still practiced in China and is legal in Taiwan

14. JUDAISM
With 14 million adherents, it’s the world’s seventh largest religion.
Predominant in:
Israel (5 million)
Other concentrations:
US (6 million)
Europe (2 million)
Latin America (1 million)
Asia (1 milion)
Within the US, Jews are heavily concentrated in major cities (25% in New York alone).
Judaism is the first recorded religion to espouse monotheism as opposed to polytheism.
Judaism is the mother religion of both Christianity and Islam.

15. With 4 million adherents, it’s the world’s tenth largest religion.
SHINTOISM
With 4 million adherents, it’s the world’s tenth largest religion.
Predominant In:
Japan
While it’s roots stretch back to the 8th century, Shinto became the official religion of Japan in the 1870s.
Sinto is an animist religion that teaches that all matter is inhabited by animating spirits called Kami.
Shinto is still widely practiced in Japan (no longer the state religion), often with Buddhism, since neither religion is exclusive.
There are over 80,000 shinto shrines in Japan today.

16. AFRICAN RELIGIONS In Africa, Islam (40%) dominates in the north.
Christianity (46%) dominates in the South.
Both Islam and Christianity were introduced religions.
The native religions of Africa are animist in nature, and about 16% of subsaharan Africans practice on form or another of it.
Animism is still somewhat strong in:
Botswana
Angola
Benin
Congo Republic
Guinea-Bissau
Madagascar
Mozambique
Togo
Zimbabwe
As recently as 1980, half of Africa’s population was reported as animist, but it’s now less than 15%.
Animism is declining in Africa due to the increase and spread of Christianity and Islam.
Christianity and Islam are universalizing religions growing at the expense of African, ethnic religions.