BY

MONA DOMOSHRODERICK NEUMANN

PATRICIA L. PRICETERRY G. JORDAN-BYCHKOV

C. 2012 W.H. FREEMAN & CO.

The Human Mosaic12th Edition

THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION

SPACES AND PLACES OF SACREDNESS

Chapter 7

Religion

A social system involving a set of beliefs and practices through which people seek harmony with the universe and attempt to influence the forces of nature, life, and death.

Classifying Religions

Proselytic religion (Universalizing religion) A religion that actively seeks new

members and aims to convert all humankind.

• Islam• Christianity• Can grow out of ethnic religions

• Christianity from Judaism

Classifying Religions

Ethnic religionA religion identified with a particular ethnic

or tribal group Does not seek converts.• Judaism, ShintoStrong territorial and cultural group IDMember by birth or adoption of complex life-

styleCannot be part of the culture unless part of

the religion

Tribal (Traditional) Religions

Small groupsLocal culture groupsNot modern culturesClose ties to nature

Tribal Religions

Animism Belief that life exists in all objects

Shamanism Community acceptance of a religious

leader, healer, and worker of magic Shaman

Secularism

Indifference to or rejection of religion and religious belief

Increasing in modern societiesVery prominent in former and current

communist societies

Usual patterns

Universalizing Expansionary

Ethnic Regionally confined unless people are

dispersed (i.e. Jews)Tribal

Contract as members become modern or are converted

Classifying Religions

MonotheismBelief in a single deity (one god)

PolytheismBelief in many gods

Classifying Religions

Syncretic religions Religions, or strands within religions, that

combine elements of two or more belief systems.

Orthodox religions Strands within a major religion that

emphasize purity of faith.

Classifying Religions

Fundamentalism A movement to return to the founding

principles of a religion Usually show intolerance to other

religions or even those within their own religion that do not follow the “proper ways”

JUDAISMCHRISTIANITY

ISLAMHINDUISMBUDDHISM

TAOIC RELIGIONSANIMISM/SHAMANISM

Region

World Distribution of Major Religions (Fig. 7.3)

Religious Groups in Lebanon (Fig. 7.4)

Judaism

Founded 4,000 years agoHoly Book = TorahParent religion of Christianity

Subgroups (result of Diaspora):• Ashkenazim: central/eastern Europe• Mizrachim: Middle East/northern Africa• Sephardim: Iberia (Spain/Portugal)

Christianity

Monotheistic and proselyticShares hearth in southwest Asia with Islam and

JudaismHoly Book = Bible (including Torah)

Christian faiths:• Roman Catholics• Protestants• Eastern Christians (includes Armenian and

Coptic Churches)

Leading Christian Denominations in the United States (Fig. 7.7)

Islam

Proselytic and monotheistic Over 1 billion adherents Fastest growing world religion Founded by Mohammad Holy book = Qur’an or Koran Sharia = Islamic law

Islamic division:• Sunnis (84%)• Shiites (16%)

FIVE PILLARS

•Belief in Allah•Zakat (almsgiving)•Prayer 5 times daily•Fast during Ramadan

•Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

FIVE PILLARS

•Belief in Allah•Zakat (almsgiving)•Prayer 5 times daily•Fast during Ramadan

•Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

Muslims at Prayer in Mecca (Fig. 7.8)

Hinduism

Polytheistic (supreme God = Brahman)Belief in reincarnationDharma = harmonious and eternal truthAhimsa = principle of nonviolence

Varna (castes) based on occupation:• Brahmins (priests)• Kshatriyas (warriors)• Vaishyas (merchants and artisans)• Shudras (workers)• “Untouchables”/outcasts have no caste

Outgrowths of Hinduism:

•Jainism•Sikhism

Outgrowths of Hinduism:

•Jainism•Sikhism

Ganesha, Hindu God of Wisdom (Fig. 7.9)

Hindu Temple, Bali, Indonesia (Fig. 7.10)

Buddhism

• Parent religion is Hinduism• Based on teachings of Siddharta Gautama• Nirvana= state of enlightenment• Most widespread in South and East Asia• Tendency to merge with other religions

Four Noble Truths

•Life is full of suffering•Desire is the cause of suffering•Cessation of suffering comes with the quelling of desire•Eightfold path of personal conduct and meditation helps individual overcome desire

Four Noble Truths

•Life is full of suffering•Desire is the cause of suffering•Cessation of suffering comes with the quelling of desire•Eightfold path of personal conduct and meditation helps individual overcome desire

Buddhism in South Korea (Fig. 7.11)

Taoism and Animism

Taoic religions• Confucianism (China)• Shinto (animistic)• Taoism: Three Jewels are

humility, compassion, moderation

•Animism/shamanism•The idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena (thunder, lightning), and geographic features (rivers, mountains)

CULTURE HEARTH

A FOCUSED GEOGRAPHIC AREA WHERE IMPORTANT INNOVATIONS ARE BORN AND FROM WHICH THEY

SPREAD.

Mobility

Religious hearths

Major religions concentrated in three hearth areas:

Semitic hearthIndus-Ganges hearthEast Asian hearth

Origin and Diffusion of Five Major World Religions (Fig. 7.14)

Semitic Religious Hearth

The 3 great monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Southwest AsiaOnly proselytic religions

spread by conversion

Semitic Religious Hearth

Christianity Hierarchical Diffusion Convert the king -> convert the people Militaristic Contagious diffusion -> Contact conversion

Islam Predominantly militaristic “do battle against them until there be no more

seduction from the truth and the only worship be that of Allah”

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/world/africa/mali-un-warning/index.html?iref=allsearch

Diffusion of Christianity in Europe,

1st-11th Centuries (Fig. 7.15)

Indus-Ganges Religious Hearth

Hinduism and BuddhismPlains in northern IndiaHinduism was first and

initially spread overseas by missionaries and trade

Buddhism continues to diffuse today Relocation diffusion by Asian

immigrants

East Asian Religious Hearth

Confucianism and Taoism Did not spread until hierarchical diffusion took hold

Diffusion was hindered by the Chinese government after 1949

Diffusion in Asia through trade and military conquest

Pilgrimages

Journeys to places of religious importance

Travels create a connection with the sacred spaces of their faith

May be regarded as places of spatial convergence

Pilgrimages

Some religions mandate pilgrimages i.e. Islam -> hajj

Other religious meanings promote pilgrimages Forgiveness Connection with religion Attainment of a desired objective

Religious Pilgrimage

Journeys to sacred spaces have strong impacts on local economies.

Bangkok, Thailand Great Mosque, Senegal

Lourdes, France

Religious Segregation (Fig. 7.18)

RISE OF EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTISM IN LATIN AMERICA

RELIGION ON THE INTERNET

RELIGION’S RELEVANCE IN A GLOBAL WORLD

Globalization

Globalization

Religion must adapt to changes in order to thrive in some locations

Catholic Church and Latin AmericaDisenfranchisement with the church

Protestant churches are growing rapidly

Will the church change?

Religion on the Internet

Religion now available anytime at homeWhat does that mean in terms of place?

Does it take away the meaning of religion? Does it create virtual communities that disregard

location? Does it damage the community created by religious

meeting places? (churches)

Is Religion Relevant?

913 million non-religious, secular people today

Secularization is on the rise especially in industrialized nations

Religions are failing to:Meet the needs of rural folk cultureAdapt to contemporary urban scenes

Importance of Religion in the United States (Fig. 7.22)

Secularism in Europe (Fig. 7.23)

APPEASING THE FORCES OF NATURE:RELIGION AS ADAPTIVE STRATEGY

SACRED SPACES IN WORLD RELIGIONS:•RIVERS

•MOUNTAINS•TREES

•FORESTS•ROCKS

Nature-Culture

Appeasing the Forces of Nature

Religion and the adaptive strategyPhysical environment factors

influence religious developmentAnimistic religions

Ceremonies meant to manipulateGanges RiverJordan River

Influence of physical environment is less pronounced in the major Western religions

Except for…Plagues sent by GodDroughts, hurricanes, earthquakes

sent by God

Environmental Influence in Animism (Fig. 7.25)

Plant and Animal Impact

Plants and animals play key roles in many religions

Plants or animals may diffuse with a religionVineyards became popular across

Europe as Christianity diffused through the continent

Plants and Animals

Religion may explain the absence of crops or domestic animals in certain regions.

Islam and Judaism prohibit pork

Domestic pigs are rare in areas dominated by Islam and Judaism

Impact of Belief Systems on Plants and Animals: Pork Consumption (Fig. 7.27)

Diffusion barriers

Religious taboos can prevent the spread of cultural food trendsMormons and caffeine (absorbing)Pennsylvania Dutch and tobacco

(permeable)

Hindus and Beef (It’s NOT what’s for dinner)

Almost no Hindu will eat beef

CowsProvide dairy productsAre used in farming

(labor and fertilizer)Have been

incorporated into Hindu beliefs

Ecotheology

The study of the influence of religious belief on habitat modification.

Human dominion over nature

Religious impact on nature Clearing of forests Burial practices

Wood Gathered for Hindu Cremations (Fig. 7.28)

RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES

FAITHFUL DETAILS

LANDSCAPES OF THE DEAD

SACRED SPACE

Religious Landscapes

Visual imprint of religions

StructuresChurch spiresMinarets and

MosquesTemplesCrosses on the side of

roadsCemeteriesStatues or shrines

Structures

Elaborate vs. simple or even non-existent

Large religious structures represent the authority of a particular religion over life

Religious Structures (Fig. 7.30)

St. Basil’s, Moscow

Hindu Temple, India

Protestant church,Southern U.S.

Temples Dedicated to Ancestors in Bali, Indonesia (Fig. 7.31)

Stacked Stones at South Korean Pilgrimage Site (Fig. 7.32)

Muslim Mosque in Northern Nigeria (Fig. 7.35)

Landscapes of the Dead (Figs. 7.36 - 7.38)

Necropolis, Egypt Taj Mahal, India

Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Sacred Spaces (Figs. 7.39, 7.40)

Western Wall, Jerusalem Clearwater, Florida