Download Religion - Auburndale High School AP Human Geography

Religion
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Key Issues
Where are religions distributed?
Why do religions have different distributions?
Why do religions organize space in distinctive patterns?
Why do territorial conflicts arise among religious groups?
• “There has been more evil done in the
name of god then ever good”- Coach Mike
Blackman; Baptist Preacher
The Roots of Religion
Animism (Shamanism) - the belief that all
objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or
possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also
called shamanism because of the prominence
of a Shaman.
• Such beliefs are common among hunter-
gatherers. These were the first people
• 10% of Africans follow such traditional
ethnic religions.
• These beliefs are losing ground to
Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.
Nigerian Shaman
Key Issue 1: Where are religions
distributed?
• There are 2 types of religions:
– Universalizing- religions that attempt to be global
and appeal to all people.
• The 3 main universalizing religions are:
– CHRISTIANITY- BUDDHISM-ISLAM
• The other two main universalizing religions other than
the above three are:
– Sikhism 24 million followers, 21 of which are clustered in the
Punjab region of India.
– Bahá’í 7 million followers dispersed across the globe.
• CHRISTIANITY- 2 billion followers in N. and S.
America, Europe, Australia, and some Asian and
African countries.
•
•
•
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50% Roman Catholic,
25% Protestant,
10% Eastern Orthodox
15% miscellaneous.
– About 90% of the Western Hemisphere is Christian.
– 95% Roman Catholic in Latin American
– 50% Protestant in the U.S.
• 2 billion adherents make
it most practiced in the
world.
•Originated in Bethlehem
(8-4 BC) and Jerusalem
(AD 30) with Jesus Christ.
• Spread by missionaries
and the Roman Empire
(Constantine A.D. 313).
(Apostle Paul)
Christianity
Christianity in the U.S.
• ISLAM- 1.3 billion followers in Middle East,
Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh.
– Core of beliefs is based on the 5 pillars of faith:
• There is no god worthy of worship other than the one God, and
Muhammad is the messenger of God.
• A Muslim must pray 5 times daily facing the city of Mecca.
• A Muslim gives generously to charity, as an act of purification and
growth.
• A Muslim fasts during the month of Ramadan, as an act of selfpurification.
• If physically and financially able, a Muslim makes a pilgrimage to
Mecca.
– The two main branches of Islam are Sunni (83%) and
Shiite (16%).
• 1 billion + adherents
• Originated in Saudi
Arabia (Mecca and
Medina) around AD
600.
• Spread originally by
Muslim armies to N.
Africa, and the Near
East.
• Sunni (83%) throughout the Muslim
world.
• Shiite - Iran (40%),
Pakistan (15%), Iraq
(10%)
Islam
Prophet: Muhammad
Holy Text: Koran
Reading the Koran,
Brunei
Islamic Calender
•Begins in AD 622 when Muhammad was
commanded to Mecca from Medina (Hijra).
•Lunar calendar makes Ramadan move
through the seasons (30 year cycle - 19 years
with 354 days and 11 with 355).
Hajj
The 14x46 displays are located on I-26 at
mile-marker 125 and US 301N in
Orangeburg
• BUDDHISM- 365 million followers in China and S.E.
Asia mainly.
– Based on the 4 Noble Truths:
• All living beings must endure suffering.
• Suffering, which is caused by a desire to live, leads to reincarnation.
• The goal of all existence is to escape from suffering and the endless
cycle of reincarnation into Nirvana (a state of complete redemption),
which is achieved through mental and moral self-purification.
• Nirvana is attained through an Eightfold Path that stresses rightness
of belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and
meditation.
– The branches of Buddhism are Mahayana (56%), Theravada
(38%), and Tantrayana (6%).
• 300 million + adherents primarily
in China and S.E. Asia
• Originated near modern Nepal
around 530 BC by prince
Siddhartha Guatama.
•Cool story on how this
happens
• Spread originally in India and Sri
Lanka by Magadhan Empire (250
BC).
•Widely accepted because of
the Caste System practiced in
India
• Indian traders brought it to China
in 1st century AD.
• By 6th century it had lost its hold
on India, but was now in Korea and
Japan.
Buddhism
Karma - your past bad or good
actions determine your progress
toward Nirvana through
reincarnation. You are your own
God.
Theravada - the older, more
severe form which requires the
renouncing of all worldly goods
and desires.
Buddha is a teacher
Mahayana - focuses on
Buddha’s teachings and
compassion.
Buddha is a god
• The second type religion
– Ethnic- religion that primarily appeals to one
group of people living in one place. More closely
tied to the physical geography of a particular
region, especially with agriculture.
Animism
•ANIMISM- traditional African religions that focus on the
animate qualities of normally considered inanimate objects, like
stones, water, etc.
• Animism is a sort of all-encompassing term rather than a
specific religion
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread
within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All
things are bound together. All things connect.
~ Chief Seattle
Bear Dance
Hinduism
•HINDU- the world’s 3rd largest
religion with 820 million
adherents. 97% live in India
• 900 million + adherents, primarily in India (4th largest)
• Hinduism is an ancient term for the complex and diverse
set of religious beliefs practiced around the Indus River.
• The four sacred texts are ancient
hymns called the Vedas, but few
Hindus historically could read.
• Coastlines and river banks most
sacred sites.
• Many, many festivals, often
surrounding harvest or spring or
the birth of Gods.
Ganges River, Varanasi, India
Brahman
• Brahman is the divine
creator but is
manifested in literally
hundreds of gods, of
which Brahma, Shiva,
and Vishnu are most
common.
In the Hindu religion, Brahman is the
eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and
transcendent reality which is the Divine
Ground of all matter, energy, time, space,
and being.
The first principle of Indian thought, therefore, is that the
ultimate reality is beyond description. It is something that
can be experienced only by bringing the mind to a stop;
and once experienced, it cannot be described to anyone in
terms of the forms of this world.
Joseph Campbell
Another important concept is that Hinduism believes in the omnipresence of
the Supreme God in every individual. There is no "fall." Man is not cut off
from the divine. He requires only to bring the spontaneous activity of his
mind to a state of stillness and he will experience that divine principle within
him.
- Joseph Campbell
Hindu Beliefs and Practice
Reincarnation – the soul is immortal but the body endlessly
cycles to higher or lower levels of existence.
Yoga – the practices or tools used to break from habits of past
lives. Includes various meditations and physical practices.
The Purusharthas or The Four Aims of
Human Life:
1. Dharma (righteousness)
2. Artha (wealth)
3. Kama (desire)
4. Moksha (salvation or liberation) –
release from the endless cycles.
The Trinity of Brahman
Brahma (The Creator)
depicted with four
faces each continually
reciting one of the
Vedas. The force of
creation and birth.
Shiva (The Destroyer)
-
A hint of
monotheismHow does
Christianity
stack up?
Shakti or power; the
dissolving force in life;
centrifugal force;
entropy.
Vishnu (The Preserver)
-
peace; balance;
Sustainer of life.
Judaism
• JUDAISM- 6 million followers in U.S., 4
million in Israel, 2 million in Russia, 2
million elsewhere. First religion to support
monotheism- the belief in only 1 god, as
opposed to polytheism- the belief in many
gods.
• 14 million adherents
• Monotheistic
• Pentateuch
– First five books of the Old Testament
• Sects
– Orthodox, Conservative, Reform
• Israel
– Homeland for Jewish people
– Created 1948
– Conflict between Israel and Palestine
The Geography of Religion
* Ethnic Religions versus Universalizing Religions (proselytic)
* Polytheism versus Monotheism
Other Religions
•
Eastern Religions
– Confucianism (China)
– Taoism (China)
– Shinto (Japan)
14th Century Chinese painting depicting Laotze and Confucius protecting Sakayumi, the
future Buddha.
•
CONFUCIANISM- mainly in China,
stresses ethical lifestyles; More of a
philosophy then a religion
•
TAOISM- mainly in China also,
followers seek the dao (tao) meaning the
way or path.
•
SHINTO- mainly in Japan, before WWII
was the state religion and emperor was
regarded as divine.
• Branch- a large fundamental division within a
religion.
• Denomination- a division of a branch that
unites a number of local congregations in a
single legal and administrative body.
• Sect- a relatively small group that has broken
away from an established denomination.
• Pilgrimage- a sacred religious journey.
How do Universalizing and
Ethnic Religions Differ?
Universalizing
•Appeal to people everywhere
•Individual founder (prophet)
•Message diffused widely
(missionaries)
•Followers distributed widely.
•Holidays based on events in
founder’s life.
Ethnic
•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.
• Which type religion
has more bearing on
the global
landscape?
• How does ethnic
religions try and
hold their identity
• Give three examples
of positive
influences and three
negative
• How is this either
unsuccessful or
successful in today’s
culture
Key Issue 2: Why do religions have
different distributions?
• As a general rule, universalizing religions have origins based
on a specific individual’s life in the past, ethnic religions
typically have either no origin or an unclear one at best.
• Some religious origins:
– Christianity- based on the life of Jesus
– Islam-trace lineage back through Abraham’s other son Ishmael; based
on the life of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam.
– Buddhism- based on the life of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became
Buddha (the enlightened one)
– Sikhism- founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago.
•
Hindu- did not originate with a specific founder. Beginnings
of Hindu date back to before recorded history. It is the oldest
living religion
• Missionaries- individuals who help to transmit a
universalizing religion through relocation diffusion.
• Pagan- followers of polytheistic religions in ancient
times.
• Ghetto- city slum designated for Jew habitation.
• Cosmogony- creation story.
• Solstice- day when sun is at highest or lowest point in
the sky.
• Diffusion of Religions
– Christianity spread mainly through the work of missionaries, and also by some
conquest and colonization.
– Islam spread mainly through conquest.
– Buddhism spread mainly through missionaries and trade merchants.
• Buddhism and Islam are the universalizing religions that place the most
emphasis on identifying shrines/holy places.
– In universalizing religions, the holy places are generally locations at which
memorable events happened in the founder’s life
• Mecca is in Islam because it is Muhammad’s birthplace.
• Holy places in ethnic religions are often physical features that are closely
tied to the religion.
– Hindu one of the most important rituals is the bathing of oneself in the Ganges
River.
Diffusion of Christianity
Diffusion of Islam
Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in America. Only a small
part of this growth is from black Muslims and the Nation of Islam.
Diffusion of Buddhism
• Ethnic religions rarely diffuse, and when they do, it is
to a small extent.
• universalizing religions diffuse mainly at the expense
of the smaller ethnic religions, and often a semihybrid religion will result with concepts from both
the ethnic religion and the universalizing religion
intertwined.
– Judaism is an exception in that it has diffused widely
throughout the years, mainly because its people have had to
flee persecution from many areas in the world.
• Cosmogony and calendars also differ betwixt
universalizing religions and ethnic religions.
– Ethnic religious creation stories tend to deal with the
physical environment and natural events
– Ethnic religions typically organize their calendars around
the seasons, other natural events, or the physical geography.
– universalizing religion stories often attempt to explain the
mystical.
– Universalizing religions’ main purpose in calendars is to
commemorate events in the founder’s life, thus the seasons
or weather are not central to the structure.
Syncretism - the mixing of two or
more religions that creates unique
rituals, artwork, and beliefs.
Examples include syncretism of
Christianity and indigenous beliefs in
the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
Voodoo Dolls, Haiti
• Caribbean Voodoo (Haiti, Louisiana)
• Christianity in Indigenous Latin
American
Shrine, Bangalore, India
Syncretism - the mixing of two or
more religions that creates unique
rituals, artwork, and beliefs.
Key Issue 3: Why do religions organize
space in distinctive patterns?
• The distribution of religious elements on the landscape reflects the
importance of religion in people’s values.
– In Christianity, the landscape is dominated by a high density of churches. They
are critical because of the emphasis placed on regularly attending worship.
– In Islam, mosques are the places for general assembly. They are not viewed as
a sanctified place but rather a convening point for the community. A mosque
normally has a central courtyard surrounded by classrooms.
– In Hinduism, temples are built within the home or individual community. They
have a central room to house a spirit, with rooms for rituals, and outer purifying
pools. In both Buddhism and Shinto, pagodas are the common architecture.
They are typically built to enshrine sacred religious artifacts.
– In Bahá’í, the church officials decided to open seven Houses of Worship on
multiple continents to stress the universality of their religion.
Religion and Environment
• Burial practices
– Judeo-Christians bury.
– Hindus and Buddhists
cremate.
• Relationship with
nature
– Sacred Spaces
– Sacred architecture
– Role of religion in
domination of earth?
• The disposing of the dead differs from religion to religion. Some prefer to
bury while others choose to cremate.
• Religion often influences the place-names of certain regions.
– Ex. The vast amount of places named for saints in predominantly Roman
Catholic Quebec.
• Hierarchical religion- well-defined geographic structure with a high degree
of organization.
Ex. The Roman Catholic Church
• Diocese- the basic geographic unit of the R.C.C.
• Autonomous religions- self-sufficient religions with little organization.
Ex. Islam prefers to unify by faith rather than specific
boundaries.
• Most ethnic religions are autonomous. Protestant faiths vary.
Key Issue 4: Why do territorial conflicts
arise among religious groups?
• RELIGION IS ARGUABLY THE MOST VOLITALE OF
ALL HUMAN RELATIONS AND THE SOURCE OF MOST
VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
• Fundamentalism- the literal interpretation and strict intense
adherence to one’s religious principles.
– Fundamentalists try to return society to its religious ways. The most
obvious example is the Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Caste- the class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu
was assigned according to religious law.
• Religion is nearly always suppressed in communist countries.
– Leaders believe that religion has a tendency to upset stability and
therefore ban it altogether, though often they just concrete the people’s
religious adherence instead of destroying it.
• Other times, when people of different religions live in close
proximity to one another, engage in contact often, or share
interests in a particular location, especially violent interaction
will occur.
– Ex. The Middle East. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have fought for
over 2,000 years to control the same small strip of land in the East
Mediterranean.
– Historically the Crusades between Christians and Muslims played out
as each fought to control the Holy Lands.
– Hostilities continue in the modern era over these same lands.
Social Impact of Religion
• Gender roles
– Women’s
rights
• Diet
– Vegetarians
– Pork, beef
– Alcohol
• Ethics and
morals
• Schools and
institutions
World Distribution of Hogs
Economic Impact
• Banking and lending
- Biblical prohibition against usury (lending at interest). Still
followed in Muslim world (only fees are charged).
• Protestantism and capitalism
– Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic; argues that
individualism of Protestantism leads to acquisitiveness.
• Catholic Church and capitalism
– Pope John Paul II praised free markets but with the
caution that they cannot meet all needs and salaries must
be “just.”
• Confucianism versus individualism
- Confucius elevated the status of noble bureaucrats and
commitment to societal good. This allows Asian nations to
attract top talent to government jobs. Also, diligence with
regard to savings and spending may be a consequence of
Confucian ideas.
• The controversy in Ireland occurred when predominantly
Catholic South Ireland wished to secede from predominantly
Protestant Great Britain.
– However, the northernmost six counties of Ireland are overwhelmingly
Protestant and wished to remain part of the U.K.
– When the split occurred a small number of Roman Catholics in both N.
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland joined the Irish Republican Army
(IRA), a militant organization devoted to achieving Irish unity by
whatever means necessary.
– A Protestant organization has formed in return.
•
Violence continues as extremists from both sides disrupt the lives of
peaceful civilians.
• “Bloody Sunday” – U2
Secularization - a process that is Fundamentalism - a process that
leading to increasingly large groups is leading to increasingly large
of people who claim no allegiance groups of people who claim there is
to any church.
only one way to interpret worship.
Some of these people are atheists.
Others simply do not practice. Still
others call themselves spiritual, but
not religious.
Fundamentalists generally envision
a return to a more perfect religion
and ethics they imagine existed in
the past.
•Common in Europe and the cities •Common in the U.S. and in some
of the U.S.
Islamic nations.
•Common in former Soviet Union
and China.
Religious Conflict
The Big Question: Can secular society exist alongside
traditional and fundamentalist religious sects and states?
• We are quick to notice fundamentalism abroad (i.e. Salman Rushdie’s
death sentence by Shia clerics) and not so quick to recognize it at
home (abortion clinic bombings; Southern Baptist Convention’s calls
for women to submit to their husbands’ authority).
• American evangelical Christianity and Islamic fundamentalism are
the two most influential fundamentalist movements in the world.
• Fewer and fewer states are governed by an official church.
• Rubenstein, James- Cultural Landscape;
An Introduction to Human Geography
• http://www.glendale.edu/geo/reed/cult
ural/cultural_lectures.htm
• http://www.quia.com/pages/mrsbellaph
g.html
• Google