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Religion Notes
Chapter 7
• Religion, along with language, lies at the
foundation of culture.
– it reflects identity
– it is a great binding force
– it is the guiding rule of daily life
– it sets standards for people’s behavior and actions
Religion is constantly changing.
• great religions have diffused across boundaries
– conversions occur due to the spread of new beliefs
– Like language…interaction through people can change
religion
• Conversion & Migration (allowed major religions
of the world to diffuse across cultural barriers
and language boundaries)
• What role do missionaries play?
• Religion plays an important role
in the cultural landscape.
–churches & mosques
–sale of alcohol
–modes of dress
–cultural and personal habits
Judaism in Jerusalem:
• The Western Wall
Christianity in Jerusalem:
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Islam in Jerusalem:
• Dome of the Rock
Christianity:
• Catholic Cathedrals
Christianity:
• Vatican City
Christianity:
• Lutheran Churches
Christianity:
• Baptist Churches
Islam:
• Mosques
Islam:
• Ka’aba
Sequent Occupance:
• Hagia Sophia
Buddhism:
• Bodh Gaya
Buddhism:
• Pagoda
Stupas
Hinduism:
• Temples
Hinduism:
• Ganges River
Lilburn, GA
The Men-An-Tol Stones in Cornwall are famous in local
folklore for their supposed healing properties.
Located near Penzance, pilgrims should crawl through the
centre stone in the direction of the sun to cure such ailments
as rheumatism and spinal problems. Many people who have
made the trip tell of feelings of euphoria after passing through
the stone.
The mysterious mountaintop shrine of Nemrut Dagi, in southcentral Turkey, was known only to local herders until it was
'discovered' in 1881. Believed to be the burial site of Antiochus,
a king from the first century BC, it is a mixture of temples,
sculptures and terraces built at an altitude of over 7,000 feet.
The mountain of Nantai-San in Japan is a favored site for
Buddhist meditation and has been a place of pilgrimage since
the fourth century.
• Why is religion such a difficult concept to define?
– “a system of beliefs and practices that attempts to
order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate
priorities.”
– “perceived ultimate priorities” is explained in terms of
“should”: people explain and justify how they and
others “should” behave based on their religious
beliefs
– the idea of a good life vs bad life (reward vs
punishment)
Religion manifests itself in many
different ways.
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ancestor worship
nature worship
belief in a deity or deities
rituals and ceremonies
simple or complex organizations
Religion has had powerful effects on
human societies.
• it is a major force in helping people
• it is, at times, an oppressive force
• it is complex and controversial
Types of Religions:
• Monotheistic religions worship a single deity,
God, or Allah
• Polytheistic religions worship more than one
deity
• Animistic religions are centered on the belief
that inanimate objects such as mountains and
rivers possess spirits and should therefore be
revered.
History
– throughout most of human history virtually all
religions have been either animistic or polytheistic
(or both)
– 1st monotheistic religion developed in Southwest
Asia (Zorastrianism)
– there is some controversy over whether Judaism
was the first monotheistic religion….however, the
eventual diffusion of religions influenced by
monotheism (Christianity and Islam) spread
monotheistic ideas throughout much of the world
– By 500 BCE (Before the Common Era) four major
hearths of religion and philosophy were
developed in the world
4 Hearths:
– Greek Philosophy: northern Mediterranean Sea
– Hinduism: Indus River Valley
– Judaism: eastern Mediterranean Sea
– Chinese Philosophy: Huang He
Christianity and Islam (the greatest
number of followers today)
• Christianity- 1.5 billion followers
• Islam- Over 1 billion
– -fastest growing religion
• *Islam – the religion
• *Muslim- person who follows Islam
World Distribution of Religions
Fig. 6-1: World religions by continent.
World Population by Religion
Fig. 6-1a: Over two-thirds of the world’s population belong to Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, or Buddhism. Christianity is the single largest world
religion.
Muslims
Christianity in the US:
–New England- Catholic
–South- Baptist
–Upper Middle West- Lutherans
–Utah area- Mormons
–New Orleans- French Catholic
• SEE MAP IN TEXT- - - AP TEST ALWAYS HAS QUESTIONS
ON THIS!!
Christian Branches in the U.S.
Fig. 6-3: Distribution of Christians in the U.S. Shaded areas are counties with more
than 50% of church membership concentrated in Roman Catholicism or one
of the Protestant denominations.
Latter-Day Saints
Eastern Orthodox
Mennonite
Amish
Friends (Quaker)
Settlements
World Religions Today:
• Sources and Distribution
• Universalizing religions- sometimes called
global religions. These are religions that
actively seek converts because they view
themselves as offering belief systems of
universal appropriateness and appeal.
• All of the widespread universalizing religions
have common characteristics.
– they are universalizing (global)
– they seek converts
– they are of ancient origin
• Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam are
examples
Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Fig. 6-4: Each of the three main universalizing religions diffused widely from its hearth.
Ethnic or cultural religions
• tend to be spatially concentrated.
• they usually do not seek converts outside the
group
• Hinduism and Judaism are examples of this
• the exception to concentration is Judaism
because Jews are dispersed throughout the
world
Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan
Fig. 6-8: Since Japanese can be both Shinto and Buddhist, there are many areas in
Japan where over two-thirds of the population are both Shinto and
Buddhist.
Major World Religions:
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Hinduism (class project)
Buddhism (class project)
Taoism (class project)
Confucianism (class project)
Judaism (class project)
Christianity (class project)
Islam (class project)
Traditional/Shamanist (class project)
Diffusion of Christianity
Fig. 6-5: Christianity diffused from Palestine through the Roman Empire and continued
diffusing through Europe after the fall of Rome. It was later replaced by Islam
in much of the Mideast and North Africa.
Diffusion of Islam
Fig. 6-6: Islam diffused rapidly and widely from its area of origin in Arabia. It
eventually stretched from southeast Asia to West Africa.
Diffusion of Buddhism
Fig. 6-7: Buddhism diffused gradually from its origin in northeastern India to Sri
Lanka, southeast Asia, and eventually China and Japan.
The Rise of Secularism
• Indifference to or rejection or organized
religious affiliations and ideas
• Varies from country to country
• In North America, a poll was given in 2002 and
asked whether people felt religion was very
important to them.
– Canada: only 30% agreed with the statement
– US: 59 % agreed with the statement
• In France, the government recently banned
the wearing of overt religious symbols in
public schools
• Do you believe the government has the right
to do that?
• Do you believe America is headed that way?
• What are some other reasons why religion is
in decline in some countries?
• Secularism has become widespread in the last
century
• People have abandoned organized religion in
growing numbers. Even if they continue to be
members of a church, their participation in
church activities has declined
Why do you think so many Americans
are abandoning their religion?
• Suggestions:
– Many millions of people do not practice a religion.
– Secularism has become more widespread in the
past centuries as the political state became more
dominant in people’s lives.
– The decline in religious affiliations affects all
religions.
• Secularism is more predominant in industrialized
regions because the church plays a smaller role in
society.
Religious Conflicts
• Religion vs. government policies
– Religion vs. social change
– Religion vs. Communism
• Religion vs. religion
– Religious wars in the Middle East
– Religious wars in Ireland
Jerusalem
Fig. 6-14: The Old City of Jerusalem contains holy sites for Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam.
Boundary Changes in Palestine/Israel
Fig. 6-15: The UN partition plan for Palestine in 1947 contrasted with the
boundaries that were established after the 1948–49 War. Major
changes later resulted from the 1967 War.
The West Bank: Political and Physical
Geography
Fig. 6-16: Political control of the West Bank has been split between Palestinians and
Israelis (though under overall Israeli control). The West Bank includes
many of the higher altitude areas of the region.
Israel’s Security Zone in Lebanon
Fig. 6-1-1: Israel established a security zone in southern Lebanon in 1982. When
Israel withdrew in 2000, the UN helped draw the boundary between the
Protestants in Northern Ireland
Fig. 6-17: Percent Protestant population by district in Ireland, 1911. When
Ireland became independent in 1937, 26 northern districts with
large Protestant populations chose to remain part of the United