Download Religion and Language

An Introduction to Human Geography
The Cultural Landscape
James M. Rubenstein
Chapter 6
Religion
Adapted from PPT by Abe Goldman
Religion and Language
• Two most important forces that
bond and define human cultures
– results in common understandings
• They define important ‘culture
regions/realms’ (diffusion)
Predominant faiths
(above), languages
(right)
World’s Major Religions
• Religion as a system of
beliefs guiding behavior
• Fundamentalism: strict
adherence
• Secularism: lifestyle not
governed by religion (does this
really exist??)
• Syncretic religions:
combinations of religions, often
animistic religions with introduced
religions particularly Christianity
Few more terms
• Monotheism: belief that there is only one God.
(Christianity, Islam)
• Polytheism: belief in multiple gods (ancient
Greeks)
• Pantheism; God is better understood as an
abstract principle (Buddism … Budda as a
teacher rather than a god)
• Animism: belief in spirits within things such as
rocks, trees, mountains, birds. Spirits of people
as surviving physical death
Distribution of Religions
• Universalizing religions: attempt to be
global
– Christianity
– Islam
– Buddhism
• Ethnic religions: primarily local appeal
– Hinduism – no specific founder, ‘Hind’ = India
– Judaism
– Other ethnic religions
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.
Sacred Space
• Major differences between religions
both contemporary and past
• BUT Similarities:
– Concept of sacred
– Sacred space
• Buildings
• Natural sites
• Memorials and graves
Vertical Axis
Axis mundi – earth to space of god(s)
above
Axis mundi
Callanish stones, Scotland
Sacred tree (Indonesia above, Japan left)
Memorials
Places made sacred both through their architecture (physically) and through
the actions of people who visit these sites (culturally)
Vietnam war
memorial
"As you descend the path along the
wall and reach this angle, you realize
that one wing of the black wall points
straight at the tall, white Washington
Monument a mile or so off, and the
other at the Lincoln Memorial, visible
through a screen of trees about 600
feet away. In making this descent you
feel you're entering a cloistered space,
set off from the busy surroundings.
Streets and skylines disappear to leave
you alone with the wall and its names.
Then, as you pass the angle and begin
to climb, you feel yourself emerging
again into the world of noise and light
after a meditative experience. “
Robert Campbell, "An Emotive Place Apart,"
A.I.A. Journal, May 1983, pp. 150-1
Spiritual place-making
• "Each half of the wall is 246.75 feet
long, combined length of 493.50
feet. Each segment is made of 70
panels. At their intersection, the
highest point, they are 10.1 feet
high; they taper to a width of 8
inches at their extremities.”
What makes the memorial
effective?
Day of the Dead (El Dia de Los
Muertos )
Day of the Dead, Ocosingo Cemetery, Mexico, November 2, 2002 (Source:
Road that has no end)
Day of Dead: Nov 1&2
Life meets death:
reduction of space
between the two worlds
Grave sites
Jewish graves with
stones placed by
visitors
San Miguel de Allende , Mexico
Artifacts act to ‘pair
absence with presence’
Richardson, 2001
Gifts as involving a
reciprocal relationship
Gifts as confirming an
ongoing relationship?
Known and Unknown
Marilyn Monroe, Westwood village
memorial park
Marking the grave of unknown Soviet soldiers
Known but only underwater
visitors: death brings life
Memorial reef ball:
topography that
expands the marine
environment
Underwater
landscape element
Religion as landscape element
• Churches – often on
hills, surrounded by
space
• Prehistoric burial sites
• Pilgrimage as a
circulation that unites
people through a
common goal that
involves a physical and
spiritual undertaking.
• Camino de Santiago
• http://www.santiagocompostela.net/
• Similarities with the
passage of the Olympic
torch around Canada
(Canada Act of 1982 totally independence
from the UK)
Pilgrimage
Organized religions
•
•
•
•
Judaism (ethnic?)
Christianity (universalizing)
Islam (universalizing)
Buddism (universalizing)
Judaism
• 14 million adherents
• Monotheistic
• Pentateuch
– First five books of the Old Testament (pact that Jews would follow God’s
law as written here)
– Moses as an interpreter plus today’s Rabbis
• Sects: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform
• Israel
– Homeland for Jewish people
– Created 1948 (Romans scattered Jews from this region in AD 70)
– Jews in ghettos - C13 – 18 (Venice: iron foundry (getto)
– Conflict between Israel and Palestine over sacred space
Christianity
• Emerged from Judaism
• Coptic Church
– Founded in Alexandria in A.D. 41
• Official religion of Roman (fall about 500 AD)
and British Empires
– Facilitated geographical spread
• Jesus as being the son of God
• Significant contemporary growth in
Africa, Asia and Latin America
Islam
• Adherents of Islam are known as Muslims
• Muhammad functioned as a messenger of one God, Allah,
in writing the Koran
• Five Pillars of Islam
–
–
–
–
–
Belief in one God
Five daily prayers
Generous alms
Fasting during Ramadan
Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
• Sects
– Sunni (orthodox)
– Shiite
• Islamic law: Sharia law as interpreted
by scholars: fatwa (rulings/interpretations)
• Religion and ethnicity
– Many Muslims are non-Arabs
Buddhism
• Buddhism as a religion and a philosophy
resulting in a path of practice and spiritual
development aimed at leading to insight into
the true nature of life.
• The foundation of all Buddhist practice is
ethical conduct and altruism
• Nirvana: cessation of suffering
• Buddha – Enlightened One, not a god
• Diffused from India (Siddhartha Gautama)
• Current spiritual leader of one branch of
Buddhism (Tibetan) is the 14th Dalai Lama
• Geographical seat Lhasa (taken by China in 1959)
Tibet
Lhasa, Tibet was center of
Tibetan Buddhists until 1959, now
Dharamsala India
Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Fig. 6-4: Each of the three main universalizing religions diffused widely from its hearth.
Sacred places and religion:
Holy Sites in Buddhism
Fig. 6-9: Most holy sites in Buddhism are locations of important events in Buddha’s
life and are clustered in northeastern India and southern Nepal.
Mecca, Islam’s Holiest City
Fig. 6-10: Makkah (Mecca) is the holiest city in Islam and is the site of pilgrimage for
millions of Muslims each year. There are numerous holy sites in the city.
Hindu Holy Places (brief mention)
Hindu religion:
Conglomeration of different
religions
Many gods
Religion of people in India
Sites: Often rivers, caves,
mountains, places often
remote
Fig. 6-11: Hierarchy of Hindu holy places: Some sites are holy to Hindus throughout India;
others have a regional or sectarian importance, or are important only locally.
Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is
considered to be the birth place
of Hindu god Shri Ram.
Bhimashankar
Temple , near
start of Bhima
River, site of
legend of god
Shiva slaying a
demon
Shiva, one of the primary gods
Sacred places in Mongolia
Ovoo
Shamanism: Ovoo
Mixed with Buddism
Place Names in Québec
St Sauveur
Fig. 6-12: Place names in Québec show the impact of religion on the landscape. Many
cities and towns are named after saints.
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. See pg 213 - 214
Muslims: the movie
• Made in 2000/2001
• Terms:
– Hijab, burka, fatwa, shari law, Sheikh
– Imam: prayer leader
– Ayatollah: very high-ranking cleric
• Aims to provide insights
• What insights/surprises? Make a
list.