Download Judaism - Chiles Social Studies

Geography of Religion
Introduction to Religion
• Religion is a belief
system and a set of
practices that
recognizes the
existence of a power
higher than humans.
Powerful influence
on daily life.
Classifying Religions
• Proselytic religions
actively seek new
members and aim to
convert all humankind.
• Ethnic religions are
identified with a
particular ethnic or tribal
group and do not seek
converts.
Classifying Religions
• Monotheistic
religions believe in
only one god and
may expressly forbid
the worship of other
gods or spirits.
• Polytheistic religions
believe there are
many gods.
Judaism, Christianity, & Islam
• All developed among the
Semitic-speaking people of
the deserts of the Middle
East.
o
o
o
Judaism: 4,000 years ago
Christianity: 2,000 years ago
Islam: 1,300 years ago
• Share a common hearth in
southwestern Asia.
Judaism
• First monotheistic religion.
o
Belief in ONE god.
• Spread widely and rapidly.
• Numerically small.
o
Does NOT seek converts.
• Holy book is called the Torah.
• Widely dispersed throughout the world.
• Approximately 13 million adherents.
Judaism
• Three major branches:
• ORTHODOX: Traditionalists who observe most
ceremonial laws and dietary restrictions.
• CONSERVATIVE: Do not hold the importance of a
Jewish political state, but emphasize the historical
and religious aspects of Judaism.
• REFORM: Liberal wing; culture and race oriented
with little consensus on doctrinal or religious
belief.
• Origin and Diffusion
Ethnic Religion (origins of Christianity)
Diaspora: In 70 A.D., Romans forced Jews to disperse
throughout the world.
o Ghetto: During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city
set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews.
o
o
Judaism
Judaism
• Basic Precepts
Belief in One God
Torah - original 5
chapters of Bible
o Prophecy of Moses
o Coming of the Messiah
still to come
o Atonement
accomplished by
sacrifices, penitence &
good deeds
o
o
• Created 1948 from a
British mandate from
Palestine.
• Some people do not
recognize its
existence.
• Long history of
conflict with Arabs,
particularly
Palestinians.
• Capital is Jerusalem,
considered to be a
holy place for
Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam.
Jewish homeland
• Monotheistic.
• Evolved from Judaism.
• Moved east and south of
its hearth area.
• Routinely spread through
force.
• European contact with
the “New World”
brought Christianity.
• World’s largest religion.
• Segmented into three
separate churches:
o
o
o
Catholics
Protestants
Eastern Christians
Christianity
• Catholicism - largest
branch
o
Headed by the Pope
 direct link to God
o
Ceremonial - 7
sacraments
 baptism, marriage,
Eucharist, etc.
o
Very traditional
Christianity
• Protestantism - (1517)
Reformation era
o
Christianity
No Pope needed
 individual has direct link
to God
o
Grace through faith
rather than sacraments
 forgiveness for sins
through indiv. prayers
o
Spread though N. Europe
and England
 arose same time as 1466
Gutenberg Bible and the
printing press
Martin Luther
• Eastern Orthodoxy 5th Century split
o
Rivalry between
Pope and Patriarch
of Constantinople
(Istanbul)
 Rome remained
center for Roman
Catholicism
o
Rejected Roman
Catholicism doctrine
 by 1054 officially
split
o
National Churches
 Russian, Greek,
Serbian Orthodox,
etc.
Christianity
Islam
• Spread in a manner
similar to Christianity.
o
Proselytic faith.
• Adherents are known as
Muslims.
• Worship one god, called
Allah.
• Founded by the prophet
Muhammad.
• Holy book is the Qur’an
(or Koran).
o
Basis for sharia, or holy
law.
• Divided into two major
groups:
o
Shiite & Sunni
• Fastest growing world
religion
Islam
• Basic Precepts
Submission to the will of
God (Allah)
o Lineage - Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, &
Mohammed (different
lineage)
o Holy Book - Koran - built
on Old Testament
o Five (5) pillars of faith
o
• 5 Pillars of Faith
o
Creed:
o
“There is no
God but Allah”
Prayer 5 times a
day facing
Mecca
o Giving to the
poor
o Month of
Rammadan
o Pilgrimage to
Mecca
o
Hinduism
• First religion to emerge
(about 4,000 years ago).
• 800 million adherents.
• Closely tied to Indian
culture.
• One supreme god:
Brahman.
• Many manifestations
are worshipped.
• Highly tolerant of other
religions.
• Belief in reincarnation.
• Forms of worship vary
regionally.
Buddhism
• Appeared around 500 B.C.
• Proselytic.
• Evolved from Hinduism as a reform
religion.
• Most widespread religion in Asia.
• Contains several regional forms:
o
o
Tibetan Buddhism
Japanese Buddhism
Buddhism
• Four noble truths:
• Life is full of suffering.
• Desire is the cause of this
suffering.
• Cessation of suffering comes
with the quelling of desire.
• Proper conduct and meditation
permits the individual to
overcome desire.
• Enlightenment is known as
nirvana.
• Individuals who achieve
nirvana are known as
Buddhas.
Comparing Key Points:
Focus on Judaism, Christianity, & Islam
• ASSIGNMENTS:
o 1. Comparison of Monotheistic Religions (Grid)
o 2. Venn Diagram
 Must list at least 3 characteristics in each
section.
o 3. Read/Notes from Barron’s (pages 128-133)
Religious Diffusion
Spatial Patterns
• Religious diffusion stems primarily from two major
hearth areas.
• A culture hearth is a focused geographic area
where important innovations are born and from
which they spread.
Spatial Patterns
• 1. Semitic Hearth
• 2. Indus-Ganga Hearth
Semitic Religious Hearth
• Judaism, Christianity,
& Islam all stem from
the Middle East (or
southwestern Asia).
• Judaism & Christianity
share a common
history in Jerusalem
and modern day Israel.
• Islam arose in western
Arabia near Medina
and Mecca.
Religious Diffusion
• Religions spread by both relocation and expansion
diffusion.
EXPANSION DIFFUSION
Hierarchical
Contagious
Ideas are implanted at
the top of society
(typically in major cities)
Ideas spread by
person-to-person
contact without regard
for social status
Diffusion of Christianity
• Christian faith tells followers to “teach all nations.”
• Spread initially through the Roman Empire.
• Strong road system.
•Missionaries often
targeted kings or tribal
leaders.
•Later spread through
contact conversion, or
the everyday
interactions between
believers and
nonbelievers.
Diffusion of Islam
• Islam spread from its hearth in a more militaristic
manner.
• Spread westward across North Africa.
• Later spread through trade routes to Philippines,
Indonesia, and interior China.
• Why is Islam the world’s fastest growing religion?
Indus-Ganga Hearth
• Hinduism and Buddhism
spread from their core in
Northern India.
• Buddhism branched off of
Hinduism.
• Both of these religions have
found their way to the United
States. How?
Religious Missions
• Deliberate efforts to
change the religious
views of a person or
peoples.
• Often accompanied
by good deeds.
• Sometimes
considered
propaganda and
persuasion.
• What are the effects of globalization on the
diffusion of religion?
Barriers to Diffusion
• Barriers to religious diffusion are primarily
permeable.
Time-Distance Decay
• Diffusion weakens with increasing distance from
their places of origin and with the passage of time.
Rise of Secularism
• Secularism is the
indifference to or
rejection of organized
religious affiliations
and ideas.
• Millions of people in
the world practice no
religion at all.
• Religious statistics do
not account for “nonpracticing” members.
Rise of Secularism
• Levels of secularism vary throughout the
world.
• “Religion is very important to me.”
• 30% of Canadians agreed.
• 59% of Americans agreed.
• Places with higher immigrant populations tend
to have higher rates of religious adherence.
• Why?
• Secularism has been on the rise in the past
century.
• Why?
Rise of Secularism
• Atheists
• Do not believe in
the existence of
any gods.
• Agnostics
• Dieties may exist,
but we do not
have knowledge
of them.
Religious Landscapes
Religious Structures
• Most religions have
some sort of physical
structure devoted to
worship.
• Vary in size, function,
architectural style, and
degree of ornateness.
Landscapes of the Dead
• Beliefs about the afterlife dictate how the dead
leave their mark.
• Cremation
• Cemeteries
Cultural Interaction
Religion & the Economy
•
•
•
•
Religion can guide commerce
Determine what crops are grown
Foods and beverages consumed
Types of employment
Religious Pilgrimage
• Pilgrimages are journeys to sacred places.
• Particularly important to follows of Islam,
Hinduism, Shintoism, and Roman Catholicism.
Religious Conflict
Religious Conflict
• Many countries straddle interfaith
boundaries that cross between the
world’s major faiths.
• Intrafaith boundaries are within a single
major faith (i.e. Christian divisions like
Protestants vs. Catholics)
Israel & Palestine
• One of the most heated
religious conflicts today.
• Following World War I, British
were given control over
Palestine.
• Most people living there were
Muslims.
• British wanted to created a
Zionist state.
• ZIONISM is the movement to
create a Jewish homeland in
Palestine.
• Starting in 1947, Jews and
Muslims engaged in open
warfare.
Israel & Palestine
• Holocaust/World War II
• Muslims reacted
negatively.
•
•
•
•
Peace talks
Israeli control
Palestinian terrorism
Divine right
• Is this an Interfaith or
Intrafaith boundary?
Religious Conflicts
Read the text to understand your assigned
religious conflict. Your group should discuss:
• GROUPS. What religious groups are in conflict?
• WHY? What are the reasons for the conflict and why do
they exist?
• HOW? How has the conflict manifested itself?
• TYPE? Is the conflict a result of an interfaith boundary or
an intrafaith boundary?
Be prepared to present your findings to the class.
EVERYONE is responsible for reading the section
on Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism at
the end of the test.
Review Quiz Questions
Your group must create 10 questions from the
religion unit. Your questions should:
• Vary in difficulty. You should have at least a few “easy”
questions and a few “hard” questions.
• Vary in type. You should ask a combination of multiple
choice, true/false, and short answer questions.
• Vary in content. You should cover all of the lectures and
assigned readings equally.
Type your questions and save them to the flash
drive. Put a * next to the correct answer for each
question. Label with all group members’ names.