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Religious Realms
Introduction
Religion can be defined as a set of
beliefs and practices through which
people seek mental and physical
harmony with the powers of the
universe, through which they
attempt to influence and
accommodate the awesome forces
of nature, life, and death
Terms
• Branch: a large and fundamental division within a
•
•
•
•
religion
Denomination: is a division of a branch that unites a
number of local congregations in a single legal and
administrative body
Sect: a relative small group that has broken away
from an established branch/denomination
– heretic: one who disagrees with church doctrine
Sectarianism: conflict arising from perceived
differences between subdivisions of a group
Adherents: a believer or supporter
Example: Branches of Christianity
You can also divide religions by the
way they view God
Polytheistic more than one diety
Monotheistic one diety
Animistic inanimate objects such as mountains,
boulders, rivers and trees possess spirits and
should be revered
Introduction to Spatial Analysis
Religion produces variations that
can be mapped as culture regions
Spatial variations produced by
cultural diffusion
The spatial pattern of religion is
visibly imprinted on the cultural
landscape
Religion very often lies at the root
of conflict between cultural groups
Built Landscape
Write down, by religion, what we discuss about
the following pictures
Effect on the Landscape
Places of Worship
Spain versus Latin America
Places of Worship
Burial and Effect
Place Names, Symbols, Language
and the Landscape
Religious Artwork
Note: Islam does not allow for the portrayal
of Mohammad
Holy Places
Buddhism - Stupas
Types
Relic stupa, the relics or remains of the Buddha, his
disciples and lay saints
Object stupa, in which the items interred are objects
belonged to the Buddha or his disciples
Commemorative stupa, built to commemorate events
in the lives of Buddha or his disciples.
Symbolic stupa, to symbolize aspects of Buddhist
theology
Votive stupa, constructed to commemorate visits or to
gain spiritual benefits, usually at the site of prominent
stupas which are regularly visited.
Islam and Customs
Courtyards: Mosques
and at home- Purdah
Haj
Haj Architecture
Environmental and Hinduism
•Cremation
strain the
supply of wood,
causes
deforestation in
areas
•-Varanasi
Diffusion
 Proselytic religions (Universal or Global)


Actively seek new members
Their goal is the conversion of all humankind
 Ethnic religions


–
Identified with some particular ethnic or tribal group
Does not seek converts
Proselytic religions sometimes grow out of ethnic religions—
Christianity from Judaism
Mormons on Bikes
Diffusion - Questions
• How would the nature (ethnic versus
universal) of the religion affect the way
it?
– Disperses
– how many people are members
– the demographics of the members?
• How are Buddhism and Judaism
examples of an exception to this rule?
World Religions
Universalizing
Major
Christianity (1)
Islam (2)
Buddhism
Minor
Sikhism
Bahá’í
Ethnic
Major
Hinduism (3)
Minor
Chinese “folk” religions
Confucianism
Daoism
Shinto
Judaism -major textbook example
Ethnic African religions
Animism
Minor Religions
Bahai
Daoism, Confucianism
Religions of the World
Global Distribution
Christianity 2.4 billion
37% Americas
25% Europe
24% Sub-Saharan Africa
13% Asia
Islam 1.6 billion
1% Americas
2% Europe
15% Sub-Saharan Africa
60% Asia-Pacific
20% MENA
Buddhism 500 million
95% Asia-Pacific (about half of this is China)
Minor Ones?
Bahai
Ethnic Religions
Hinduism 1 billion
99% Asia-Pacific
Judaism 15 million
40% North America -decreasing
40% Israel -increasing
7% Europe –decreasing
Minor Ones?
Minor Ones
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Hinduism
Judaism
All Religions
Population of the
religion depends
on two variables
• Population growth or
decline
• Whether the religion is
actively converting
new members of not
Cartogram of Religions
Islam
 Universal religion
 The Islamic religion is dominant in the
Middle East, Indonesia, parts of Africa and
some parts of Asia.
 Most if not all of these countries are in stage
two or three making the religion the fastest
growing religion (percentage).
Christianity
 Also a universal religion and is currently
the largest religion.
 It exists in stage four countries / areas
(Europe, Australia, and America) as well as
stage three countries (Latin American) and
stage two countries (African).
 But this religion does not have the fast
growth that Islam has.
Population Growth
Christianity – Global Share
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
Limited diffusion of ethnic religions
• More tied to physical environment
• Universal religions usually compete with/intrude on
ethnic religions
• Examples of mingling:
o Christianity with African ethnic religions
o Buddhism with Confucianism in China and with Shinto
in Japan
• Ethnic religions can diffuse with migration
Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
 Ethnic religions like the Hindu faith do not try
and gain followers outside of the faith.
 These religions grow or shrink just through
population growth
Ethnic Religions are connected to a
place


This limits the religion's ability to gain
followers. And because religious artifacts are
quite often connected to a local area and its
materials, the religion has a hard time
gaining followers outside of the local ethnic
group.
Sometimes religious holidays are based off
of the agricultural cycles (how does that
make it local), or to local geographic features
like the Ganges river.
Ganges River
 How is the river an example of a local physical
feature that belongs to an ethnic religion?
 Link
India's Politics
 Hindu nationalists believe the country's policies
should be dominated by the values of the
Hindu religion.
 They quite often play a large role in rewriting
the history texts for schools.
 They are against globalization
 This quite often does not
go over well with the Muslim
community. They see this
party as a threat
 They grew up in a community of followers and
everything around them (local materials, calendar,
their ethnic group, and clothing styles) connected
them to their religion.
 What would happen if malls came the area?
Maps and Religion Type
•
What would you expect of the diffusion
patterns and numbers of religions?
Universalizing
Seeks to appeal to all
proselytic = to attempt to
convert, recruit
•
In general
•
Holy Places tied to life of founder
•
vs.
Ethnic Religions
Appeals to a single group
living in one place
tied to phys. environment
Both involve pilgrimages = religious journeys to sacred
places
• Celebration of the
• Celebration of the
Calendar
founder’s life
seasons
•
Cosmogony
Beliefs about•
origin of the
universe
•
Diffusion
•
•
God creates
nature/physical
environment
•
•
precise origins/hearth, •
tied to a specific founder
•
usually widespread
God = nature
incorporates events from
phys. environment
unclear or unknown origins,
not tied to a specific founder,
Ltd. diffusion, usually tied to
geography of a location. Can
diffuse thru relocation
Barriers and time-distance decay
 Religion can act as a barrier to the spread of
nonreligious innovations
 Religious taboos can function as absorbing barriers



Can prevent diffusion of foods and drinks
Mormons are forbidden to consume products
containing caffeine
Some Pennsylvania Dutch churches prohibit cigarette
smoking, but not the raising of tobacco by member
farmers for commercial markets
Christianity
•
As of the early 21st century, Christianity
has between 1.5 billion and 2.1 billion
adherents. Christianity represents about a
quarter to a third of the world's population
and is the world's largest religion. In
addition, Christianity is the state religion of
several countries.
• With an estimated number of adherents that
ranges between 2 billion and 2.3 billion, split
into around 34,000 separate denominations,
Christianity is the world's largest religion. The
Christian share of the world's population has
stood at around 33 per cent for the last
hundred years.
• This masks a major shift in the demographics
of Christianity; large increases in the
developing world (around 23,000 per day)
have been accompanied by substantial
declines in the developed world, mainly in
Europe and North America (around 7,600 per
day)
• In most countries in the developed world,
church attendance among people who
continue to identify themselves as Christians
has been falling over the last few decades.
Some sources view this simply as part of a
drift away from traditional membership
institutions, while others link it to signs of a
decline in belief in the importance of religion
in general.
Christianity
Largest World Religion
• About 2 billion adherents
• Many adherents in Europe, the Americas
Three Major Branches
• Roman Catholicism (51% of all Christians)
• Protestant Christianity (24%)
Denominations include Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist,
Anglican, Presbyterian, Episcopal etc.
• Eastern Orthodox (11%)
• Other (14%)
Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopians, Mormons (Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints), Jehovah’s Witnesses
Christianity in America
Second Map
•
Why is this second map better?
American Religious Concentrations. Why?
Baptist → Southeastern U.S.
Largely indigenous religion = “American Calvinism”
At first, welcomed African-Americans who were
rejected by mainline Protestantism
Later during Civil War Era
Appeals to southern whites as manifestation of regional
pride (supports slavery, white supremacism, etc.)
Blacks leave to form breakaway churches but still selfidentify as “baptist”
Therefore,
Strong regional clustering of black and white southerners
Lack of in-migration (due to little industrialization)
maintains homogeneity of “baptists”
American Religious Concentrations. Why?
Catholics
Northeast, Rust Belt
Germans (some Southern Catholic) & Irish Catholics (mid1800s)
Pushed by industrialization, stage 2 → overpop., lack of econ.
opp.
Potato famine, British abuse/eviction from land
Early 1900s immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe
Poles, Italians, other Catholics (+ Russian Jews)
Pushed by industrialization, stage 2 → overpop., lack of econ.
opp.
Other cultural factors (see migration notes)
Why Northern cities = Industrial jobs
Southwestern US/US-Mexican border
Proximity to Latin American source area of origin since
WWII
Latin America in stage 2
Farm laborers, illegal immigration
How does this reflect Gravity model and Ravenstein’s laws?
American Religious Concentrations. Why?
Lutherans → Upper Midwest/Northern Great Plains
Northern Germans and Scandinavians bring Lutheranism
Cultural preadaptation attracted Northern Europeans to a climate an
farmland similar to their homeland.
RRs and state govts. recruited farmers (mid-to-late 1800s)
Chain migration occurred as relatives continued to arrive.
Remained dominant because of a lack of in-migration
During the next great wave of European immigration (early 1900s),
new immigrants with different religions came to Northern Great Pl
lack of industrialization, urbanization and/or economic opportunity.
Physical environment is arid (lack of water) discouraged the in-migration of oth
religions (non-Lutherans)
American Religious Concentrations. Why?
Mormons → Great Basin, Desert West, Utah
Internal migration for religious freedom, avoid
persecution
Remained dominant because of a lack of in-migration
Not industrialized/urbanized
Inhospitable climate = very dry/arid desert.
Christianity
• Branches
– Roman Catholics-52 percent, Protestants 21, Eastern 10 and 22
percent in no branch
– In Europe, Roman Catholics dominate the south and protestants
the north
– Eastern orthodox churches originated in Eastern Europe and the
Middle East
– Roman Catholics make up 93 percent of Latin American Christians
– In North Am, Catholics are clustered in the southwest and the
northeast and Quebec
– Protestants make up 28 percent of the US population
– Baptists have the largest membership of the protestants in the
United States at 35 million
Origin of Christianity
Hearth
“Holy Land”,
Israel/Palestine,
Jerusalem
Founder: Jesus
Jewish sect
Diaspora spreads Jews
Roman Empire
Eventually transforms
into separate religion
St. Paul → “Gentiles”
sect of Ethnic Judaism
→ Universalizing
Diffusion of
Christianity
To Europe / Roman Empire
•
Relocation
o missionaries
•
•
Contagious to “pagans”
Hierarchical
o Conversion of those in authority
Global
Secondary hearths
Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City
Orthodox = Constantinople/Istanbul
Protestantism = Germany
Relocation
European migration during imperialism
Christian Holy
Places
Relate to life of Christ
•
Jerusalem
o
o
o
o
Golgotha (Calvary)
Holy Sepulchre
Via Dolorosa
Gethsemane
• Bethlehem (birth)
• Nazareth (childhood)
Later sites associated with
saints and “miracles”
Examples
Lourdes, France
Fatima, Portugal
Christian Churches
• More critical than in other
religions
• Affects landscape
•
•
Tall, centrally located
Style reflects
• cultural influences
o Orthodox = pointed domes
• Beliefs
o Protestant = simple
• Availability of building
materials
Christianity
Calendar
Relate to life of Jesus
Easter
Christmas
Connected to Jewish/pagan
seasonal holidays
Jesus was a Jew
Syncretic appeal to win
pagan converts
Differences between
branches
Catholic use “Gregorian”
Orthodox use “Julian”
Disposal of the Dead
Burial
Church yard
Feet toward Jerusalem
Cemeteries reflect religion on the
cultural landscape
Serve as green space in newly
industrializing cities
Other effects on landscape
toponyms
Administration of space
Islam
Islam
• Islam is the religion articulated by the Qur’an.
• An adherent of Islam is a Muslim, meaning
"one who submits (to God)"
• Religious practices include the Five Pillars of
Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims
into a community.
• Islamic law (Arabic: Ҿ‫ת‬‭ֿ ‫ ו‬Šarīʿah) touches on
virtually every aspect of life and society,
encompassing everything from dietary laws
and banking to warfare, welfare, and Jihad.
Islam
Monotheistic, proselytic faith -1.5 billion
Biblical figures, such as Moses, Abraham, and
Jesus are venerated in Islam
Most important prophet and founder is
Muhammad —lived about 14 centuries ago
The Koran — holy book, contains a code of
morals and ethics, and promises an afterlife
Five Pillars of Islam are central to the religion
Islam
2nd largest world religion
•
•
About 1.5 billion adherents
Fastest growing as a percentage
Two significant branches
•
Sunnis (83%)
Widely dispersed across the Middle East, North Africa, South and
Southeast Asia
•
Shias or Shiites (16%)
Primarily clustered in Iran and southern Iraq, Azerbaijan and others
Split based on who should succeed Muhammad
Later has ethnic dimensions
2 Major branches Sunni and Shia
Islam - branches
• Islam is the predominant religion in much of Africa,
the Middle East and major parts of Asia.
• About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest
Muslim country, 31% in the Indian Subcontinent, and
20% in Arab countries.
Muslim Majority Countries
How does this map differ from the
last one?
Regions of the World
• Approximately 50 countries are Muslimmajority, and Arabs account for around 20% of
all Muslims worldwide.
• Approximately 62% of the world's Muslims live
in Asia, with over 683 million adherents in
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
Diffusion - Islam
Origin and Diffusion of Islam
• Muhammad
b. 570 AD in Mecca/Makkah
ministry 610 AD
hijra 622 AD
to Yathrib/Medina
632 AD Reconquered Mecca (dies shortly afterward)
• Muhammad and early successors (caliphs)
diffuse Islam through conquest
• Later spread through trade and other cultural
interactions (see reading posted on website)
Example: diffused to Indonesia in 1200s through trade
Physically separated from Islamic core area
Today has the world’s largest Muslim population (know this fact)
Initial Spread of the Religion
Islam
Calendar
Strict lunar calendar
30 year cycle
19 years = 354 days
11 years = 355 days
Holidays shift annually
Places of Worship
Mosque
•
•
•
•
Community centers
Courtyard surrounded by
buildings for different
functions
Pulpit faces Mecca
Minarets
• muezzin calls to
prayer
Other distinctive traits
•
•
Calligraphy
Arabesques
Islam
Burials Customs
•A person must be buried as
soon as possible after death
•Wash the body
•Shroud it in cloth
•View of the bodies is
acceptable
•Graves are often unmarked
Places of Worship
Mosque
•
•
•
•
Community centers
Courtyard surrounded by
buildings for different
functions
Pulpit faces Mecca
Minarets
• muezzin calls to
prayer
Other distinctive traits
•
•
Calligraphy
Arabesques
Muslim Holy Places
Life of Muhammad
Kaaba in Mecca
5th pillar = hajj
•
•
Pilgrimage to
Mecca
What type of affects
does the hajj have
on the
environment?
Medina
Muhammad’s tomb
Dome of the Rock
Muhammad’s night journey
on Temple Mount
• According to U.S. government figures, in 2006
there were 20 million Muslims in China.
• In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of
Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslimmajority countries
• In Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most
populous Muslim communities. Islam is the
second largest religion after Christianity in
many European countries.
• In 2006, countries with a Muslim majority had
an average population growth rate of 1.8% per
year (when weighted by percentage Muslim
and population size). This compares with a
world population growth rate of 1.12% per
year.
Relate
Consider what you
have learned and
explain the reasons
for the current
conflict in Iraq.
Hinduism
• Hinduism is the predominant religion of the
Indian subcontinent.
• Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and
has no single founder.
• Hinduism is the world's third largest religion
after Christianity and Islam, with
approximately one billion adherents, of whom
approximately 905 million live in India.
• It follows the typical dispersal pattern you
would expect of an ethnic religion.
Hinduism
3rd largest religion in the world
•
900 million adherents
•
97% of Hindus are found in India and the rest in Nepal
Many paths to spirituality
•
Vaishnavism (Vishnu) 70%
o Incarnations (Krishna, Buddha, Jesus?, etc.)
•
Sivaism (Siva) 26%
o Protector and destroyer of ignorance
•
Shaktism (female consorts of Vishnu/Siva)
Hinduism
Origin
Basic ideas brought by Aryans (Indo-Europeans)
No clear founder – dates to 2500BC
Earliest use of term “Hinduism” = sixth century B.C.
Intermingled with Dravidians
‘Karmic” religion
Dharma = set of rules for caste
Caste = social class
Holy places
Riverbanks, coastlines, mountains
Ganges River is the most sacred, Varanasi = pilgrimage site
Effects on landscape
Less physical presence of temples
Overcrowding/pollution due to pilgrimages
Hindus cremate dead = preserves land, no cemeteries BUT
Cremation strains wood supply
Judaism
Judaism
 Monotheistic faith
 Parent of Christianity, and closely related to
Islam
 Certain Hebrew prophets and leaders are
recognized by Christians and Muslims
 Does not actively seek converts and has
remained an ethnic religion
 Has split into a variety of subgroups, partly as
a result of forced dispersal (Explain)
Judaism
 Forced from Israel in Roman times and lost contact




with other colonies
Jews who resided in Mediterranean lands were
called the Sephardim
Those residing in central and Eastern Europe were
known as the Ashkenozim
Large-scale migration of Ashkenazic from Europe
to America during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries
During Nazi years, perhaps a third of the entire
Jewish population of the world was systematically
murdered, mainly Ashkenazim
• Today, less than 15 percent of the world's
Jews live in Europe compared to 90 percent a
century ago.
• The dispersion that happened around the year
70 is often referred to as the diaspora
Diffusion of Religions - Judaism
•
•
•
•
Jews practice their faith in many lands and only
recently did they practice it in their homeland/hearth
(1948) - most were kicked out of the area around
the year 70 when Romans removed them.
Having been exiled they migrated to E. Europe and
Northern Africa and southern, Iberian Europe
(Ashkenazi versus Sephardic)
Historically, they lived in Ghettos in Europe
During WWII, many migrated to the United States
(Skokie is the single,largest ethnic community of
holocaust survivors)
Judaism
 Europe ceased to be primary homeland
and many survivors fled overseas to
Israel and America
 Has about 13-14 million adherents
throughout the world
 Nearly 7 million live in North America
 Followers of this religion have a high
rate of interfaith marriages. How could
this affect the future of this religion?
• Judaism claims a historical continuity
spanning well over 3000 years. It is one of
the oldest monotheistic religions,and the
oldest to survive into the present day
• In 2007, the world Jewish population was
estimated at 13.2 million, 41% of whom lived
in Israel and 40% of whom lived in the United
States. This figure includes both ethnic Jews
and converts to Judaism
• How is this religion typical and atypical of an
ethnic religion?
Judaism
14 - 15 million
1/3 USA, 1/3 Israel, 1/3 elsewhere
15% in Europe (90% before WWII)
Origin and diffusion
Abraham’s migration/covenant
Promised land ↔ monotheism
10 lost tribes (Assyrians)/2 tribes remain (Babylon)
Tribe of Judah = “Jewish”
Diaspora (after 70 AD by Romans)
makes Jews an exception that ethnic religions are clustered
“re-clustering” due to est. of Israel
Zionism = movement for a Jewish homeland
began late 1800s, reaction to persecution
The Jewish calendar
Rosh Hashanah
New Year
Yom Kippur
Autumn holidays express
worry over winter rains
Day of Atonement
Passover
Sukkot
Feast of Weeks
Spring harvest and
sacrifices commemorated in
Exodus
Buddhism
Buddhism
About 400 million adherents
difficult to quantify due to syncretism
the combination of different beliefs
Three branches
Mahayana (56%) (China, Japan, Korea)
Theravada/Hinayana (38%) (Southeast Asia)
Tantrayana/Vajrayana (6%) (Tibet, Mongolia)
The Four Noble Truths
“karmic/dharmic” religion
Goal is “nirvana” = release from cycle of rebirth
Origin and Diffusion of Buddhism
Founder:
Siddhartha Gautama
NE India/Nepal / 500s BCE
Becomes the Buddha
-The “awakened one”
Emperor Asoka
Converts to Buddhism
Sends missionaries (mid 200s BCE)
Traveled along silk road to China
-Becomes “Chinese”
-Diffuses further (bodhisattvas)
Disappears from India
-Absorbed by Hinduism (syncretism)
Buddhism
 Today the most widespread religion in Asia
 Dominates a culture region from Sri Lanka to Japan
and from Mongolia to Vietnam
 Proselytic religion




Formed composite faiths as it fused with ethnic faiths
especially in China and Japan
Fused with Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism
Southern Buddhism dominant in Sri Lanka and
mainland Southeast Asia retains greatest similarity to
original form
Special variation known as Lamaism prevails in Tibet
and Mongolia
Buddhism
 Difficult to determine number of adherents
because of tendency to merge with native
religions — estimates range from 334 million
to over 500 million people
 In China, has enmeshed with local faiths to
become part of an ethnic religion
 Outside China, remains one of the great
proselytic religions in the world
Buddhism
•
Buddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a
path of liberation attained through insight
into the ultimate nature of reality. It is a
religion or spiritual philosophy
encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs
and practices, largely based on teachings
attributed to Siddhartha Gautama,
commonly known as the Buddha
(Pali/Sanskrit "the awakened one").
• Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized:
Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and
Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada, the
oldest surviving, has a widespread following in Sri
Lanka and Southeast Asia, whilst Mahayana, which
is found throughout East Asia, includes the traditions
of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan
Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In
some classifications, a third branch, Vajrayana, is
recognized, although many see this as an
offshoot of the Mahayana.
Buddhism
About 400 million adherents
difficult to quantify due to syncretism
the combination of different beliefs
Three branches
Mahayana (56%) (China, Japan, Korea)
Theravada/Hinayana (38%) (Southeast Asia)
Tantrayana/Vajrayana (6%) (Tibet, Mongolia)
The Four Noble Truths
“karmic/dharmic” religion
Goal is “nirvana” = release from cycle of rebirth
Origin and Diffusion of Buddhism
Founder:
Siddhartha Gautama
NE India/Nepal
500s BCE
Becomes the Buddha
The “awakened one”
Emperor Asoka
converts to Buddhism
sends missionaries (mid 200s BCE)
Traveled along silk road to China
Becomes “Chinese”
Diffuses further (bodhisattvas)
Disappears from India
Absorbed by Hinduism (syncretism)
Buddhist proselytism at the time of
emperor Ashoka (260–218 BCE).
Buddhist Places of Worship
pagodas and stupas
stupas
Mark location of relics
collected by Buddha’s
followers in South Asia
pagodas
Evolved from concept of
stupa
Mostly found in China and
Japan
Numbers
•
While Buddhism remains most popular
within Asia, both branches are now found
throughout the world. Various sources put
the number of Buddhists in the world at
between 230 million and 500 million
•Estimates are uncertain for several
reasons:
•
•
Difficulties in defining who counts as a
Buddhist;
Syncretism among the Eastern religions.
Buddhism is practiced by adherents
alongside many other religious traditionsincluding Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto,
traditional religions, shamanism, and
animism- throughout East and Southeast
Asia. In fact, many beleive buddhism can be
practised and you can belong to any other
religion.
Difficulties in estimating the number of Buddhists
who do not have congregational memberships and
often do not participate in public ceremonies;
•
Official policies on religion in several historically
Buddhist countries that make accurate assessments
of religious adherence more difficult; most notably
China, Vietnam and North Korea. In many current
and former Communist governments in Asia,
government policies may discourage adherents from
reporting their religious identity, or may encourage
official counts to underestimate religious adherence.
•
• According to one analysis, Buddhism is the fourthlargest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam
and Hinduism. The monks' order (Sangha), which
began during the lifetime of the Buddha, is among
the oldest organizations on earth.
• Mahayanists make up 56 percent of Buddhists and
exist primarily in China, Japan and Korea
• Theravadists comprise around 38 percent of
Buddhists and exist in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Tantrayanists exist in Tibet
and Mongolia.
• In Japan, 90 percent say they are Shinto and
70 percent say Buddhist so clearly there is
some overlap
• Encyclopedia Britannica estimates there are
anywhere from 3 to 119 million Buddhists in
Japan depending on what you mean by
Buddhist
Questions Related to Religion
• How would an ethnic religion differ from a
universal religion in terms of growth and
diffusion and provide examples
• How would a map of the Islamic religion by
percentages versus numbers versus Muslim
majority countries differ and explain why
• What are the differing reasons for relocation
diffusion of Hindus to other areas of the
world?
Ethnic Neighborhoods
•
Ethnic groups
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Swedish, Irish, Germans
Italians, Greeks, Polish, Ukranian,
Russians, Lithuanians, (90s- Balkans);
Jews
Internal (African Americans)
Vietnamese, Thai, Koreans, Chinese,
Japanese, Philippines, India, Pakistan,
Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuban,
• Chicago Encyclopedia
• Ethnic Chicago
• Chicago Series books