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RELIGIOUS ORIGINS: A
GEOGRAPHIC INTRODUCTION
“Since the beginning of time, spirituality and
religion have been called on to fill in the
gaps that science did not understand.”
(Maximillian Kohler in Angels and Demons, pg. 25)
Geography of Religion
Language & Religion cultural foundations
– Religion is a binding force
– Religions change continually
– The great religions span cultural & linguistic
barriers
– Over 6,000 religions!!
– Like languages, the map of religions changes
Religion’s Role in Society
Some countries, religion is the culture
It manifests itself in many different ways
– Subordinate in most Western societies
– (might) Wield control in Africa and Asia
Every religion has specific components
World-scale faiths are vast & complex
organizations
How can religion affect culture?
One of the most complex—and often
controversial—aspects of the human condition
Religion Defined…
Universal human phenomena that asks three
essential questions:
1. How did we get here?
2. Why are we here?
3. Where are we going?
Two basic theories to answer those questions
1. Evolution
2. Creationism
Evolution
Charles Darwin’s (1809-82) idea, based on writings
by Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
– NOT, I repeat, NOT “man came from monkeys”
– Gross misrepresentation of Darwin’s concept
– Never even mentions “evolution” in his Origin of Species
“Universal—infinite”
“Survival of the fittest”
The change in the gene pool of a population from
generation to generation that may, in time, produce
new species
Evolutionists
How did we get here?
– The Big Bang; 5-8 billion years ago
– Evidence of humanoid creatures 3-5 mya
– 35-50,000 ya, first homo sapiens
Why are we here?
– Self-create
Anomie: radical meaninglessness
Where are we going?
– Nowhere, but change happens
An uncomfortable feeling (for some)
– Freud: “we can remember yesterday; we can anticipate
tomorrow; we know the end is coming”
Religion is man-made, and comes from this trauma
Creationism
LOTS older than evolution
There is/was a creator(s)
Use anthropomorphism
– Using human attributes to describe creator(s)
How did we get here?
– Via a creator
Who, where, & how dependent on person and religion
Why are we here?
– Depends on the religion
Where are we going?
– Depends on the religion
Theistic Religion
Belief in some supreme or ultimate reality, which one can also
speak of in personal terms.
Transcendent: Outside ourselves (do’s & don’ts from deity)
Immanence: Inside ourselves (turn inward for do’s and don’ts)
Monotheism
– Belief in one deity
Polytheism
– Belief in more than one deity
Animism
– Belief that inanimate objects
possess souls and should be
revered
Atheism
– Belief in no theistic deity
Deism
– The deity (God) is within us;
he was there, but now humans
can handle it
Pantheism
– Belief that deity is the world;
everything; within
Agnostic
– Belief in anomie; neither faith
nor disbelief in deity
Monotheistic Religions
Judaism
– “Founded” by Isaac, son of Abraham & Sara
– Moses talks with YHVH (tetragrammaton: “I am who I
am”)
– Describe YHVH (God) as Ruach, Hebrew for “wind”
– Sacred books include Tanakh (Old Testament-like), the
Torah/Pentateuch, and Talmud
– No Holy Sacrament
Zoroastrianism
– “Founded by Zoroaster”, first millennium CE
– Believed to be the predecessor of late Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam
Others believe Judaism was the first monotheistic religion
Monotheistic Religions
Christianity
– “Founded” by Christ (a Jew), traces roots back (through
Judaism) to Isaac, son of Abraham
24 different sects of Jews at time of Jesus
– Becomes “independent” of Judaism in 56 CE
Until ~1000 CE, everyone could preach, ordain, baptize, etc.,
because there was no “formal” priesthood
– Sacred books include Old and New Testaments and
Apocrypha
OT compiled by various writers, in various countries over ~1000
years; NT by various writers, ~60-95 CE;
– Seven sacraments (from 12th century)
Baptism, communion, confirmation, penance, extreme unction,
ordination, matrimony
Monotheistic Religions
Christianity
– Constantine “The Great” makes it “official” in
320 CE
His dream…there was this battle, see…
Found that there was no “one” Christianity practiced
– Conference of Nicea (379 CE)
Decided many tenets of Christianity
– Transubstantiation—Jesus (or a person) is both divine &
human
– Books to be used; names to be used
– Set stage for Catholicism
Monotheistic Religions
Catholicism
– Catholic—from Gr. = “Universal”
Bishop of Rome (Pope) = head of catholic church
Founded Church of Holy Sepulcher (Vatican &
Jerusalem)
Traced foundation to St. Peter (Peter = Gr. for
“rock”)
– Vatican (largest church in world – 1520-1620 to build)
built, literally, on Peter
Monotheistic Religions
Catholicism
– No edifice could be higher than a church
– Began the Crusades: 350 years of “conversion”
– Founded the Inquisition: a church court judged who
practiced correctly
– By 1517, Catholic Church owns 2/3 of ALL property in
Europe
– Martin Luther (Germany, in 1517) started the
Protestant movement
Same canon as Catholicism
Two-Three sacraments: baptism, communion, penance
(sometimes)
Monotheistic Religions
Islam (“submission”)
– “Founded” by Muhammad, traces roots back to Ishmael,
son of Abraham and Hagar (black?)
“I am only a preacher of God’s words, the bringer of
God’s message to mankind”--Muhhamad
– Hijrah: Muhammad’s flight from Mecca; beginning of
Muslim (“one who submits”) calendar
– Sacred book is Koran (“recitation”)
Given to Muhammad by Angel Gabriel
Also use Hadith to interpret Koran
– Sharia (Islamic Law) stresses absolute racial equality
– al Illah = the god (little “g”); Allah = THE God (big “g”)
– After Muhammad’s death, splits into two sects:
Sunni: devout follower successive leader
Shiite: blood relative successive leader
Monotheistic Religions
Islam’s Tenets
– Five Pillars of Islam
1. Shahadar: repetition of basic creed
•
2.
3.
4.
5.
“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”
Zakat: almsgiving; done during Ramadan
Salat: prayer; minimum of five times daily
Saum: fasting during the 9th month (Ramadan)
Haaj: pilgrimage to Mecca; once in a lifetime if able
Polytheistic Religions
Hinduism
– Brahman—“oneness” or “soul reality”
– Atmah–soul; “true self”
– Guru—spiritual leader
– Om—“sound of the universe”; encompasses
whole world, past, present, and future
– Shanti—“peace” (said with palms together, finger pointing up)
– Sacred writings include (2000 BCE – 500 CE)
Vedas; Upanishads; Bhagavat Gita (“Song of God”—
longest poem in the world)
Polytheistic Religions
Hinduism
– Oldest religion in the world
– Illusory religion (no relics/artifacts)
Art and icons are permitted, unlike I, J, C, “no graven images”
Life one of many journeys
– Samsara: “re-birth”; the “soul’s cycle”; “birth & re-birth”
Reincarnation (many) vs. resurrection (once)
– Moksha: “release”; liberation from Samsara
– Dharma: “duty” brought on by past Karma
– Karma: “action”; cause & effect; path not pre-determined
– Miracles
Ongoing; everyone experiences
– Caste vs. Class System (movement)
Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaysias, Shurdas, Harijan/Dalit
Polytheistic Religions
Buddhism
– Founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama
– Spread slowly until King Asoka (273-232 BCE)
– Fazed out in India, mostly in Japan and E.
Asia
– Step away from all desire to find peace and
enlightenment
– Buddha is a title
Sanskrit: “enlightened one” or “one who is awake”
Polytheistic Religions
Buddhism
– Follows the
Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused
by selfish cravings
and greed
3. Remove the cause
of the suffering
(materialism)
4. Follow the “Noble
Eightfold Path”
The 8-fold Path
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Right view
Right intention
Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right contemplation
Method of training  to
“awake-ness”
Polytheistic Religions
Chinese Religions
– Confucianism
Brotherly love;
harmony with “man”
– Taoism (Daoism)—
Lao Tzu
Harmony with
nature
Opposites in
everything; balance
necessary
– Feng Shui
Spatial arrangement
to promote harmony
with environment
Yin
Yang
Moon
Sun
Night
Day
Dark
Light
Cool
Warm
Feminine
Masculine
Earth
Heaven
Even
Odd
Rest
Active
Another Religion
Sikhism
– Developed amidst Muslim-Hindu influences
– “Founded” by Guru Nanak (1469)
– Monotheistic
– Sacred text is “Teachings of the Ten Gurus”
– An end to reincarnation by disciplined and
balanced spirituality
– Salvation is not a “heaven”, but a union and
absorption into God, Nam Japna
Distribution of Major Religions
A generalization...
Sources and Distribution
Universalizing religions
Ethnic religions
– Sometimes called “cultural religions”
Most recent data on religious affiliation
– Information must be used cautiously
– Data are not always reliable
– Should be viewed as a rough estimate
Estimated Adherents to Major World Religions, by Geographic Realm (in millions, 2005)
Americas
Religion
Christianity
N.
Mid.
Asia
S.
Europe
SubSaharan
Africa
N. Africa
SW Asia
S.
SE
E.
Russia
Pacific
Total
210
145
309
320
240
5
25
91
50
111
15
1524
Roman
Catholic
74
130
264
162
99
0.4
5
70
13
5
7
829
Protestant
130
15
45
100
113
4
20
21
37
9
8
503
Orthodox
6
0.1
0.2
59
29
0.4
na
na
na
97
0.5
192
4
1
1
15
187
403
330
183
30
3
0.2
1157
Sunni
4
1
1
13
179
261
323
180
30
3
0.2
996
Shiite
0.1
na
na
2
8
141
7
3
na
na
na
163
Hinduism
1
0.3
0.4
1
2
2
744
6
0.3
na
0.4
757
Buddhism
2
0.1
0.4
0.3
na
0.1
23
169
152
1
na
347
Chinese
Religions
0.1
na
0.1
0.1
na
na
0.3
9
253
na
na
262
Sikhism
0.4
na
na
0.2
na
na
21
na
na
na
na
22
Judaism
6
0.2
1
2
0.1
5
na
na
na
3
0.1
17
Islam
Sources and Distribution
Christianity—a divided religion
– Roman Catholicism
– Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches
Islam—also divided
– Fastest growing of the world's major religions
– Main division = Sunni & Shiite
Hinduism
– Great diversity of forms and practices
– Is an ethnic religion concentrated in a single geographic realm
– Probably the world’s oldest organized religion
Buddhism
– Now a minority faith in its source-country
– Remains strong in Southeast Asia
Shintoism
– Japanese ethnic religion closely related to Buddhism
Sources and Distribution
The Chinese Religions
Confucianism was mainly a philosophy of life
Taoism: human happiness = proper relationship with
nature
Judaism—also “split” (like Islam & Christianity)
Outside of Israel is scattered across much of the world
Three main branches—Orthodox, Conservative, and
Reform
Shamanism and Traditional Religions
Community faith
Small and comparatively isolated
Traditional religion
Minority Religions
Abound within major religious realms
– Most produced by migration and conversion
– Sikhism
Long-time fusion
Traces of Hinduism and Islam
– Nation of Islam—founded in the United States
About 6 million adherents
Product of migration from Islamic parts of the
world over time
A minority religion in the US and among its
African-American population
Syncretic religions
An intermixing of Christian and traditional
cultural elements
– Northern Europe
Christianity mixing with traditional Norse elements
Catholicism & Celtic pagans
Gave way eventually to mainstream form of
Christianity
The Rise of Secularism
Many people are religion-less
– Figures show active AND non-active members
– Modest role in US society (mostly)
– Antireligious efforts of China & former Soviet
Union
Can be traced back over the centuries
Middle Ages...
Protestant challenge
State and Church
Separation of church and state
Freedom to choose
The Rise of Secularism
Weakening of traditions
– Observance of the “Sabbath”
Western Europe shows decline in
religion as a cultural force
The Muslim world shows a
strengthening
– Oil revenues
– Revolutionary fervor
Conservative & rural societies
(cont.)
Physical Origination
All major contemporary religions originated
in a small areas of the world
– Area stretched from eastern shores of the
Mediterranean Sea to southwestern flanks of
the Himalayas
– Source areas coincide quite strongly with the
culture hearths
Questions and Thoughts…
Judaism is experiencing a population
decrease. Why?
About half of the world’s population practices
a polytheistic religion