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SACRED PLACE, SACRED SPACE: THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES. RELIGION IN THE PRE-AP CLASSROOM. Texas’ Essential Elements include religion You are teaching historical religions You are not teaching theology AP World History 1/7 of curriculum covers religions, philosophies
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SACRED PLACE, SACRED SPACE:THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES
RELIGION IN THE PRE-AP CLASSROOM • Texas’ Essential Elements include religion • You are teaching historical religions • You are not teaching theology • AP World History • 1/7 of curriculum covers religions, philosophies • Foundations and Post-Classical Periods • Religion is a predominant theme • DBQs • Two DBQs in recent years were religious based • DBQ: Christian and Muslim POV about commerce • DBQ: Reaction of Chinese to Spread of Buddhism • CCOT had religious element • End of Classical Age and Fall of Rome, India and China • The US is a Multi-Cultural Society • Geography really has a strong cultural element
5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY NOT THEOLOGY • Location • Where is the religion located • Name Continents and regions • Name Countries • Where is the absolute center of a religion? • Place • What physical characteristics distinguish the home of a religion? • What are the cultural characteristics of a religion? • Movement • Where did a religion originate? • Did it spread to another region? • Did it change as it spread? • Does the religion encourage pilgrimages? Where? • Region • What are the religions of historic regions? • Human Environment Interaction • How did interaction with the environment impact the development of religions? • What view do religions have of the environment and land?
AP WORLD HISTORY ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS • Themes • Interaction between humans and the environment • Demography • Migration • Development and interaction of cultures • Religions • Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies • Content • Major belief systems • Basic features and locations of major world belief systems prior to 600 C.E. • Polytheisms (plurality: implication – teach multiple systems) • Hinduism • Judaism • Confucianism • Daoism • Buddhism • Christianity • The rise and role of Dar al-Islam • Creation of new religions (Vodun, Zen, Sikhism, Protestantism)
INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIONS • Universalizing Religions • Seek converts • Accept all converts from all groups • Geographically wide spread • Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Bahai, LDS • Ethnic or Cultural Religions • Religion identified with an ethnic group • Localized geography • Hinduism, Jains • Judaism, Zoroastrianism, • Shinto, Daoism, Confucianism • Tribal or Traditional Religions • Appeal to powers beyond humans • Worship aspects of nature, spirits in nature • Isolated geographically in remote areas • Historical “mythic” traditions, shamanism
PRE-HISTORIC RELIGIONS: TRIBAL RELIGIONS • Theme: Human-Environment Interaction • Mystified by nature • Venerate nature • Attempt to influence nature • See power in nature • Shamanistic beliefs • Natural objects have power • Spirits placated, consulted • Close attachment to nature • Hills, Mountains • Trees, Groves • Springs, rivers • Power of Sun, Moon, Wind • Seasons have importance • Shamans are humans who can consult, influence the spirits
A HYMN TO MWARI : THE GOD OF MASHONA • Great Spirit! Piler up of rocks into towering mountains! When thou stampest on the stone, The dust rises and fills the land. Hardness of the precipice; waters of the pool that turn Into misty rain when stirred. • Vessel overflowing with oil! father of Runji, Who seweth the heavens like cloth: let him knit together that which is below. Caller forth of the branching trees: thou bringest forth the shoots That they stand erect. Thou has filed the land with mankind, The dust rises on high, oh Lord! • Wonderful One, thou livest In the midst of the sheltering rocks, Thou givest of rain to mankind: We pray to thee, Hear us, Lord! Show mercy when we beseech thee, Lord. Thou art on high with the spirits of the great. Thou raisest the grass-covered hills Above the earth, and createst the rivers, Gracious One.
TRADITIONAL POLYTHEISMS • Theme of Place: Characteristics influence religion • Domestications of Plants, Animals • Humans become sedentary • Religions become formalized • Tribal beliefs change to traditions • Spirits give way to gods, goddesses • Deities have specific functions, roles • Writing formalizes religious beliefs into words • Characteristics • Rituals and Dogmas • Written Doctrines and Teachings • Institutions including monumental architecture • Priests and scribes • Examples • Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Vedic, Greek, Roman gods • Mesoamerican, Andean, Polynesian gods
THE HYMN TO THE NILE • “Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards created by Re, to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that descends from the sky, loving the bread of Seb and the first-fruits of Nepera, You cause the workshops of Ptah to prosper! Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples. If you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then the faces of men waste away. Then He torments the flocks of Egypt, and great and small are in agony. But all is changed for mankind when He comes; He is endowed with the qualities of Nun. If He shines, the earth is joyous, every stomach is full of rejoicing, every spine is happy, every jaw-bone crushes (its food). He brings the offerings, as chief of provisioning; He is the creator of all good things, as master of energy, full of sweetness in his choice.”
SHINTO • Theme: Absolute Location – Japan • Tribal Religion becomes Traditional • Tribal Beliefs or Shrine Shinto • The world is kami or spirit (kami-kaze or divine wind) • Localized kami or spirits of specific areas • Some kami represent processes, larger natural objects • The world is transcendent; placate, venerate nature • No aspect of personal salvation; no concept of sin • Thousands of shrines throughout Japan localize belief • Traditional or Sect Shinto • Chinese cultural traditions arrive and traditional Shinto emerges • Veneration of nature, ancestral spirits; some anthropomorphism • Shaman become priests; no literature or holy books • Ceremonies celebrate passages of life, seasons • Rituals of cleanliness, blessings on cars, homes, businesses • Shinto becomes a nationalist tradition honoring emperor • Emperor is the descendent of the sun-goddess • When Japanese leave Japan, Shinto often declines • Syncretism: Has blended with Buddhism, Confucianism
THE KOJIKI, c. 680 CE • “Hereupon all the Heavenly Deities commanded the two Deities His Augustness the Male-Who-Invites and Her Augustness the Female-Who-Invites, ordering them to "make, consolidate, and give birth to this drifting land." Granting to them an heavenly jeweled spear, they [thus] deigned to charge them. So the two Deities, standing upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven, pushed down the jeweled spear and stirred with it, whereupon, when they had stiffed the brine till it went curdle-curdle, and drew [the spear] up, the brine that dripped down from the end of the spear was piled up and became an island. This is the Island of Onogoro.”
DAOISM • Theme: Human-Environment Interaction • Dao or “The Way” is the force of the universe • Humans must live in harmony with nature, in balance • Popular Daoism • Traditional polytheism of common Chinese • Civilization led to formalization of tribal religions • Celestial pantheon mirrors imperial pantheon • Shamanistic tribal belief becomes traditional religion • Veneration of nature mixes with ancestor worship • In many ways similar to Shinto but much more formal • Consult, fear, placate spirits • Tradition of alchemy strong within Daoism • Theme: Absolute Location • Gods, goddesses of every day places, functions • The kitchen, hearth, stove • A formal priesthood; the oldest male of house performs ceremony • Philosophic Daoism • Not a religion but a philosophy • Three Jewels of the Dao: compassion, moderation, and humility • Wu wei ("non-action"), spontaneity, humanism, and emptiness • An intellectual school followed by elite scholars • Centered around teachings of the Daoteching, Laotzi • Fengshui: The art of balancing that which is human with nature
THE DAO TE CHING, CHAPTER 39 • The things which from of old have got the One (the Tâo) are-- Heaven which by it is bright and pure; Earth rendered thereby firm and sure; Spirits with powers by it supplied; Valleys kept full throughout their void All creatures which through it do live Princes and kings who from it get The model which to all they give. All these are the results of the One (Tâo). If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend; If earth were not thus sure, 'twould break and bend; Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail; If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale; Without that life, creatures would pass away; Princes and kings, without that moral sway, However grand and high, would all decay.
SACRED SITES OF DAOISM Legend (1) Home of Lao Tze (2) Tao Te Ching revealed at Mt. Chung-nan Shan (3) Founding of the Celestial Masters (4) Mao shan (5) Dragon and Tiger Mountain (6) Taoist pilgrimage site
IN THE BEGINNING… GOD TOLD NOAH AND ABRAHAM THEMES: LOCATION AND MOVEMENT – FROM MT. ARARAT TO THE JOURNEY FROM SUMER TO THE PROMISE LAND
GENESIS 1: AND GOD CREATED …. “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day. Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day. Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed--the third day. Then God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." And so it happened: God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth." Evening came, and morning followed--the fifth day. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." And so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.”
“FROM THE WADI AL ARISH TO THE EUPHRATES” • Genesis 15:18 “It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River (the Euphrates), the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” • Deuteronomy 1: 6-8 "The LORD, our God, said to us at Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the surrounding regions, the land of the Canaanites in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negeb and the seacoast; to Lebanon, and as far as the Great River (the Euphrates). I have given that land over to you. Go now and occupy the land I swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I would give to them and to their descendants.”
THE GEOGRAPHY OF JUDAISM • Theme: Absolute Location
ZOROASTRIANISM • Theme: Human Environment Interaction
THE ZEND AVESTA SPEAKS • We sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun. When the light of the sun waxes warmer, when the brightness of the sun waxes warmer, then stand up the heavenly Yazatas, by hundreds and thousands, they gather together its Glory, they make its Glory, they make its Glory pass down, they pour its Glory unto the earth made by Ahura, for the increase of the world of holiness, for the increase of the creatures of holiness, for the increase of the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun. And when the sun rises up, then the earth, made by Ahura, becomes clean, the running waters become clean, the waters of the wells become clean, the waters of the sea become clean, the standing waters become clean; and the holy creatures, the creatures of the Good Spirit, become clean. Should not the sun rise up, then the Daevas would destroy all the things that are in the seven Karshvares, nor would the heavenly Yazatas find any way of withstanding or repelling them in the material world. He rejoices all the heavenly and worldly Yazatas, who offers up a sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun, 1 will sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten thousand eyes. I will sacrifice unto the club of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, well struck down upon the skulls of the Daevas.
HINDU HYMN TO EARTH Atharva Veda, one of the four Aryan (Hindu Vedas), Hymn to Earth, an oral tradition written down c. 900 BCE Earth, in which lie the sea, the rivers and other waters, in which food and grain fields have come to be, in which lives all that breathes and that moves, May she confer on us the finest of her yield. Earth, in which the waters, common to all, moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night, may she pour on us milk in many streams, and endow us with luster. May those born of thee, O Earth, be for our welfare, free from sickness and waster. Wakeful through a long life, we shall become bearers of tribute to thee. Earth my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with heaven. O wise one, uphold me in grade and splendor.
SACRED SITES OF HINDUISM Theme: Human-Environment Interaction
TAGORE ON NATURE • “When the first Aryan invaders appeared in India it was a vast land of forests, and the new-comers rapidly took advantage of them. These forests afforded them shelter from the fierce heat of the sun and the ravages of tropical storms, pastures for cattle, fuel for sacrificial fire, and materials for building cottages. And the different Aryan clans with their patriarchal heads settled in the different forest tracts which had some special advantage of natural protection, and food and water in plenty. Thus in India it was in the forests that our civilization had its birth, and it took a distinct character from this origin and environment. It was surrounded by the vast life of nature, was fed and clothed by her, and had the closest and most constant intercourse with her varying aspects. But even in the heyday of its material prosperity the heart of India ever looked back with adoration upon the early ideal of strenuous self-realization, and the dignity of the simple life of the forest hermitage, and drew its best inspiration from the wisdom stored there.”
CONFUCIUS AND MENCIUS SAY: "The greenery on Niu Mountain was once beautiful, but since it was near a large city, it was attacked by lumberjacks. How could it retain its beauty? Still, by breathing in the sunlight and rain, how could new buds and sprouts not appear? But then cattle and sheep came and fed themselves, and by the time they were done, it was completely barren. If people saw this barrenness, they might have imagined that there had never been any greenery. How could the mountain be inherently like this? In the case of people, how could they lack the mind of Humanity and Righteousness? But the daily damaging of the goodness of their mind is just like the lumberjacks on the mountain. Being chopped down day after day, how can it manifest its natural beauty? One may breathe in fresh air day and night, but if you allow the enjoyment of evil doings with people to close in on you, the air gets thin, and your daytime activities stifle you. Because of this stifling, the fresh air is insufficient. Being insufficient, your goodness of mind is not nourished, and there will be little difference between you and the animals. People see our animalistic nature and assume that we have never had great endowments. How could this be our real nature? Therefore, if it is properly nourished, there is nothing that will not grow. If it is not nourished, there is nothing that will not die. Confucius said: 'Use it and you will keep it; ignore it and you will lose it. “
SACRED SITES OF CONFUCIANISM (1) Ch'u-fu (Qufu)--Confucius's= birthplace, a pilgrimage site; (2) Beijing – site of the Temple of Heaven, location of Imperial ceremonies performed on behalf of the nation; (3) Beijing – location of T'ien-an Men Square (4) Mt. T'ai and Mt. Wu-T'ai—holy mountains valued by all three major religions of China; sites where officials offered prayers on behalf of the people; (5) Korea (6) Japan
BEIJING: THE FORBIDDEN CITY THEME: LOCATION THE CONFUCIAN CITY AS A MODEL OF THE UNIVERISE
MAHAVIRA TEACHS The Jains say “Earth is afflicted and wretched, it is hard to teach, it has no discrimination. Unenlightened men, who suffer from the effects of past deeds, cause great pain in a world full of pain already, for in earth souls are individually embodied. If, thinking to gain praise, honour, or respect ... or to achieve a good rebirth . . . or to win salvation, or to escape pain, a man sins against earth or causes or permits others to do so. . . . he will not gain joy or wisdom. . . . Injury to the earth is like striking, cutting, maiming, or killing a blind man . . . Knowing this man should not sin against earth or cause or permit others to do so. He who understands the nature of sin against earth is called a true sage who understands karma. . .”
THE QURAN… • Sura 73: Leave those to Me who deny,—the lovers of ease and comfort;—and bear with them for a while. Verily We shall have fetters with Us, and a roaring furnace, and food that will stick in the throat, and painful torment on the day the earth and mountains will rock violently, and the mountains turn to a heap of poured-out sand. • Sura 9: God has provision for them of gardens with streams of running water, where they will abide for ever. There will be the supreme triumph. • Sura 22: God will surely admit those who believe and do the right to gardens with rivers running by, where they will be decked in bracelets of gold and of pearls; and of silk will be their garments. They will be guided with gentle words, and guided to the commended path. • Sura 13: For those who fail to obey, the reckoning will be hard, and hell will be their abode: How wretched is its wide expanse! Who persevere in seeking the way of their Lord...who repel evil with good: For them is the recompense of paradise: perpetual gardens. • Sura 24: As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in the desert which the thirsty takes for water till he reaches it to find that there was nothing, and finds God with him who settles his account, for God is swift at the reckoning. • Sura 56: 'Indeed, the earlier and the later generations will be gathered together on a certain day which is predetermined. Then you, the erring and the deniers, will eat of the tree of Zaqqum, fill your bellies with it, and drink over it boiling water. Lapping it up like female camels raging of thirst with disease.'
SACRED SITES OF ISLAM • Mecca Pilgrimage to Mecca, specifically the Kaaba, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Mecca is the location where Muhammad received the revelation of the Quran and preached his first sermons. 2. Medina Ziyara means a visit to a Muslim holy place or tomb, but it refers specifically to the pilgrimage to Muhammad's tomb in Medina. Muhammad fled to Medina when Mecca became dangerous. Site of the first Muslim community 3. Jerusalem The Dome of the Rock (also known as the Mosque of Umar) in Jerusalem is the building that covers the rock from which Muhammad is believed to have descended to heaven on this famous Night Journey. The rock is believed to bear the footprint of Muhammad. 4. Karbala - the place where Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, was killed. this tragedy marks an important point in the development of Shiite Islam and therefore is commemorated by a pilgrimage to Karbala. There are other Shia pilgrimage sites in Iraq and Iran.
