The Human Mosaic 12 th Edition

1. The Human Mosaic 12th Edition By Mona Domosh Roderick Neumann Patricia L. Price Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov c. 2012 W.H. Freeman & CO.

2. Chapter 7 The geography of religion Spaces and Places of Sacredness

3. Religion • A social system involving a set of beliefs and practices through which people seek harmony with the universe and attempt to influence the forces of nature, life, and death.

4. Classifying Religions • Proselytic religion(Universalizing religion) • A religion that actively seeks new members and aims to convert all humankind. • Islam • Christianity • Can grow out of ethnic religions • Christianity from Judaism

5. Classifying Religions • Ethnic religion • A religion identified with a particular ethnic or tribal group • Does not seek converts. • Judaism, Shinto • Strong territorial and cultural group ID • Member by birth or adoption of complex life-style • Cannot be part of the culture unless part of the religion

6. Tribal (Traditional) Religions • Small groups • Local culture groups • Not modern cultures • Close ties to nature

7. Tribal Religions • Animism • Belief that life exists in all objects • Shamanism • Community acceptance of a religious leader, healer, and worker of magic • Shaman

8. Secularism • Indifference to or rejection of religion and religious belief • Increasing in modern societies • Very prominent in former and current communist societies

9. Usual patterns • Universalizing • Expansionary • Ethnic • Regionally confined unless people are dispersed (i.e. Jews) • Tribal • Contract as members become modern or are converted

10. Classifying Religions • Monotheism • Belief in a single deity (one god) • Polytheism • Belief in many gods

11. Classifying Religions • Syncretic religions • Religions, or strands within religions, that combine elements of two or more belief systems. • Orthodox religions • Strands within a major religion that emphasize purity of faith.

12. Classifying Religions • Fundamentalism • A movement to return to the founding principles of a religion • Usually show intolerance to other religions or even those within their own religion that do not follow the “proper ways”

13. Region Judaism Christianity Islam Hinduism Buddhism Taoic religions Animism/shamanism

14. World Distribution of Major Religions (Fig. 7.3)

15. Religious Groups in Lebanon (Fig. 7.4)

16. Judaism Founded 4,000 years ago Holy Book = Torah Parent religion of Christianity Subgroups (result of Diaspora): • Ashkenazim: central/eastern Europe • Mizrachim: Middle East/northern Africa • Sephardim: Iberia (Spain/Portugal)

17. Christianity Monotheistic and proselytic Shares hearth in southwest Asia with Islam and Judaism Holy Book = Bible (including Torah) Christian faiths: • Roman Catholics • Protestants • Eastern Christians (includes Armenian and Coptic Churches)

18. Leading Christian Denominations in the United States (Fig. 7.7)

19. Islam • Proselytic and monotheistic • Over 1 billion adherents • Fastest growing world religion • Founded by Mohammad • Holy book = Qur’an or Koran • Sharia = Islamic law • Islamic division: • Sunnis (84%) • Shiites (16%) • Five Pillars • Belief in Allah • Zakat (almsgiving) • Prayer 5 times daily • Fast during Ramadan • Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

20. Muslims at Prayer in Mecca (Fig. 7.8)

21. Hinduism • Polytheistic (supreme God = Brahman) • Belief in reincarnation • Dharma = harmonious and eternal truth • Ahimsa = principle of nonviolence • Varna (castes) based on occupation: • Brahmins (priests) • Kshatriyas (warriors) • Vaishyas (merchants and artisans) • Shudras (workers) • “Untouchables”/outcasts have no caste • Outgrowths of Hinduism: • Jainism • Sikhism

22. Ganesha, Hindu God of Wisdom (Fig. 7.9)

23. Hindu Temple, Bali, Indonesia (Fig. 7.10)

24. Buddhism • Parent religion is Hinduism • Based on teachings of Siddharta Gautama • Nirvana= state of enlightenment • Most widespread in South and East Asia • Tendency to merge with other religions • Four Noble Truths • Life is full of suffering • Desire is the cause of suffering • Cessation of suffering comes with the quelling of desire • Eightfold path of personal conduct and meditation helps individual overcome desire

25. Buddhism in South Korea (Fig. 7.11)

26. Taoism and Animism Taoic religions • Confucianism (China) • Shinto (animistic) • Taoism: Three Jewels are humility, compassion, moderation • Animism/shamanism • The idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena (thunder, lightning), and geographic features (rivers, mountains)

27. Mobility Culture hearth A focused geographic area where important innovations are born and from which they spread.

28. Religious hearths • Major religions concentrated in three hearth areas: • Semitic hearth • Indus-Ganges hearth • East Asian hearth

29. Origin and Diffusion of Five Major World Religions (Fig. 7.14)

30. Semitic Religious Hearth • The 3 great monotheistic religions • Judaism, Christianity, Islam • Southwest Asia • Only proselytic religions spread by conversion

31. Semitic Religious Hearth • Christianity • Hierarchical Diffusion • Convert the king -> convert the people • Militaristic • Contagious diffusion -> Contact conversion • Islam • Predominantly militaristic • “do battle against them until there be no more seduction from the truth and the only worship be that of Allah” http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/world/africa/mali-un-warning/index.html?iref=allsearch

32. Diffusion of Christianity in Europe, 1st-11th Centuries (Fig. 7.15)

33. Indus-Ganges Religious Hearth • Hinduism and Buddhism • Plains in northern India • Hinduism was first and initially spread overseas by missionaries and trade • Buddhism continues to diffuse today • Relocation diffusion by Asian immigrants

34. East Asian Religious Hearth • Confucianism and Taoism • Did not spread until hierarchical diffusion took hold • Diffusion was hindered by the Chinese government after 1949 • Diffusion in Asia through trade and military conquest

35. Pilgrimages • Journeys to places of religious importance • Travels create a connection with the sacred spaces of their faith • May be regarded as places of spatial convergence

36. Pilgrimages • Some religions mandate pilgrimages • i.e. Islam -> hajj • Other religious meanings promote pilgrimages • Forgiveness • Connection with religion • Attainment of a desired objective

37. Journeys to sacred spaces have strong impacts on local economies. Religious Pilgrimage Lourdes, France Bangkok, Thailand Great Mosque, Senegal

38. Religious Segregation (Fig. 7.18)

39. Globalization RISE OF EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTISM IN LATIN AMERICA RELIGION ON THE INTERNET RELIGION’S RELEVANCE IN A GLOBAL WORLD

40. Globalization • Religion must adapt to changes in order to thrive in some locations • Catholic Church and Latin America • Disenfranchisement with the church • Protestant churches are growing rapidly • Will the church change?

41. Religion on the Internet • Religion now available anytime at home • What does that mean in terms of place? • Does it take away the meaning of religion? • Does it create virtual communities that disregard location? • Does it damage the community created by religious meeting places? (churches)

42. Is Religion Relevant? • 913 million non-religious, secular people today • Secularization is on the rise especially in industrialized nations • Religions are failing to: • Meet the needs of rural folk culture • Adapt to contemporary urban scenes

43. Importance of Religion in the United States (Fig. 7.22)

44. Secularism in Europe (Fig. 7.23)

45. Nature-Culture Appeasing the forces of Nature: Religion as adaptive strategy SACRED SPACES IN WORLD RELIGIONS: RIVERS MOUNTAINS TREES FORESTS ROCKS

46. Appeasing the Forces of Nature • Religion and the adaptive strategy • Physical environment factors influence religious development • Animistic religions • Ceremonies meant to manipulate • Ganges River • Jordan River

47. Influence of physical environment is less pronounced in the major Western religions • Except for… • Plagues sent by God • Droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes sent by God

48. Environmental Influence in Animism (Fig. 7.25)

49. Plant and Animal Impact • Plants and animals play key roles in many religions • Plants or animals may diffuse with a religion • Vineyards became popular across Europe as Christianity diffused through the continent

50. Plants and Animals • Religion may explain the absence of crops or domestic animals in certain regions. • Islam and Judaism prohibit pork • Domestic pigs are rare in areas dominated by Islam and Judaism