RELIGION:
Like language, religion is a foundation block of cultures. Religion confers identity on people and influences dress, language, house types, and major community buildings. It is difficult to provide a comprehensive definition for religion. Religions have sets of doctrines and beliefs, which relate to the supernatural. They generally have rituals, which are used to express these beliefs. These rituals occur at major points in individual's lives. Religions of the expansive type have an extensive literature such as the Bible, Qu’ran, or Veddic texts. They have also developed a vast bureaucracy of individuals specialized in carrying out religious activities and preserving religious beliefs.
Scholars have divided religions into two
general categories: universalizing religions and ethnic religions. Universalizing
religions are those, which seek converts all around the world regardless of
previous cultures. Ethnic religions are those that do not choose to
missionize or evangelize; their practitioners are content to stay within their
original group.
There are four general universalizing
religions; Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
·
Christianity and Islam both rose in the
·
Hinduism, a major religion of the world, has remained concentrated in
·
Buddhism arose in northeastern
In addition to the fascinating process through
which religions diffuse, geographers have focused on the impact of religions on
the cultural landscape. Religions have places of worship — temples, churches,
shrines, and mosques. They also have sacred groves and landscapes where the dead
are buried.
Religions have had a long history of expansion, and over the years, this
spread has engendered tremendous conflict among adherents of different views.
For example, there is a major transition zone in
CHAPTER
11. THE ORIGIN AND
DISTRIBUTION OF RELIGIONS
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A.
Religion and language lie at the
foundation of culture
1.
Religion is the great binding
force in societies less dominated by technology
2.
Religions change continually with
the times
3.
The great religions have been
adopted across cultural barriers and language boundaries
4.
Map of religions, like languages, continues to change
II.
Geography of religion
A.
Religion's role in society
1.
In some countries it practically
constitutes culture
2.
Religion is difficult to define
3.
It manifests itself in so many different ways
a)
Worship of souls of ancestors in living natural objects
b)
Belief that certain living persons possess capacities granted by a
supernatural power
c)
Belief in a deity or deities
4.
In Western, industrialized,
urbanized societies religion has become subordinate
5.
In
6.
Each religion has sets of doctrines,
beliefs, and complex rituals
7.
Major world-scale faiths have produced vast and complex organizational
structures
8.
How religion's doctrines and beliefs can affect culture
a)
The ideas that a "good" life has rewards and "bad"
behavior risks punishment
b)
Modes of dress
c)
Kinds of food a person can or cannot eat
d)
Commercial practices
e)
Location and structure of houses
f)
Slogan on our money "In God
We Trust"
9.
Religion has had powerful positive as well as deep negative effects on
human societies
10.
Large-scale organized religions have often been unable to adjust to the
needs of the times
B. Sources
and distribution
1.
Spatial distribution the world's
major religions (Figure 11-1)
a)
Because of scale, it cannot
reveal the intricate mosaic existing in many countries
b)
Dominance of Christian religions
c)
Wide distribution of Islam
d)
Table 11-1 reports the latest data on religious affiliation
(1) Information must be used
cautiously
(2) Data
are not always reliable
(3) Should be viewed as a rough
estimate
2.
Christianity–a divided
religion
3.
Islam
a)
Fastest growing of the world's major religions
b)
Focus on:
c)
Main division within Islam is between Sunni
and the Shiah or Shiite cluster concentrated in
4. Hinduism
a)
Ranks after Islam in number of adherents
b)
Has holy men representing literally thousands
of gods
c)
Fragmented by numerous cults
d)
Does not have a holy book
e)
Lacks the kind of bureaucracy familiar to Christians and Muslims
f)
Concentrated in a single geographic realm
5.
Buddhism and Shintoism
a)
Buddhism originated in
b)
Shintoism–Japanese ethnic
religion closely related to Buddhism
6.
The Chinese religions
a)
Confucianism was mainly a philosophy
of life
b)
Taoism held human
happiness lies in maintaining proper relationship with nature
7.
Judaism
a)
One of the world's great religions
b)
Outside of
c)
Three main branches–Orthodox,
Conservative, and Reform
8.
Shamanism and traditional religions
a)
Community faith in which people their shaman–religious leader,
teacher, healer, and visionary
b)
Shamanist faiths are small and comparatively isolated
c)
Traditional African religions involve beliefs in a god as creator and
provider
C.
Source areas
1.
Judaism and Christianity began in
what is today the Israel-Jordan area
2.
Islam arose through the teaching
of Muhammad, a resident of
3.
Hinduism originated in the
4.
Buddhism arose in northeast
5.
Religious source areas coincide
quite strongly with culture hearths (Figure 2-4)
III.
The rise of secularism
A.
Hundreds of millions of people practice no religions at all
1.
Religion membership figures do not accurately reflect the number of
active members
2.
In
3.
Communist influence in
4.
Secularism is not new
a)
After the fall of the
b)
Following the Protestant challenge, erosion of clerical power accelerated
c)
The state took over functions of the church
d)
Separation of church and state
e)
Freedom to choose meant many people chose to abandoned organized religion
5.
Weakening of traditions
a)
Businesses and shops were closed on Sundays
b)
Today shopping centers are open on Sundays
c)
Business and personal affairs are handled on Sundays, fewer attend church
6.
The Mormon culture still observes the cultural tradition of closing
everything on Sunday
7.
a)
Even Catholic countries show more secularization
b)
Religious prescriptions relating to birth control serve to fuel
disaffection
8.
The Muslim world shows a
strengthening of Islam's position
a)
New-found power based on oil revenues
b)
A resurgence of revolutionary fervor
c)
Several governments have committed funds to support the faith and its
followers
9.
In more tradition-bound societies, the strength of the faiths is
sustained
IV.
Global and regional religions
A.
Reach
1.
The true global religions today
are Christianity, Islam, and various forms of Buddhism
2.
Cultural religions are those that primarily dominate a national culture
3.
Focus on: Shintoism
4.
Judaism is a special case because
of its global dispersal
5.
Local religions are traditional religions such as those found in
B.
Focus
1.
Monotheistic religions
2.
Polytheistic religions
3.
Animistic religions–involve the belief that inanimate objects possess
souls and should be revered
4.
Universal religions
5.
Regional religions–Hinduism,
Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism
6.
Traditional religions prevail where the impact of external forces is
weakest
7.
Review of Figure 11-1
CHAPTER
12. RELIGION:
LOCATION, DIFFUSION, AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
CHAPTER
OUTLINE
I.
Introduction
A. All
the great faiths arose within a few thousand years
1.
All arose within a few thousand kilometers of each other
2.
All started in South and
II.
Hinduism
A.
Chronologically, the oldest
of the major religions
1.
Appears to have began in the region of the
2.
May have arisen 4,000 years ago
3.
Has no evolving bureaucratic
structures comparable with those of the Christian religions
4.
Fundamental doctrine is the karma–transferability
of the soul
5.
The ideal is to escape from the eternal cycle through union with the Brahman
6.
Reincarnation is a
cornerstone of the faith
7.
Doctrines are closely bound to
8.
The untouchables
are the lowest in the caste system
9.
Hinduism spread eastward across
10.
In new areas, Hindu thinkers sought
to assimilate certain of the new teachings of other
religions into their own religion
a)
Confrontation with other faiths led to the formulation of a compromise
religion
b)
Monotheism of Islam stimulated
the rise of the Sikhism
11.
Hinduism has not been widely disseminated
12.
Focus on: Hindu
B.
Diffusion
1.
Hinduism has not spread by
expansion diffusion in modern times
2.
Has remained a cultural region of
3.
Relocation diffusion did not form the foci of growing Hindu regions
C.
Cultural landscape
1.
Hinduism is a way of life
a)
Meals are religious rites
b)
Pilgrimages follow prescribed routes
c)
Rituals are attended by millions
d)
Festivals and feasts are frequent, colorful, and noisy
2.
Hindus believe erection of a temple
bestows merit on the builder
3. Location of shrines is important
because there should be minimal disruption of the natural landscape
4.
The faith is a visual as well as
an emotional experience
III.
Buddhism
A.
Appeared in
1.
Buddha was perhaps the first
prominent Indian religious leader to speak out against Hinduism's caste system
2.
Founded by Prince Siddhartha, known to his followers as Gautama
B.
Diffusion
1.
The faith grew slowly after Buddha died in 489 B.C.
at age 80
2.
Emperor Asoka carried the faith across
3.
As Buddhism spread, it declined
in
4.
Today Buddhism is fragmented into numerous branches
5.
Buddhism is experiencing a
revival that started 200 years ago
6. Appeal of Buddhism's principals has
ensured its continued diffusion, notably in the Western
world
C.
Cultural landscape
1.
The Bodhi tree has diffused as
far as
2.
Buddhism's architecture style is famous for its pagodas
a)
Its shape is derived from the relic mounds of old
b)
Every fragment of its construction is a meaningful representation of
Buddhist philosophy
IV.
Chinese religions
A.
Taoism
1.
Its beginnings are unclear
2.
Teachings focuses on the oneness
of humanity and nature
3.
Focus on: Feng Shui
4.
Taoist virtues were simplicity and spontaneity, tenderness and
tranquility
5.
It advocated against competition,
possession, and the pursuit of knowledge
6.
War, punishment, taxation, and ceremonial ostentation were viewed as
evils
7.
Became a cult of the masses
B.
Confucianism
1.
Confucius was appalled at
suffering of ordinary people at the hands of feudal lords
2.
Argued human virtues and
abilities, not heritage, should determine a person's position
3.
After his death in 479 B.C.
his teachings diffused throughout East
and
4.
His texts the Confucian Classics, became the focus of education in
5.
Elements of Taoism and Buddhism
also formed part of the belief system
6.
During the twentieth century political upheavals in
V.
Judaism
A.
The oldest major religion to
emerge west of the
1.
Grew from the belief system of one of the Semitic tribes, the Jews, about
2000 b.c.
2.
With their holy city destroyed by the Romans, the Jews scattered over the
region
a)
Those who went north into
b)
Those who scattered across
c)
Both were denied citizenship, driven into ghettos, and massacred
3.
Roots of Jewish tradition lie in the teachings of Abraham
4.
Modern times have seen a division of Judaism into many branches
5.
Zionism
6.
VI.
Christianity
A.
Had its beginning in the Jews' search for deliverance from Roman
oppression, and the appearance of Jesus
1.
Paul played a central role in organizing the Christian church
2.
Became the Roman state religion with the conversion of Emperor
Constantine in 312
3.
Eastern
4.
Today, the Eastern or Orthodox
Church still forms one of the three major branches
5.
The papacy, established in
6.
In the Middle Ages, the power of the church was at its zenith
7.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Protestant movement arose
B.
Diffusion
1.
Occurred as a combination of
expansion and relocation diffusion during the era of
European colonialism in the sixteenth century
2.
Today, Christianity is the most
widespread and largest of the global religions
3.
Characterized by aggressive and persistent proselytism of its proponents
C.
Cultural landscape
1.
In Medieval
a)
Other buildings clustered around
the tallest tower, steeple, and spire of the church
b)
Crowds gathered for ceremonies and festivals in the square in front of
the church
2.
Cathedrals still rising above European townscapes are reminders of the
Roman Catholic—dominated history
3.
In Protestant regions, churches
tend to blend into the local architecture
4.
Today the skyscraper dominates the cultural landscape in cities
5.
Imprint of death on the landscape
&