1. Religious Realms

2. World Population by Religion
Fig. 6-1a: Over two-thirds of the world’s population belong to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism. Christianity is the single largest world religion.

3. Major Religious Hearths

4. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Fig. 6-4: Each of the three main universalizing religions diffused widely from its hearth.

7. Introduction
People are less willing to tolerate or accommodate differences in religious matters than any other aspect of culture
Proselytic or Universalizing religions sometimes grow out of ethnic religions—Christianity from Judaism

8. The Semitic religious hearth
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all arose among Semitic-speaking people
All three arose from the margins of the southwestern Asian deserts
Judaism, the oldest, originated about 4,000 years ago probably along the southern edge of the Fertile Crescent
Later, Judaism acquired dominion over lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River — territorial base of modern Israel

9. The Semitic religious hearth
About 2,000 years later, Christianity arose as a child of Judaism from this same area
Islam arose about seven centuries later in western Arabia, partly from Jewish and Christian roots
Religions spread by both relocation and expansion diffusion
Expansion diffusion can be divided into hierarchical and contagious subtypes
Hierarchical diffusion — ideas are implanted at top of a society, leapfrogging across the map taking root in cities
Use of missionaries involves relocation diffusion

10. The Semitic religious hearth
Christianity spread through the Roman Empire using the existing splendid road
system
Clearly reflected hierarchical expansion diffusion
Early congregations were established in cities and towns
Temporarily established a pattern of Christianized urban centers and pagan rural areas

11. Diffusion of Christianity
Fig. 6-5: Christianity diffused from Palestine through the Roman Empire and continued diffusing through Europe after the fall of Rome. It was later replaced by Islam in much of the Mideast and North Africa.

12. The Semitic religious hearth
Scattered urban clusters of early Christianity were created by relocation diffusion
Missionaries moved from town to town bearing news of the emerging faith
Missionaries often used the technique of converting kings or tribal leaders
Some expansion was militaristic — reconquest of Iberia, invasion of Latin America
Christianity spread farther by contagious diffusion, also called contact conversion

14. Diffusion of Christianity
This is St Mary’s Anglican Cathedral in a primarily Muslim nation. Constructed under British rule in 1894, it catered to English residents and missionized among the locals. Services are also in Tamil, a Dravidian language of southern India

15. Diffusion of Christianity
Tamils were brought to Malaya as indentured labor to work in mines and plantations during the colonial era. Many Hindu Tamils were of a low caste or even untouchables in India. Christianity, without proclaimed social divisions, was and remains attractive to downtrodden peoples.

16. Religious culture regions
Christianity
A Universalizing religion
World’s largest in both area and number of adherents—about 1.9 billion
Long fragmented into separate churches
Greatest division is between Western and Eastern Christianity

17. Religious culture regions
Eastern church dominated the Greek world from Constantinople (Istanbul)
Coptic Church—originally the nationalistic religion of the Egyptians, and today is the dominant church of the highland people of Ethiopia
Maronites — Semitic descendants of seventh-century heretics who retreated to a mountain refuge in Lebanon
Nestorians — live in the mountains of Kurdistan and India’s Kerala State
Eastern Orthodoxy — originally centered in Greek-speaking areas
Converted many Slavic groups
Later split in a variety of national churches—Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, and Serbian

18. Religious culture regions
Western Christianity initially identified with Rome and Latin-speaking areas
Most notable split was the Protestant breakaway of the 1400s and 1500s
Tended to divide into a rich array of sects
Denominational map of the United States and Canada reflects fragmented nature and complex pattern of religious culture regions

19. Religious culture regions
American frontier a breeding ground for new religious groups
United States displays less regionalization of faiths but can still see in small scale
“Bible Belt”—lies across the South, Baptist and other conservative fundamentalist denominations dominate
Utah is core of Mormon realm

20. Religious culture regions
Lutheran belt — stretches from Wisconsin through Minnesota and the Dakotas
Roman Catholicism — dominates southern Louisiana, the southwestern borderland, and heavily industrialized areas of the Northeast
The Midwest a thoroughly mixed zone —Methodism generally the largest single faith
Some experts believe American culture is becoming homogenized religiously, with weakening regional contrasts

22. Religious culture regions
Geographer Roger Stump points to a twentieth-century trend toward religious regional divergence
Baptists in South
Lutherans in upper Midwest
Catholics in Southwest
Mormons in the West
Each dominate their respective regions more today than at turn of century
Each has long-standing, strong infrastructure

23. Terms: Branch – large fundamental division
Denomination – division of a branch that unites as a single legal and administration
Sect – small group that has broken away from an established denomination

24. Christian Branches in Europe
Branches: Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox

26. Islam Monotheistic, universalizing faith claims 1.1 billion followers
Located mostly in the desert belt of Asia and northern Africa, extends as far east as Indonesia and the Philippines
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 — Muslim holy book, contains a code of morals and ethics, and promises an afterlife for the faithful

27. Diffusion of Islam Origin – Mecca 613 a.d. Prophet’s death in 1632
Military expansion
Combined with hierarchical diffusion (social)
Created an Arab empire
Trade as important as religion
Culture, not just religion

28. Diffusion of Islam
Fig. 6-6: Islam diffused rapidly and widely from its area of origin in Arabia. It eventually stretched from southeast Asia to West Africa.

29. Islam The Five Pillars of Islam
Adherents are expected to pray five times daily at established times
Give alms to the poor
Fast from dawn to sunset in the holy ninth month
Make at least one pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia
Profess belief in Allah, the one god

30. Islam Two major sects prevail
Shiite Muslims — 11 percent of Islamic total in diverse subgroups
Form the majority in Iran and Iraq
Major fundamentalist revival now occurring under Iranian leadership to throw off Western influences, and restore the purity of the faith
Political tension with the potential for severe disruption is spreading
Strongest among Indo-European groups

31. Islam Two major sects prevail
Sunni Muslims — represent Islamic orthodoxy forming the large majority
Strength is greatest in the Arabic-speaking lands
Non-Arabic Indonesia now contains world’s largest concentration
Large clusters occur in western China, Indo-European Bangladesh, and Pakistan

32. Distribution of Shia (Shite) and Sunni Muslims

35. Buddhism Derived from Hinduism began 25 centuries ago
Reform movement grounded in the teaching of Prince Siddhartha — the Buddha
He promoted the four “noble truths”
Life is full of suffering
Desire is the cause of this suffering
Cessation of suffering comes with the quelling of desire
An “eight-fold path” of proper personal conduct and meditation permits the individual to overcome desire
Nirvana — reached when one has achieved a state of escape and peace, which is attained by very few

36. Hinduism
Closely tied to India and its ancient culture. It is an Ethnic Religion
Claims about 750 million adherents
Polytheistic religion involving the worship of a myriad of deities
Linked to the caste system — rigid segregation of people according to ancestry and occupation

37. Hinduism Believe in ahimsa — veneration of all forms of life
Belief in reincarnation
No set standard of beliefs prevails, and the faith takes many local forms
Includes very diverse peoples
The faith straddles a major ethnic/linguistic divide
Includes both Indo-Europeans and Dravidians

38. 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

39. Judaism Ethnic religion
Forced from Israel in Roman times and lost contact with other colonies
Jews resided in Mediterranean lands were called the Sephardim and in central and Eastern Europe.
Large-scale migration of Jewish residing in 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

40. Judaism
Europe ceased to be primary homeland and many survivors fled overseas to Israel and America
Has about 14 million adherents throughout the world
Nearly 7 million live in North America

42. Hinduism
Hinduism has splintered into diverse religious, some regarded as separate religions
Jainism — ancient outgrowth, claiming perhaps 5 million adherents
Traces its roots back over twenty-five centuries
Reject Hindu scriptures, rituals, and priesthood
Share Hindu belief in ahinisa and reincarnation
Adhere to a stern asceticism
Sikhism — arose in the 1500s, in an attempt to unify Hinduism and Islam
Centered in the Punjab state of northwestern India
Has about 19 million followers
Sikhs practice monotheism and have their own holy book, the Adi Granth

43. Buddhism Today the most widespread religion in Asia
Dominates a culture region from Sri Lanka to Japan and from Mongolia to Vietnam
Universalizing 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

44. 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 universalizing religions in the world

45. Animism Retained tribal ethnic religion of people around the world
Today, adherents number at least 100 million
Animists believe certain inanimate objects possess spirits or souls
Spirits live in rocks, rivers, mountain peaks, and heavenly bodies
Each tribe has its own characteristic form of animism
A Shaman — tribal religious figure usually serves as the intermediary between people and the spirits

46. Animism
To some animists, objects do not actually possess spirits, but are valued because they have a potency to serve as a link between people and the omnipresent god
Animism can be a very complex belief system
Sub-Saharan Africa is the greatest surviving stronghold of animism
Along the north edge Islam is rapidly winning converts
Christian missionaries are very active throughout the area

48. Animism Animism in the Western Hemisphere
Umbanda — kept alive by descendants of African slaves in Brazil has 30 million followers
Santeria — is found mainly in Cuba
Survives beneath a facade of nominal Roman Catholicism in Cuba

49. Secularism In much of Europe religion has declined
Today, number of nonreligious and atheistic persons worldwide is about 1 billion
Typically displays vivid regionalization on a variety of scales
Areas of religious vitality lie alongside secularized districts in a disorderly jumble
Causes of retreat from religion
A government’s active hostility toward a particular faith or religion
Failure of religions oriented toward the need of rural folk to adapt to the urban scene

50. Sacred space
Includes areas and sites recognized as worthy of devotion, loyalty, fear, or esteem
Notion occurs in many different cultures, past and present the world over
B.C. Lane says—”an ordinary place made extraordinary through ritual”
May be sought out by pilgrims or barred to members of other religions
Often contain the site of supposed supernatural events or viewed as abode of gods

51. Jerusalem

52. Sacred Space
Jerusalem is sacred space to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. It contains the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) leading to the site of Christ’s crucifixion.
According to Jewish tradition, the sealed Golden Gate (far right) is where the Messiah will enter the city and bring redemption. Ruins of the City of David are at the southwest corner of the wall.

53. Sacred Space: Sample of it’s Use
Muslims are buried at the foot of the wall; Jews on the Mount of Olives in the foreground; and, Christians in the valley between. The golden Dome of the Rock covers the site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac and Mohammed ascended to heaven.
It also occupies the site of the First and Second Temples built by Kings Solomon and Herod. All that remains is the sacred Wailing Wall.

54. Sacred space
Conflict can result of two religions venerate the same space
Example of conflict in Jerusalem
Muslim Dome of the Rock — site of Muhammad’s ascent to heaven
Wailing Wall — remnant of greatest Jewish temple
Cemeteries also generally regarded as type of sacred space

56. Sacred space
Sacred space is receiving increased attention in the world
An internationally funded Sacred Land Project began in the middle 1990s
Goal — to identify and protect such sites
In the United Kingdom alone, 5000 sites have been cataloged
Includes — ancient stone circles, pilgrim routes, and holy springs

57. Sacred space
Sacred space is receiving increased attention in the world
Mystical places — locations unconnected with established religion where some people believe extraordinary, supernatural things can happen
“Bermuda Triangle”
Some include the expanses of the American Great Plains
Some ancient sacred spaces never lose or they regain the functional status of mystical place —example of Stonehenge in England
Native American Burial grounds

58. Culture Regions Religious Regions Religious Diffusion
Religious Ecology
Cultural Integration in Religion
Religious Landscapes

59. The Semitic religious hearth
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all arose among Semitic-speaking people
All three arose from the margins of the southwestern Asian deserts
Judaism, the oldest, originated about 4,000 years ago probably along the southern edge of the Fertile Crescent
Later, Judaism acquired dominion over lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River — territorial base of modern Israel

60. The Semitic religious hearth
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all arose among Semitic-speaking people
All three arose from the margins of the southwestern Asian deserts
Judaism, the oldest, originated about 4,000 years ago probably along the southern edge of the Fertile Crescent
Later, Judaism acquired dominion over lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River — territorial base of modern Israel

61. The Semitic religious hearth
Islamic faith spread in a militaristic manner
Followed the command in the Koran
Arabs exploded westward across North Africa in a wave of religious and linguistic conquest
Turks, once converted, carried out similar Islamic conquests
Muslim missionaries followed trade routes eastward to implant Islam hierarchically in the Philippines, Indonesia, and interior China

62. The Semitic religious hearth
Tropical Africa is the current major area of Islamic expansion
Diffusion successes in Sub-Saharan Africa and high birthrates in the older sphere of dominance has made Islam the world’s fastest-growing religion

63. The lndus-Ganges Hearth
Second great religious hearth lies on the plains fringing the northern edge of the Indian subcontinent
Lowland, drained by the Ganges and Indus rivers
Gave birth to Hinduism and Buddhism

64. The lndus-Ganges Hearth
Hinduism is at least 4,000 years old
Originated in the Punjab, from where it diffused to dominate the subcontinent
Missionaries later carried the faith in its proselytic phase, to overseas areas
Most converted regions were subsequently lost

65. The lndus-Ganges Hearth
Buddhism began in the foothills bordering the Ganges Plain about 500 B.C.
For centuries remained confined to the Indian subcontinent
Missionaries later carried it to other countries and regions
China — between 100 B.C. and A.D. 200
Korea and Japan — between A.D. 300 and 500
Southeast Asia — between A.D. 400 and 600
Tibet — A.D. 700
Mongolia — A.D. 1500
Developed many regional forms and died out in its area of origin

66. California

67. Diffusion of Buddhism
Buddhism arrived with Asian migrants in the early 19th century and has become increasingly important with each subsequent immigrant group.
This is the Fo Kuang Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, an emerging Asian Suburban area near Los Angeles.

68. Diffusion of Buddhism
Hsi Lai means “coming to the west.” Replicating a Taiwan temple and practicing Pure Land Buddhism, this ten building complex trains both monks and nuns and offers an array of programs for Asians and non-Asians alike. The foreground Field of Merit represents rice paddies, recalling hard work and devotion.

69. Barriers and time-distance decay
Religious ideas weaken with distance from places of origin and time
Most religious barriers are permeable, but weaken and retard religious spread
Partial acceptance of Christianity by various Indian groups in Latin America and the western United States
Served as a camouflage under which many aspects of tribal religions survived
Permeable barriers are normally present in expansion diffusion

70. Barriers and time-distance decay
Most religions become modified by older local beliefs as they diffuse spatially
Absorbing barriers — example of China
Christian missionaries to China expected to find fertile ground for conversion
Chinese had long settled the question of what is basic human nature
Believed humans were inherently good and evil desires represented merely a deviation from that state

71. Barriers and time-distance decay
Evil desires could be shrugged off and people would return to the basic nature they shared with heaven
Christian idea of original sin left the Chinese baffled
Chinese could not understand the concept of humankind being flawed or their impossibility to return to godhood
Many concepts of Christianity fell on rocky soil in China
In the early twentieth century some Chinese became Christians in exchange for the rice missionaries gave them

72. 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