1. The Geography of Religion The Great Mosque, Mali The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem Buddhist Monks Hindu Statue ( Ganesh ) Origins and Distributions of the Major Religions Key Terms Religious Ecology Secularism, Fundamentalism, and Conflict

2. Soviet Religion Atheism discouraged religious practices in Soviet Union Islam tolerated in old but not young. Divide and Diminish plan used!

3. What is Religion Explains the unexplained System of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities. Explains how people SHOULD behave. Constitutes as culture

4. The Effects of Religion Appearance- Pakistan-Beard if member of the courts Persuasion can cause people to change faiths

5. The Geography of Religion

6. History of Religion Zoroastrianism (SW Asia 3500 years ago.) The First Religion? Ahura Mazda Monotheistic

7. Birth of Religions

8. How do Universalizing and Ethnic Religions Differ? Universalizing Appeal to people everywhere Individual founder (prophet) Message diffused widely (missionaries) Followers distributed widely. Holidays based on events in founder’s life. Seek converts Ethnic Has meaning in particular place only. Unknown source. Content focused on place and landscape of origin. Followers highly clustered. Holidays based on local climate and agricultural practice. Not seeking converts

9. Example of Universalizing Christianity Islam Buddhism

10. Example of Ethnic Africa South America tribes (native religions) Native American Judaism as well Hinduism (not actively seeking converts) Creates pockets of Hinduism

11. Secularism Certain practices or institutions should exist separately from religion or religious belief.

12. The Roots of Religion Animism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a Shaman. Such beliefs are common among hunter- gatherers. 10% of Africans follow such traditional ethnic religions. These beliefs are losing ground to Christianity and Islam throughout Africa. Nigerian Shaman

13. Native American Animism Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~ Chief Seattle Bear Dance

14. Hinduism Over 4000 years old No single founder Unknown specific origin though Harappa and Mohenjo Daro though to be the area where first practiced. Pakistan no longer Hindu No bureaucratic structure

15. 900 million + adherents primarily in India Hinduism is an ancient term for the complex and diverse set of religious beliefs practiced around the Indus River. Reincarnation - endless cycles. Karma and Yoga. Coastlines and river banks most sacred sites. Vishnu and Shiva most common of hundreds of deities. Hinduism

16. How many Gods do you want? Monotheism: The belief in a single deity Polytheism: The belief in multiple deities. Hinduism?-Brahman

17. Sacred Scriptures Vedas

18. Fundamental Doctrine Karma-transferability of the soul Reincarnation-seeks union with Brahman

19. Social Effects of Hinduism Supports the Caste SystemCaste System Other religions Modernization Equal distribution Of wealth -Mahatma Gandhi

20. Hinduism Lord Vishnu Dancing Shiva/Nataraj Ganesh

21. Spread of Hinduism Bali was a refuge for Hinduism because nearby Java, Indonesia was engulfed by Islam Also spread because of transportation of Indian workers during the colonial era.

22. 300 million + adherents primarily in China and S.E. Asia Spread originally in India and Sri Lanka by Magadhan Empire (250 BC). Indian traders brought it to China in 1st century AD. By 6th century it had lost its hold on India, but was now in Korea and Japan. Buddhism

23. Originated near modern Nepal/India around 530 BC by prince Siddhartha Guatama. Later known as Buddha or Enlightened One Spoke out against Hindu Caste System

24. Four Noble Truths: 1. All living beings must endure suffering. 2. Suffering, which is caused by desires (for life), leads to reincarnation. 3. The goal of existence is an escape from suffering and the endless cycle of reincarnation by means of Nirvana. 4. Nirvana is achieved by the Eightfold Path, which includes rightness of understanding, mindfulness, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and concentration. Buddhism Theravada - the older, more severe form which requires the renouncing of all worldly goods and desires. Mahayana - focuses on Buddha’s teachings and compassion. Karma - your past bad or good actions determine your progress toward Nirvana through reincarnation. You are your own God.

25. Buddhism Thrives in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia Tibetan Buddhism=Lamaism Universalizing religion-Not Cultural/Ethnic Pagoda Stupa

27. Confucism Originated in China where 13 texts were the major focus of education for 2,000 years. Was suppressed and banned under Communist rule from 1949-present Feng-Shui & Geomancers

28. Judaism Semetic 4000 Yrs ago-Nomadic Peoples Teachings of Abraham-Covenenant Moses 18 million adherants Orthodox-More Conservative

29. Judaism Zionism: Seeks a homeland for the Jewish people. Diaspora of the Jews resulted from the Roman Destruction of Jerusalem Ashkenazim and Sephardim The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of Jesus’s Tomb (Jerusalem).

30. Sacred Sites Pilgrimage: when adherents travel to a religious site to pay respects. Jerusalem

31. Holy Places Wailing Wall-Destruction of Jewish temples Temple Mount-Abraham’s Sacrifice Church of the Holy Sepulchre Outside of Jerusalem walls is where Jesus was crucified.

32. Secularism Division between state politics and religious belief.

33. Religious Fundamentalism Rabbi Kahane: Jewish Extremists

34. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Vote to Partition Palestine was taken by the United Nations.

35. Islam 1 billion + adherents Originated in Saudi Arabia (Mecca and Medina) around AD 600. Spread originally by Muslim armies to N. Africa, and the Near East.

36. Sects of Islam Sunni (83%) - throughout the Muslim world. More “liberal” Shiite - Iran (40%), Pakistan (15%), Iraq (10%): More fundamental

37. Islam Second largest religion in the world Worlds largest dominantly Islamic state is Indonesia Adoption of Sharia Law, fundamental Islam is growing.

38. Islam Five Pillars of Islam There is one God and Muhammad is his messenger. Prayer five times daily, facing Mecca. The giving of alms(charity) to the poor. Fasting during Ramadan for purification and submission. If body and income allow, a Muslim must make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in his lifetime. Islamic Calender Begins in AD 622 when Muhammad was commanded to Mecca from Medina (Hijra). Lunar calendar makes Ramadan move through the seasons (30 year cycle - 19 years with 354 days and 11 with 355). Reading the Koran, Brunei Prophet: Muhammad Holy Text: Koran

39. Islam Prophet: Muhammad; Can NOT be depicted in picture form. Is disrespectful Holy Text: Koran

40. Diffusion of Islam Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in America. Only a small part of this growth is from black Muslims and the Nation of Islam.

41. Islamic Architecture

48. Sikhism Sikhism is a compromise religion of Hinduism and Islam (modern day Pakistan) Have gurus No strict definition of God Salvation through discipline and meditation Nanek

49. Christianity 2 billion adherents make it most practiced in the world. Originated in Bethlehem (8-4 BC) and Jerusalem (AD 30) with Jesus Christ. Spread by missionaries and the Roman Empire (Constantine A.D. 313). It is the most practiced religion in Africa today.

50. Diffusion of Christianity

51. Christianity in the U.S.

52. Key Terms Secularization - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim no allegiance to any church. Some of these people are atheists. Others simply do not practice. Still others call themselves spiritual, but not religious. Common in Europe and the cities of the U.S. Common in former Soviet Union and China. Fundamentalism - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim there is only one way to interpret worship. Fundamentalists generally envision a return to a more perfect religion and ethics they imagine existed in the past. Common in the U.S. and in some Islamic nations.

53. Christianity Christianity and Islam has failed to convert people in Africa who have previously belonged to a traditional religion. Though Eastern Orthodox survives in Ethiopia

54. Roman-Catholicism Largest sect of Christianity Spread to Americas by Spain

55. Religious Conflict The Big Question: Can secular society exist alongside traditional and fundamentalist religious sects and states? We are quick to notice fundamentalism abroad (i.e. Salman Rushdie’s death sentence by Shia clerics) and not so quick to recognize it at home (abortion clinic bombings; Southern Baptist Convention’s calls for women to submit to their husbands’ authority). American evangelical Christianity and Islamic fundamentalism are the two most influential fundamentalist movements in the world. Fewer and fewer states are governed by an official church.

56. Former Yugoslavia Roman Catholic vs. Eastern Orthodox Linguistic differences Islam then introduced in Serbia Many INTERFAITH boundries Ex: Croats & Nazis genocide against Serbs Serbs ethnic cleansed the Bosnian Muslims

57. Horn of Africa Islam Vs. Christianity in Eritrea Has changed hands many times Linguistic differences

58. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Interfaith region After WWII, United Nations made borders for both groups. Israel’s building fence.

59. Key Terms Syncretism - the mixing of two or more religions that creates unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs. Examples include syncretism of Christianity and indigenous beliefs in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Caribbean Voodoo (Haiti, Louisiana) Christianity in Indigenous Latin American Voodoo Dolls, Haiti Shrine, Bangalore, India

60. Syncretism - the mixing of two or more religions that creates unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs.