RELIGION:
THE GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECIVE
Hinduism
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Chronologically, the oldest of the major
religions
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Arose in Indus Valley, ~4,000 years ago
No evolving bureaucratic structures
Reincarnation
Doctrines allied with India's caste system
Modernization and Gandhi helped relax the
caste system
Hinduism
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Diffusion
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Arose in what is now Pakistan
No modern expansion diffusion
Area overtaken by Buddhism and Islam
Bali outpost has become a syncretic faith
Relocation diffusion not the foci
Cultural landscape
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Hinduism is a way of life
Building a temple gives good Karma…
Shrine location important
Visual AND emotional
Buddhism
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Resurgence in India
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Buddha (Prince Siddhartha) spoke out against
caste system
Diffusion
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Grew slowly after Buddha’s death
 Fragmented today, but experiencing a revival
 Principals keep diffusing, notably in the Western
world
Cultural landscape
 The Bodhi tree
 Pagodas
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Chinese religions
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Taoism
Confucianism
Diffusion
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Confucianism diffused early into the Korean
Peninsula, Japan, and Southeast Asia
Taoism = more local
Chinese communist authorities leveled burial
mounds because they took up too much
ground suitable for farming
Cultural landscape
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Confucianism and Taoism help expand impact
of Buddhist cultural influences
Judaism
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The oldest major religion to emerge west of the
Indus Valley
Diffusion
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Diaspora
Sephardim
The idea of a homeland developed into the ideology of
Zionism
Israel created in 1948 by UN
Cultural landscape
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Synagogues, but no single architectural style
Star of David appears on most Jewish graves
The “Wailing Wall”
Christianity
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Jewish search for deliverance from Romans &
appearance of Jesus
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Paul’s role
Eastern Roman Empire (Constantinople)
 Eastern (Orthodox) Church still one of three major
branches
The papacy, second branch
Protestant movement
Diffusion
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A combination of expansion and relocation diffusion
during European colonialism
Most widespread of the global religions
Aggressive and persistent proselytism
Christianity
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Cultural landscape
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Medieval Europe
Imprint of death on the landscape
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Uses more land for cemeteries than any other faith
Hallstatt, Austria
Medieval
Churches
(Protestant & Catholic!)
Surrounding
Village
Baroque
Cathedral
Siena,
Italy
Plaza
St. Patrick’s
Cathedral,
NYC
Cemeteries
Cemeteries
Too
Many
Bodies
~ 7 feet!
Christianity
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Religions and culture regions in the United
States
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The Mormon culture region
Christian culture regions better known
Islam
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The youngest of the major faiths
 Religious and social disarray in Arab world
 Unifying religious faith and set of values
 Mecca became the spiritual center
 Believed strongly in education
 Still the heart of Arab culture
 Islamization
Islam by 900 CE
Islam
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Regions and sects
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Division  conflict
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Sunnis: family and community to solve problems
Shiites: Imam is “solver”
Imams—Shiite Muslims leaders whose
appointments are regarded as sanctioned by Allah
Diffusion
 Trading expansions led to conflicts with Christianity
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The Crusades
Continues to attract converts
Experiencing resurgence; expansion will continue
Classic example of hierarchical diffusion
Islam
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Cultural landscape
 Mosques dominate the urban landscapes
 Muslim architects very skilled
 Exquisite and distinct architecture
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A symbol for faith and community
Islam religion and culture are one
The Alhambra
an example of Muslim Architecture
The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
an example of Muslim tile glazing
RELIGION, CULTURE, AND
CONFLICT
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Language and religion
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The most powerful cultural forces
Religious beliefs and histories often divide
peoples with similar backgrounds
Boundaries
Interfaith Boundaries
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Nigeria
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Multilingual;
population ~110
million
North = Muslim;
South =
Christianity (and
local religions)
Secession from
south
Nigeria = fourth
largest oil
producer
Interfaith Boundaries
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Sudan
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Muslim north and Christian south
Sharia law
The war has devastated the south; still raging
Interfaith Boundaries
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Ethiopia is more complicated than that of
Nigeria or Sudan
Interfaith Boundaries
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South Asia
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Part of Britain’s colonial empire
In 1947 a political boundary was establish between
Islamic Pakistan and multicultural India
India proclaimed itself a secular federation and sporadic
religious conflict followed for 30 years
1980s, India
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Fundamentalism
The rise of fundamentalism is affecting virtually all
religions today
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The Sikhs
Holy shrine battleground
Interfaith Boundaries
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The former Soviet Union
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What did it used to be like?
Discouraged religious practice
Created a Christian-Muslim boundary
Collapse of USSR = independence; but not always
good
Kazakhstan poses the most serious potential spatial
problem
Interfaith Boundaries
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(Former) Yugoslavia
Interfaith Boundaries
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Other interfaith boundaries
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Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Southeast and Southwest Asia,
 Catholics and a minority of Muslim
Israel
Intrafaith boundaries
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Europe
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A number of
countries have
intrafaith
boundaries
Most have
religious or
ethnic conflicts
Northern
Ireland
Religious Fundamentalism
A worldwide drive by millions back to the “basics” (in
whose eyes?) of religious faith
 Often born out of frustration
 “Tunnel Vision”
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9/11 led to many American’s equating terrorism with
Islam
Globalization and religions
Fundamentalism creates mistrust
Religious Fundamentalism
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Christian fundamentalism
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The Catholic church
Christian fundamentalism most pronounced in Protestantism
Islamic fundamentalism
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Laws not equally applied
Inconsistency breeds dissidence
From Shah to Ayatollah
1970s and 1980s most significant
Afghanistan under the Taliban
 Jihad and Wahhabi
Extreme Islamic fundamentalists who resort to violence
are relatively small in number
Religious Fundamentalism
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Fundamentalism can unify AND divide
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US fundamentalist “preachers”
Algerian conflicts
Fundamentalism adds fuel to the fire of
interfaith and intrafaith boundaries
Religious feelings can quickly be translated
into hostility and conflict
Resource
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Video: Davis-EndangeredCultures
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A .zip file from the http://www.ted.org site!
Discussion Questions
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Why do some religions diffuse while others
remain (mostly) place-bound?
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What lies at the heart of religious conflicts?
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How can religious fundamentalism be a
driving force for changing religions?
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Does religious fundamentalism affect State
policies?