* Religions come from elements of the physical
environment.
• Religions modify the landscape.
Things to know about religions:
1)People care deeply about their religion
2)Some religions are designed to appeal to all
people
3)Religious values are important to understand
people
4)Most religions require exclusive adherence
5)People take their religion with them when they
move
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Universalizing religions: attempt to appeal
to all people all over the world.
• Ethnic Religion: appeals primarily to one
group of people living in one place.
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Universalizing religions
– Christianity
– Islam
– Buddhism
• Each is divided into a branch, a
denomination, and a sect.
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Branch
– A large and fundamental division of a religion
• Denomination
– A division of a branch that unites a number of
local congregations in a single legal and
administrative body
• Sect
– a relatively small group that has broken away
from an established denomination
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Christianity
– 2 billion adherents, more than any other
religion
• Branches of Christianity
– Roman Catholic
– Protestant
– Eastern Orthodox
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Christianity in the Western Hemisphere
– North America 90 percent of people are
Christian
– 93% of Latin America is Catholic
– 29% of North America is Catholic
– Baptists are the largest protestant group in the
U.S.
– Other protestant groups are Methodist,
Pentecostal, and Lutheran
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Smaller branches of Christianity
– Coptic Church of Egypt and the Ethiopian
Church
– The Armenian Church
– Maronites
– Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Islam
– Religion of 1.3 billion people on Earth
– Islam has five pillars of faith
• Branches of Islam
– Sunni – 83% of Muslims
– Shiite
• Islam in North America and Europe
– 5% of Europe’s population
– 5 million Muslims in the U.S. and Canada
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Buddhism
– 400 million adherents around the world
– Has the Four Noble Truths
• Branches of Buddhism
– Mahayana
– Theravada
– Tantrayana
• Buddhists are hard to classify because
Buddhism is not an exclusive religion.
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Other Universalizing Religions
– Sikhism
– Baha’i
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Ethnic Religions
– Hinduism
• Third largest Religion on Earth
• India
• No central authority or holy book
• Vishnu, Krishna, Siva, Shakti
Where are Religions Distributed?
• Other Ethnic Religions
– Confucianism
• Teachings of Confucius
• Rooted in the traditional values of China
– Daoism (Taoism)
• Dao cannot be comprehended
– Shintoism
• Ethnic religion of Japan
– Judaism
• Believe in one all-powerful god
– Ethnic African Religions
• Animists
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of Religions
– Christianity
• Teachings of Jesus
• Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• Jesus died on the cross
– Catholicism
• Headed by the Pope
– Eastern Orthodoxy
• Split from Roman Catholics in 1054
– Protestantism
• The reformation headed by Martin Luther
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of Islam
– Based on the same story as Judaism and
Protestantism.
• Muslims believe in Abraham’s second wife and son
• One of Isaac’s descendents was Muhammed.
• Muhammed was a prophet of god
– Islam split
• Shiites and Sunnis disagree over the line of
succession in Islamic leadership
• Uthman was Caliph. After his assassination, Ali
became Caliph. Shiites support Ali.
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of Buddhism
– Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (563 BC)
– Siddhartha had been a rich kid.
– Siddhartha became the “Buddha” and spent the
next 45 years preaching
– Mahayana vs. Theravada
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of other Universalizing Religions
– Sikhism
• Founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago
• The Holy Granth of Enlightenment
– Baha’i
• Established in Iran in the 19th century
• Execution in 1850
• Baha’u’llah the prophet of Baha’i
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of Hinduism, an ethnic religion
– No founder
– Existed prior to recorded history
– Earliest documents were written
about 1500 B.C.
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Diffusion of Religions
• Diffusion of Christianity
– Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries
– Contagious Diffusion: Holy Roman Empire
– Hierarchical Diffusion: Emperor
Constantine
– Expansion Diffusion: Europeans moving
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Diffusion of Islam
– Expansion Diffusion: Conquering
armies
– Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries
– Contagious Diffusion: Traders to
Indonesia
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Diffusion of Buddhism
– Hierarchical Diffusion: Asoka
– Relocation Diffusion: Missionaries
– Contagious Diffusion: Traders to
China,then to Korea, then to Japan
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Diffusion of other Universalizing religions
– Baha’i
• Contagious Diffusion: a temple on
every continent
– Sikhism
• Relocation Diffusion: the division
of Punjab
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Lack of Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
• Lack missionaries to carry the message
– Mingling of Ethnic and Universalizing
Religions
• Africa merging ethnic religions and
Christianity
• Buddhism and Shinto in Japan
• Mauritius has three religions Hindu,
Islam, and Christianity. All brought
there by others.
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Diffusion of Judaism, an exception
– Practiced in many places
– Disporia or Dispersion by the Romans
– Most Jews migrated to Europe
– Ghettos
– WWII
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Holy Places
– Different meanings for universal and
ethnic religions
• Pilgrimage: making a trip to a holy
site
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Holy Places in Universalizing Religions
– Buddhist Shrines
• Lumbini in Southern Nepal, Bodh Gaya, Deer
Park in Sarnath, Kusinagara, Sravasti,
Samkasya, Rajagrha, Vaisali
– Holy places in Islam
• Mecca home to Al—Ka’ba, the Great Mosque
• Medina home to muhammand’s tomb
– Holy places in Sikhism
• Darbar Sahib – the Golden Temple
Lumbini in Nepal
Bodh Gaya
Deer Park in Sarnath
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Holy Places in Ethnic Religions
– Holy Places in Hinduism
• Riverbanks and Coastlines
• The Ganges
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Cosmogony in Ethnic Religions
– Cosmogony is a set of religious beliefs
about the origin of the universe.
• Confucianism – Yin and Yang
• Christianity and Islam – God created
everything
• Christianity and Islam and man’s
purpose
• Animists – God is mystical
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• The Calendar
– The Calendar in Ethnic religions
• More clustered distribution
• Celebrations of the seasons
• Rituals
• Sacred moments
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• The Jewish Calendar
– Based on agriculture
– Rosh Hashanah
– Yom Kippur
– Sukkot
– Pesach (passover)
– Shavout
– Lunar rather than solar calendar
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• The Solstice
– Winter
– Summer
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• The Calendar in Universalizing Religions
– Islamic calendar
• Lunar calendar
• Ramadan
– Baha’i calendar
• 19 months of 19 days
• A feast is held on the first day of each
month
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Christian holidays
– Easter
– Christmas
• Buddhist holidays
– Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death
• Sikh holidays
– Births and deaths of the ten gurus.
– Day of installing the Holy Granth
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Places of Worship
– Christian churches
• Source of gathering
• Often the largest, tallest building in a town
• Important part of the religion
– Church Architecture
• Modeled after basilica
• No single style of church has dominated
• Building materials are often local
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Places of Worship in other Religions
– Muslim Mosques
• A gathering place to worship, not sanctified
• Minaret
– Hindu Temples
• House shrines for gods not for congregation
– Buddhist and Shintoist Pagodas
• Contain something belonging to Buddha
• Not meant for congregation
– Baha’i houses of worship
• One on each continent. Open to everyone
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Sacred Space
– Disposing of the Dead
• Burial
–Christian, Muslim, and Jewish
tradition
• Other methods
–Cremation
–Parsis (Zoroastrians)
–Disposal at sea (Micronesia)
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Religious Settlements
– Utopia
– Place Names
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Administration of Space
– A Hierarchical Religion has a well defined
geographic structure and organizes territory
into local administrative units.
– Roman Catholic Hierarchy
• Parishes make a Diocese. The diocese is watched by
a Bishop. The Bishops report to an Archbishop. The
archbishop heads a Province which is made of
several diocese. The Archbishops report to the Pope
who runs the show.
– The latter-day saints
• Wards and Stakes which get redrawn
Why do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Locally Autonomous Religions
– Autonomous religions are self-sufficient
• Local Autonomy in Islam
– No Hierarchy in Islam
– Lots of communication and migration
• Protestant Autonomy
– Congregations determine leadership
– Presbyterian churches have low hierarchy
– Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Methodists have
a hierarchy.
– Judaism and Hinduism have no hierarchy
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion vs. Government Policies
– Fundamentalism is a literal interpretation
and a strict adherence to basic principles
of a religion.
– Fundamentalism allows a group to
maintain a cultural identity.
– Many religious groups oppose
government policies that would affect
social change
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion vs. Social Change
– Taliban vs. Western Values
• Taliban in Afghanistan spread very
strict laws as they saw them in the
Koran
• Taliban banned all “Western” activities
• Taliban Destroyed Buddhist statues
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion vs. Social Change
– Hinduism vs. Social Equality
• Believes in a caste system
• Caste system has been around since
1500 bc
• You cannot change your caste
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion vs. Communism
– Eastern Orthodox Christianity and lslam vs. The
soviet Union
• Russian Orthodox Church, 1721
• 1917 Bolshevik revolution
• End of communist brought a resurgence of
religion
– Buddhism vs. Southeast Asian Countries
• Destruction of Shrines
• Self immolation in protest
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion Vs. Religion
– Religious wars in Ireland
• Northern Ireland
• Protestants vs. Roman Catholics
• IRA
• Ulster Defense Force
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Religion Vs. Religion
– Religious wars in the Middle East
• Christians, Muslims, and Jews all value the
“Holy Land”
• Jerusalem
– Crusades between Christians and Muslims
• Arab army invaded Europe as far as France
• Arabs controlled Spain until 1492
• Crusades to take Jerusalem started in 1099
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Jews vs. Muslims in Palestine
– Started in the 1930s
– Continued in 1948
– Wars in 1956, 1967, and 1973
– Six day war in 1967
– Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin 1979
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Conflict over the holy land: Palestinian
Perspectives
– Five groups consider themselves Palestinian
– Israeli settlements
– PLO
– Hamas
– What the Palestinians want
Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise
Among Religious Groups?
• Conflict over the holy land: Israeli Perspective
– Jews surrounded by Muslims
– Very small space
– West Bank is the west bank of the Jordan River
– Control of Jerusalem