Chapter 6 Study Guide: Geography of Religion and Islam According to Judaism, God revealed his laws...

Chapter 6 Study Guide:

Geography of Religion

Some of these notes have background

information on various religions. The exam

will be predominately on the geography. In

other words study the spatial aspect of the

notes.

Vocabulary

Secularization: changing society so it is no

longer under the control or influence of

religion

In some parts of

the world,

especially in

much of Europe,

China and Japan,

religion has

declined.

The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they "believe

there is a God". Several studies have found Sweden to be one of the most atheist

countries in the world. 80% of Swedes do not believe in God

choropleth map problem

Proportion of atheists and agnostics around the world. Today, about 2.3% of the world's

population describes itself as atheist, while a further 11.9% is described as nonreligious.

Between 64% and 65% of Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or

nonbelievers. In Europe, the estimated percentage of atheists, agnostics and other

nonbelievers in a personal god ranges as low as single digits in Poland, Romania,

Cyprus, and some other countries, and up to 85% in Sweden (where 17% identify

themselves as atheists), 80% in Denmark, 72% in Norway, and 60% in Finland

What is the difference between agnostic and

atheistic?

Church attendance by state

Pattern

Pilgrimages: a long journey of great moral

significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of

importance to a person’s beliefs and faith.

In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or

a venerated person, or else another type of

ancient religious object, carefully preserved for

purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial.

Relics are an important aspect of some forms of

Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism,

and many other religions.

A large and fundamental division within a

religion is a branch.

A religious sect is basically the same as a religious

branch: a subdivisions of a religious organizations.

The Roman Catholic church is the largest sect/branch

of Christianity:

• Roman Catholic/1,000,000,000,

• Protestant/400,000,000

• Orthodox/200,000,000

Sectarianism is discrimination or hatred arising

from attaching importance to perceived

differences between subdivisions within a group,

such as between different denominations of a

religion or class.

Asian immigrants perceived to be difference

Sectarian violence is violence inspired by

sectarianism, that is, between different sects

of one particular mode of religion within a

nation. Religious segregation often plays a

role in sectarian violence.

Judaism is the oldest

surviving

monotheistic

religion having

influenced

Christianity and

Islam

According to Judaism, God revealed his laws

and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The Torah is the first of three parts of the Tanakh (i.e.

Hebrew Bible) and is divided into five books, whose

names are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and

Deuteronomy

Jews are regarded as an ethnoreligious group,

that define them as a nation (people), rather

than of a faith.

For most of the past 2,000 years, most Jews have been

dispersed around the world.

This is called a Diaspora: a spatial dispersion of a

previously homogeneous group.

The concept of a ghetto

originally referred to the

area of a city where Jews

were forced to live.

Judaism is numerically small because it does

NOT seek new converts.

The world Jewish population is estimated at 14 million

people, 41% of whom live in Israel and 40% of whom

live in the United States

4 Major Sects or Branches of Judaism: Hasidic,

Orthodox, Reform Judaism, and Conservative

have small clusters in urban areas.

Christianity centered on the life and

teachings of Jesus as

presented in the New

Testament. The Christian

faith is essentially faith in

Jesus as the Christ (or

Messiah), the Son of God,

the Savior, the

manifestation of God to

humankind, and God

himself.

Adherents of the Christian faith, believe that

Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew

Bible (the part of scripture common to

Christianity and Judaism).

Christian theology, holds that Jesus , died from

crucifixion, and was resurrected from the dead to

open heaven to those who believe in him and trust

him for the forgiveness of their sins (salvation).

Christians believe Jesus

will return to judge all

humans, living and dead,

and grant eternal life to his

followers. He is

considered the model of a

virtuous life.

Christianity first

diffused from its

hearth through

relocation

diffusion.

After its initial

spread by

relocation and

hierarchical

diffusion,

Christianity

spread by

contagious

diffusion

Christianity is not an important religion in the

area it was founded.

3 Major Sects or Branches of Christianity

Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant

Western Christianity was initially identified with Rome

and the Latin-speaking areas, while the Eastern Church

dominated the Greek speaking world from

Constantinople (now Istanbul).

The split between the two churches became final

in 1054

Text under

This split created the Eastern Orthodox Branch of

Christianity found in today in Eastern Europe

Poland = Pope

Countries that start

with C are Catholic

The Croatians keep

Central Europe in

Czech so they stay

Catholic

In the 16th century the Protestants during the

Reformation broke off from Roman Catholic Church

under Martin Luther’s protests

What is the difference between Roman

Catholicism and Protestantism?

Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or

guardians over areas of life. These areas can include

occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes --

anything that is important.

A patron saint is believed to be a good example

of how to live and is often asked for prayers to

God.

Reliquaries provide a means of protecting and displaying relics, They range in size from

simple pendants or rings to coffin-like containers, to very elaborate ossuaries. Many

were designed with portability in mind, often being exhibited in public or carried in

procession on the saint's feast day or on other holy days. The faithful often venerate

relics by bowing before the reliquary or kissing it. Those churches which observe the

veneration of relics make a clear distinction between the honor given to the saints and

the worship that is due to God alone

Catholics follow the seven sacraments: Baptism,

Confirmation, Eucharist (communion), Penance,

Matrimony, Holy Orders, the and Anointing the sick

Protestants take communion and perform baptisms:

the ritual act, with the use of water, by which a person

is admitted to membership of the Church. The New

Testament reports that Jesus himself was baptized.

Catholic churches tend to be large and elaborate structures because Catholics perceive the church as the house of God (not sacred sites) TQ

Denomination: a division of a branch that unites a

number of local congregations in a single legal and

administrative body

The religious affiliations

of the people of

California:

Protestant – 33%

Roman Catholic – 33%

LDS – 2%

Jewish – 2%

Muslim – 1%

Other Religions – 4%

Non-Religious/ Atheist/

Agnostic – 25%

Religious regions in the U.S. FR:

• Roman Catholics are clustered in the southwest (migration

from Latin America) and Northeast and New England

(migration from Italy and Ireland)

A rich array of Protestant sects is best illustrated on the religious map of

North America

• The South is predominately Baptist

• The Northern Central states are Lutheran

• In between the North and South is very Methodist

• Utah is very Mormon

Factors that influenced the Mormon region:

• Mormonism began in the eastern US and migrated west to avoid

persecution

• Lack of later in-migration of other religions

Factors that influenced the Lutheran region:

• Germans and Scandinavians migrated in large numbers bringing their

religion

• Lack of later in-migration of other religions

The problems with religion maps is they do not show the diversity within

regions

Islam

Language and Religion often coincide

Examples

MUSLIMS

ARABS

• Most Arabs

are Muslim

Most of the

world’s

Muslims

are NOT

Arabs

(only

around

20%)

Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion

based on the teachings of the Qur’an, considered by its

adherents to be the word of God as it was revealed

to Muhammad.

• An adherent of Islam is a Muslim, meaning "one

who submits (to God)".

• Muslims regard Islam as the completed monotheistic

faith revealed to peoples before, including to Adam,

Abraham, Moses, Jesus.

• Islamic tradition holds that previous revelations

were distorted.

Adherents of Islam have controlled the Holy Land for

most of the past 1,500 years.

Muslims controlled much of present-day Spain

until 1492.

Muslims are clustered in the Middle East.

However, Muslim missionaries followed trade routes

and implanted Islam from Morocco to Northwestern

China down to Indonesia including Central Asia,

South Asia and Somalia. TQ

Shatter Belt

Five Pillars of Islam:

1. Belief: Declaration of Faith: accept & repeat “There

is no God but God, & Muhammad is his Prophet.”

2. Charity Muslims must give to the poor.

3. Fasting Fast during Ramadan believers may not eat

or drink between sunrise & sunset.

4. Prayer Pray 5 times a day

facing Mecca (Saudi Arabia).

5. Pilgrimage Muslims who are physically &

financially able must make a pilgrimage to Mecca

(Hajj).

Mecca (Makkah): Muhammad’s place of birth

and location of the Ka’ba.

Muslims believe the Ka’ba was built by

Abraham and Ishmael. They also believe it to

be the first house of worship for God.

The Hajj is designed to

• develop a sense of spiritual uplifting.

• be an opportunity to seek forgiveness of sins accumulated throughout life.

• bring Muslims from all around the world, to come

together in a spirit of universal brotherhood and

sisterhood to worship the One God together.

The pattern of pilgrimages to Mecca suggests a fairly strong distance-decay effect, with most traveling relatively short distances from Middle

Eastern Arab countries.

Medina is the second holiest city for Muslims

Muslims also believe:

• Muhammad is the last and greatest of the

prophets.

• People should not drink alcohol, eat pork, or

charge interest (usury).

• No gambling

• Jesus was a prophet

Jews and Muslims discourage pictures and

statues of their leaders (esp. God and

Mohammed)

The mosque is the most imposing religious

structure in the Islamic landscape

A mosque differs from a church, in that it is NOT a sanctified

place

Two Major Sects or Branches of

Islam

1. Shi’a (also known as

Shiites) clerics are

empowered to

interpret God’s will

(esp. Iran, Iraq)

around 10% of the

Muslim population Shias regard Ali as the first Imam

and consider him and his

descendants the rightful

successors to Muhammad

. Sunnis: clerics are

guides and the

individual’s

relationship with God

is direct (Majority of

Muslims)

Put on a map

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

have the following in common:

• Belief in one God

• Abraham and other prophets

• Prayer

• Began in the Middle East

• Jerusalem is a holy city

The Old City of Jerusalem is home to several sacred sites: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews,

the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for Christians (built where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified)

and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims (making Jerusalem the third holiest city to Muslims)

Jerusalem: The Holy City

Monotheism is pink