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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
