religion
TRANSCRIPT
Unit 3 - Culture• De Blij Chapters
–4 - Culture–5 - Identity–6 - Language–7 - Religion
OVERVIEW of Religionde Blij Chapter 7
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Religious Composition of the US
• Christian– Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Orthodox
etc.• Other Religions
– Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu etc.• Unaffiliated with any religion
– (atheist, agnostic, no religion in particular)
What percentage of the US population do you think identifies as:
What do you think is the largest single religious denomination in the US?
What parts of the US do you think have the greatest percentage of religious
adherents?
What is Religion?• Worship of ancestral souls
living in the natural world• Worship of an individual who
possesses power granted by a supreme being
• Belief in deity/deities
Basic definition: traditions, beliefs, rituals, organizations relating to a god or gods
Religions of the World
• Widespread religions have one characteristic in common: they are universalizing religions (global religions). They actively seek converts because they view themselves as offering belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal.
• Ethnic religions (cultural religions) do not seek converts outside of the group that gave rise to the religion. They tend to be spatially concentrated.
Put the following in order from greatest to least number of adherents:
BuddhismChinese ReligionsChristianityHinduismIslamJudaismNo ReligionSikhism
Estimated Adherents to Major World Religions
• Christianity 2.0 billion• Islam 1.5 billion• No Religion 1.1 billion• Hinduism 900 million• Chinese Religions 390 million• Buddhism 370 million• Sikhism 24 million• Judaism 15 million
Syncretic Religions• Elements of different cultural sources are combined
in a distinct way
Christmas
Ancient Northern Europe• Winter Solstice on December 21• Norse celebration “Yule”
• Yule log & feast• Green Tree: reminder of Spring• Winter ending
Christianity co-opts Saturnalia & Yule with Christmas
Ancient Rome • Winter Solstice “Saturnalia” (god of
agriculture)• Feast of plentiful food & drink• Dec. 25: Holiday for Mithra (God
of the Sun)
Vocabulary• Secularism
– Indifference or rejection of organized religious affiliations and ideas
• Monotheism– worship of a single deity
• Polytheism – worship of more than deity
• Animistic religion– inanimate objects possess
spirits and should be revered
Major Religions & Cultural Hearths
JudaismChristianity Islam
Hinduism Buddhism
Hindu TempleTamil Nadu, India
Hindu TempleFlushing, NY
Temple in Bali
Temple in Britain
Jainism
Sheetalnath Jain Temple, Calcutta, India
Jain Center of America
Buddhism
Borobudur, IndonesiaBorobudur, Indonesia
Taoism• Qi (Chi) - energy• Feng Shui -
Geomancy
Feng-Shui
Tomb locations are of great importance because deceased ancestors are believed to exert great influence on the living. Therefore, it is important for tombs to be located in harmony with the natural forces.
Many factors were involved in the location of a tomb including geographic requirements. For example, steep slopes, difficult terrain, angular cliffs should be avoided as sources of discord.
Repulse Bay, Hong Kong
SynagoguePrague, (1280)
Synagogue Toledo, Spain
Torah Ark
ChartresCathedral
St. Basil’s ChurchMoscow
Nieuwe Kerk ,Amsterdam
Ethiopian Churches
Lalibela, Ethiopia
Countries with the Largest Muslim Populations (2009)
Estimated Muslim Population
% of the population that is Muslim
%of the world Muslim population
Indonesia 202,867,000 88.2% 12.9%Pakistan 174,082,000 96.3 11.1India 160,945,000 13.4 10.3Bangladesh 145,312,000 89.6 9.3Egypt 78,513,000 94.6 5.0Nigeria 78,056,000 50.4 5.0Iran 73,777,000 99.4 4.7Turkey 73,619,000 ~98 4.7Algeria 34,199,000 98.0 2.2
Morocco 31,993,000 ~99 ~2
Isfahan, Iran
Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Mihrab (niche) indicates the Qibla (direction to Mecca)
Mosque, Djenne, Mali
Mosque, Toledo, Ohio
Masjid al-HaramCapacity – 4 million people
Kaaba“cube”
Megalithic Tomb
Japanese Gravestones Memorialize the Dead With QR Codes
QR codes are practically everywhere in Japan nowadays, but here’s a unique take on the technology: Japanese gravestone maker Ishi no Koe ("Voice of the Stone") recently announced plans to begin selling gravestones with the two-dimensional bar codes embedded into them. By simply snapping a shot of the tag with their cellphones, visitors will be able to view photos, videos and other information about the deceased. The device would also keep a log of each time the code was scanned so family members can keep up to date with when other relatives last visited the site.In the future, Ishi no Koe hopes to use this technology to develop a new way to pay respect to the dead that wouldn't require you to actually be at the cemetery in person. The company sees this as an alternative especially fitting for today’s younger generation.
Blog.wired.com
One of the greatest cities of the world, Cahokia was larger than London was in AD 1250.
Hopewell Serpent Mound, Ohio
Tower of Silence
Religion & Conflict
Identify conflicts in the world that is (was) between competing religious groups?
Country Main religious groups involvedAfghanistan Extreme, Fundamentalist Muslim terrorists & non-MuslimsBosnia Serbian Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, MuslimsCôte d'Ivoire Muslims, Indigenous, ChristianCyprus Christians & MuslimsEast Timor Christians & MuslimsIndia Animists, Hindus, Muslims & SikhsIndonesia, province of Ambon Christians & MuslimsIndonesia, province of Halmahera Christians & Muslims
Iraq Kurds, Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, western forces
Kashmir Hindus & MuslimsKosovo Serbian Orthodox Christians & MuslimsKurdistan Christians, MuslimsMacedonia Macedonian Orthodox Christians & MuslimsMiddle East Jews, Muslims, & ChristiansNigeria Christians, Animists, & MuslimsNorthern Ireland Protestants, CatholicsPakistan Sunni & Shi'ite MuslimsPhilippines Christians & MuslimsRussia, Chechnya Russian Orthodox Christians, MuslimsSouth Africa Animists & "Witches"Sri Lanka Buddhists & HindusSudan Animists, Christians & MuslimsThailand Buddhists & MuslimsTibet Buddhists & CommunistsUganda Animists, Christians, & Muslims
Interfaith Boundaries can divide countries
Hausa-Fulani(Muslim)
Yoruba & Ibo(Christian/ Animist)
Women and motorbike taxi riders are defying a new ban in the Nigerian state of Kano that stops women travelling on the bikes by pretending to be related.
According to Sharia law, men and women are not allowed to travel together on public transport, but women can travel with their male relations. State authorities say mobile magistrate courts will impose on-the-spot fines on offenders of the law from Monday. Women say there are not enough alternatives
for them to get around.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984
Babri MosqueAyodhya, India
More than 2000 killed in
subsequent riots
Christian
Exclave
Shiite Muslim
EnclaveA piece of land of a particular state that is separated from it by another state
A piece of territory that is surrounded by another political union of which it is not part
“Ethnic Cleansing” moved Muslims and others from their homes
In Srebrenica, Bosnia approximately 8,000 Muslim boys and men were killed
Cave of the Patriarchs
Intrafaith Conflict
More than 3,200 people were killed in Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” 1969-1998