the geography of religion
DESCRIPTION
The Great Mosque, Mali. The Geography of Religion. Buddhist Monks. What is Religion. Explains the unexplained System of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities. Explains how people SHOULD behave. Constitutes as culture. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Great Mosque, Mali
Buddhist Monks
The Geography of Religion
Explains the unexplainedSystem of beliefs and practices that attempts
to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities.
Explains how people SHOULD behave.Constitutes as culture
What is Religion
The Geography of Religion
Birth of Religions
How do Universalizing and Ethnic Religions Differ?Universalizing
• Appeal to people everywhere
• Individual founder (prophet)
• Message diffused widely (missionaries)
• Followers distributed widely.
• Holidays based on events in founder’s life.
• Seek converts
Ethnic• Has meaning in particular
place only.• Unknown source.• Content focused on place
and landscape of origin.• Followers highly clustered.• Holidays based on local
climate and agricultural practice.
• Not seeking converts
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Example of Universalizing
AfricaSouth America tribes (native religions)Native AmericanJudaism as wellHinduism (not actively seeking converts)
Creates pockets of Hinduism
Example of Ethnic
History of ReligionZoroastrianism
(SW Asia 3500 years ago.)
The First Monotheistic Religion
Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam is divided into three groups.
1) Branch- A large and fundamental division within a religion. Ex: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox
2)Denomination-Division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body. Ex: Lutheran (of Protestant branch)
3) Sect- a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination (Missouri Synod or Evangelical) of the Lutheran Denomination.
However, in Universalizing Religions, we see divisions
Islam• 1 billion +
adherents• Originated in
Saudi Arabia (Mecca and Medina) around AD 600.
• Spread originally by Muslim armies to N. Africa, and the Near East.
Sunni (83%) - throughout the Muslim world. More “liberal” b/c people following the example of Muhammad.
Shiite (16%) - Iran (30%), Pakistan (15%), Iraq (10%): More fundamental
Shiite comprise of 90% of population in Iran.
Sects of Islam
Second largest religion in the worldWorlds largest dominantly Islamic state is
IndonesiaAdoption of Sharia Law, fundamental Islam is
growing.
Islam
IslamFive Pillars of Islam• There is one God and
Muhammad is his messenger.• Prayer five times daily, facing
Mecca.• The giving of alms(charity) to
the poor.• Fasting during Ramadan for
purification and submission.• If body and income allow, a
Muslim must make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in his lifetime.
Islamic Calender• Begins in AD 622
when Muhammad was commanded to Mecca from Medina (Hijra).
• Lunar calendar makes Ramadan move through the seasons (30 year cycle - 19 years with 354 days and 11 with 355).
Reading the Koran, Brunei
Prophet: MuhammadHoly Text: Koran
Islam
Prophet: Muhammad; Can NOT be depicted in picture form. Is disrespectful
Holy Text: Koran
Diffusion of Islam
Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in America. Only a small part of this growth is from black Muslims and the Nation of Islam.
Islamic Architecture
Certain practices or institutions should exist separately from religion or religious belief.
Secularism
The Roots of ReligionAnimism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a Shaman.• Such beliefs are common among
hunter-gatherers.• 10% of Africans follow such
traditional ethnic religions.• These beliefs are losing ground to
Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.
Nigerian Shaman
Native American Animism
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~ Chief Seattle
Bear Dance
Semetic4000 Yrs ago-Nomadic PeoplesTeachings of Abraham-CovenenantMoses18 million adherantsOrthodox-More Conservative
Judaism
Zionism: Seeks a homeland for the Jewish people.
Diaspora of the Jews resulted from the Roman Destruction of Jerusalem
Ashkenazim and SephardimThe Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of
Jesus’s Tomb (Jerusalem).
Judaism
Pilgrimage: when adherents travel to a religious site to pay respects.
Jerusalem
Sacred Sites
Wailing Wall-Destruction of Jewish templesTemple Mount-Abraham’s SacrificeChurch of the Holy SepulchreOutside of Jerusalem walls is where Jesus was
crucified.
Holy Places
Division between state politics and religious belief.
Secularism
Rabbi Kahane: Jewish ExtremistsReligious Fundamentalism
The Roots of ReligionAnimism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a Shaman.• Such beliefs are common among
hunter-gatherers.• 10% of Africans follow such
traditional ethnic religions.• These beliefs are losing ground to
Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.
Nigerian Shaman
Native American Animism
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~ Chief Seattle
Bear Dance
Over 4000 years oldNo single founderUnknown specific origin thought Harappa and
Mohenjo Daro thought to be the area where first practiced.
Pakistan no longer Hindu
Hinduism
• 900 million + adherents primarily in India
• Hinduism is an ancient term for the complex and diverse set of religious beliefs practiced around the Indus River.
• Reincarnation - endless cycles. Karma
• Coastlines and river banks most sacred sites.
• Vishnu and Shiva most common of hundreds of deities. Though Brahma lead Deity.
Hinduism
Monotheism: The belief in a single deityPolytheism: The belief in multiple deities.
Hinduism?-Brahman
How many Gods do you want?
Sacred ScripturesVedas
Karma-transferability of the soulReincarnation-seeks union with Brahman
Fundamental Doctrine
Social Effects of HinduismSupports the
Caste SystemOther religionsModernizationEqual distributionOf wealth-Mahatma Gandhi
Hinduism
Lord Vishnu
Dancing Shiva/NatarajGanesh
Spread of Hinduism
Bali was a refuge for Hinduism because nearby Java, Indonesia was engulfed by Islam
Also spread because of transportation of Indian workers during the colonial era.
• 300 million + adherents primarily in China and S.E. Asia
• Spread originally in India and Sri Lanka by Magadhan Empire (250 BC).
• Indian traders brought it to China in 1st century AD.
• By 6th century it had lost its hold on India, but was now in Korea and Japan.
Buddhism
Buddhism Originated near
modern Nepal/India around 530 BC by prince Siddhartha Guatama.
Later known as Buddha or Enlightened One
Spoke out against Hindu Caste System
Four Noble Truths:1. All living beings must endure suffering.2. Suffering, which is caused by desires (for life), leads to reincarnation.3. The goal of existence is an escape from suffering and the endless cycle of reincarnation by means of Nirvana.4. Nirvana is achieved by the Eightfold Path, which includes rightness of understanding, mindfulness, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and concentration.
Buddhism
Theravada - the older, more severe form which requires the renouncing of all worldly goods and desires.Mahayana - focuses on Buddha’s teachings and compassion.
Karma - your past bad or good actions determine your progress toward Nirvana through reincarnation. You are your own God.
Buddhism
Thrives in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia
Tibetan Buddhism=Lamaism
Universalizing religion-Not Cultural/Ethnic
PagodaStupa
Originated in China where 13 texts were the major focus of education for 2,000 years.
Was suppressed and banned under Communist rule from 1949-present
Feng-Shui & Geomancers
Confucism
Semetic4000 Yrs ago-Nomadic PeoplesTeachings of Abraham-CovenenantMoses18 million adherantsOrthodox-More Conservative
Judaism
Zionism: Seeks a homeland for the Jewish people.
Diaspora of the Jews resulted from the Roman Destruction of Jerusalem
Ashkenazim and SephardimThe Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of
Jesus’s Tomb (Jerusalem).
Judaism
Pilgrimage: when adherents travel to a religious site to pay respects.
Jerusalem
Sacred Sites
Division between state politics and religious belief.
Secularism
Rabbi Kahane: Jewish ExtremistsReligious Fundamentalism
Vote to Partition Palestine was taken by the United Nations.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
SikhismSikhism is a
compromise religion of Hinduism and Islam (modern day Pakistan)
Have gurusNo strict definition of
GodSalvation through
discipline and meditation
Nanek
Christianity• 2 billion adherents make it most practiced in the world.
• Originated in Bethlehem (8-4 BC) and Jerusalem (AD 30) with Jesus Christ.
• Spread by missionaries and the Roman Empire (Constantine A.D. 313).
• It is the most practiced religion in Africa today.
Diffusion of Christianity
Christianity in the U.S.
Largest sect of ChristianitySpread to Americas by Spain
Roman-Catholicism
Sacred Spaces Sites of special religious significance (experiences, events)Hallowed grounds that are preserved across generationsFor believers, places endowed with divine meaning
Paha Sapa Kin Wiyopeya Unkiyapi kte sni yelo!!We never sold the Black Hills!!(Lakota expression)
Shrine at Lourdes, southern France
Cathedral at Chartres, France
Methodist-Congregationalis
t (Protestant) church,
southwest Quebec, Canada
St. Basil’s(Russian
Orthodox), Red Square, Moscow
Mid-City Cemetery
New Orleans
Recoleto CemeteryBuenos Aires
Jewish cemete
ry, Chicag
oTemple Beth El (1973), Bloomington Hills, Mich.
Synagogue, Jewish quarter, Prague(13th century)
Western (Wailing) Wall, Jerusalem
Buddhist stupa, Thailand
(Hemispherical shape is typical, but different
forms of Buddhism use differing types and
levels of ornamentation.)
Statue of Buddha
Hindu temple,
Northern India
Taj Mahal (Agra, India) – Islamic mausoleum
Hindu cremation ceremony,
India
Friday prayers, Grand Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: The Hajj
Memorial Spaces How similar to, and how different from, “sacred
space”?
Memorial Spaces
Monuments, memorials, shrines, museums, and preserved sites used to commemorate and sanctify the past
From D. Alderman (2000): “Public commemoration is a socially directed process: before historical events and figures can be regarded as memorable, people must judge them worthy of remembrance and have the influence to get others to agree.”
“Places of memory make history visible and tangible. … Memorial sites shape how we interpret and value the past.”
“Memorial landscapes are in a constant state of redefinition as governments rise and fall, as the heritage and cultural tourism industry continues to expand, and as marginalized populations seek public recognition.”
From O. Dwyer (2000): “The narrative content of these memorials reflects the types of archival materials that survive, the intentions of their producers, and contemporary politics regarding [historical events]. In turn, through their symbolic power and the large number of visitors who travel to them, these landscapes play a role in contemporary America’s ... politics.”
Wailing Wall-Destruction of Jewish templesTemple Mount-Abraham’s SacrificeChurch of the Holy Sepulchre-Golgotha where
Jesus was crucified.
Holy Places
Key TermsSyncretism - the mixing of two or more religions that creates unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs. Examples include syncretism of Christianity and indigenous beliefs in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.• Caribbean Voodoo (Haiti,
Louisiana)• Christianity in Indigenous
Latin American• READ SHINTOISM
PASSAGE
Voodoo Dolls, Haiti
Shrine, Bangalore, India
Syncretism in practice
Christianity and Islam has failed to convert people in Africa who have previously belonged to a traditional religion.
Though Eastern Orthodox survives in Ethiopia
Christianity
Key TermsSecularization - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim no allegiance to any church. Some of these people are atheists. Others simply do not practice. Still others call themselves spiritual, but not religious.• Common in Europe and the
cities of the U.S.• Common in former Soviet
Union and China.
• READ RISE OF SECULARIZATION
PASSAGE
Fundamentalism - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim there is only one way to interpret worship. Fundamentalists generally envision a return to a more perfect religion and ethics they imagine existed in the past.• Common in the U.S. and in
some Islamic nations.
• READ RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM AND
EXTREMISM
Religious ConflictThe Big Question: Can secular society exist alongside traditional and fundamentalist religious sects and states?• We are quick to notice fundamentalism abroad (i.e.
Salman Rushdie’s death sentence by Shia clerics) and not so quick to recognize it at home (abortion clinic bombings; Southern Baptist Convention’s calls for women to submit to their husbands’ authority).
• American evangelical Christianity and Islamic fundamentalism are the two most influential fundamentalist movements in the world.
• Fewer and fewer states are governed by an official church.
Roman Catholic vs. Eastern OrthodoxLinguistic differences Islam then introduced in SerbiaMany INTERFAITH boundriesEx: Croats & Nazis genocide against SerbsSerbs ethnic cleansed the Bosnian Muslims
Former Yugoslavia
Islam Vs. Christianity in EritreaHas changed hands many timesLinguistic differences
Horn of Africa
Interfaith regionAfter WWII, United Nations made borders for
both groups.Israel’s building fence.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Atheism discouraged religious practices in Soviet Union
Islam tolerated in old but not young.Divide and Diminish plan used!
Soviet Religion