Where are Religions Distributed?

For many people, religion is the most important cultural trait that defines who they are & how they understand the world around them

Helps us understand many aspects of human culture (population, int’l policies etc.)

Religious affiliation is on the decline in some parts of the world’s core regions14% of the world have “no religion”• indifference or rejection of organized religious

affiliationsNot necessarily atheist (2-3%)Agnostic? Secular?

All share some set of teachings that imply a value system

All include some notion of the sacred a person, set of texts, symbol etc.

All include some ideas about the place of human beings in the universe

Many also have a creation story to explain origins of humans & the universe

Source Areas (Hearth) Major contemporary religions originated in a relatively small area

Judaism & Christianity -- Israel & Jordan

Islam – Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Hindu – Indus region of Pakistan

Buddhism – northern India

Appeal to people everywhere

• Individual founder (prophet)

• Message diffused widely (missionaries)

• Followers distributed widely.

• Holidays based on events in founder’s life.

• 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.

Ethnic

Why have some religions spread so far & others have remained primarily local?Some religions seek to unite people from

diverse backgrounds while others seek to ground people in local traditions & landscapes

Religions that seek to unite = universalizingMore bound to one place = local/ethnic

religions

About 62% of world adheres to a universalizing religion3 main ones; Christianity, Islam & Buddhism

Branches of Universalizing ReligionsThree principal universalizing religions divided into

branches, denominations, and sects.A branch is a large and fundamental division within a

religion.A denomination is a division of a branch that unites a

number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.

A sect is a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination

2 billion ppl & most widespread distribution *N.A., *S.A., Europe, AustraliaThree major branches include…

1. Roman Catholic (51 percent of the world’s Christians)

2. Protestant (24 percent of the world’s Christians) 3. Orthodox (11 percent of the world’s Christians)

Distributions Roman Catholicism dominant branch in southwestern and

eastern Europe. Protestantism dominant branch in northwestern Europe. Orthodoxy dominant branch in eastern and southeastern

Europe.

Fig. 6-2: Protestant denominations, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy are dominant in different regions of Europe—a result of many historic interactions.

Branches of Christianity in the Western Hemisphere93 percent of Christians in Latin America are

Roman Catholic.40 percent in North America

Protestant churches have approximately 82 million members in the United States.Baptist church has largest number of adherents (37

million).

1.3 billion ppl & most prominent in Middle East Branches of Islam

Two major branches include… 1. SunniLargest branch in most Muslim countries in Southwest

Asia and North Africa83 percent of all Muslims2. ShiiteGreatly concentrated in the Middle Eastern countries of

Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Oman, and Bahrain16 percent of all Muslims

Branches of BuddhismThree major branches include…

1. Mahayana56 percent of BuddhistsLocated primarily in China, Japan, and Korea2. Theravada38 percent of BuddhistsLocated primarily in Cambodia, Laos,

Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand3. Vajrayana6 percent of BuddhistsLocated primarily in Tibet and Mongolia.

Sikhism & Baha’i 25 million vs 8 million

About 24% of the world adheres to a local/ethnic religion

Often remain within the culture where they originated.

Much more clustered than universalizing religions

Hinduism largest # of followers with 860 million3rd largest religion & oldest religion90% of Hindus are found in India

Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Shintoism East Asia, co-existence vs. exclusive belief Blending or combining of several traditions is known as

syncretism.Judaism

2/5 in USA (large cities such as NYC), 2/5 in IsraelChristianity & Islam find their roots in Judaism

Animism100m Africans (12%)Inanimate objects & spiritsdeclining

Evangelical – expand their membership by using missionaries to recruit new followers

Monotheistic – Teach the primacy of a single God

Polytheistic – Teaching that there are numerous Gods or spiritual powers