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Religions
Key to Culture
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Religion – Geographer’s View• A Religions’ diffusion process across the landscape
may conflict with the distribution of others
• Regional distribution of different religions may result in the potential for conflict
• Relationship between religion and the physical environment
• Relgions’ power to modify the landscape.
• How do humans occupy the Earth?
• Where are religions located and why are they there?
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Why are religions important?• Religion defines core values and beliefs which is an
essential element of the definition of culture
• Some religions are designed to appeal to people across the world while others focus on a geographically limited area
• Religious values define identity and how the landscape is defined
• Most religions require exclusive adherence which requires turning away from local religions
• Religions migrate with people
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Universalizing Religions
• Christianity
• Islam
• Buddhism
• All attempt to be global, appeal to all people regardless of location
• Consists of branches, denominations and sects
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Breakout of Religions
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Universalizing Religions
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Christianity
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Christianity Central Belief
• God was born as a man, was crucified, rose from the dead and will return to resurrect all men of faith
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Christianity
• Three Branches– Roman Catholic
– Protestant
– Eastern Orthodox
– Other
• Multiple Religions claimed by some individuals
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Distribution of Christians
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Islam
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Islam Central Beliefs
• Five Pillars of Faith– There is one God worthy of worship and
Mohammed is his messenger
– Face Mecca and pray five times a day
– Give generously to charity
– Fast during the month of Ramadan
– If able, make a pilgrimage to Makkah
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Islam
• Predominant in Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia.
• A strong presence in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India
• Two Branches– Sunni (Predominant, 83%)
– Shia (Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Oman, 16%)
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Buddhism
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Buddhism Central Beliefs• All living beings must endure suffering
• Suffering (a desire to live) leads to reincarnation
• Existence is to end suffering and escape to Nirvana never to reincarnate again
• Nirvana obtained via an eightfold path– Rightness of belief, resolve, speech, actions,
livelihood, effort, thought and meditation.
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Buddhism
• Three branches–Mahayana (56%, China, Japan, Korea)
– Theravada ( 38%, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka)
– Tantrayana ( 6%, Tibet and Mongolia)
• Does not require exclusive adherence.
• Religious functions are performed by monks
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Ethnic Religions
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Ethnic Religions
• Appeal to specific ethnic groups
• Usually located in specific geographic areas
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Hinduism
• Largest group
• Concentrated in India (97% of adherents live in India)
• No “right” approach to theological matters
• Individuals select method of worship
• An overarching “spirit” worshiped though gods selected by individuals according to their preferences
• No single holy book
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Other Ethnic Religions• Confucianism – Ethical principles and orderly
conduct
• Taoism – search for the path or way
• Shintoism – Divine nature of natural forces and ancestors as Deities
• Judaism – monothism centered on the Middle East with worldwide decendants
• Ethnic African Religions – generally animist
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Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
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Christianity
• Primarily through missionary adeherents “spreading the gospel”
• Middle East to Rome.
• Hierarchical diffusion through the Roman Empire
• Colonial spread by Europeans
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Islam
• Hierarchical diffusion via Armies and conquest– Palestine
– Persia,
– North Africa, Spain
– Eastern Europe, Turkey
• Relocation Diffusion– Subsaharan Africa, Southeast Asia
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Buddhism• Slowly
• Hierarchical via Asoka, Magadhan Empire– Via missionaries to Sri Lanka, Myanmar
• Contagion–Merchants to China
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Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
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Ethnic Diffusion
• By definition Ethnic religions are isolated
• Ethnic religions tend to co-mingle with universalizing religions
• Judaism –– Historical persecution and dispersion
– Ethnic connection to religion preserves the practice in spite of distance
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Holy Places and Conflict
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Religion a major element of Culture
• Love, Esteem and Territoriality
• Convergence between several religions and cultural hearth claims
• Judaism, Christianity, Islam all have claims on Jerusalem as a center of their faith
• Centuries of conflict and warfare mark this holy site.
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Pilgrimages• Sometimes central to religious tenets– Hajj of Islam
– Tirtha of Hindus
–Way of the Cross in Christianity
• Increased travel capabilities increases demand for access to sites
• Local improvements in rural areas cater to pilgrims
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Religious Conflicts
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Social Change• Taliban and Western Values– Strict laws based on Islamic values as interpreted by the
“religious students”
– Taliban interpretation questioned by Islamic scholars
– Fueling fight for control of Afghanistan
• Hinduism and Social Equality– India caste system steeped in Hindu religious belief
– Brahman, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Shudras
– Outcasts – untouchables
– Leading a good life increases chances of rebirth in a higher caste
– Also linked to occupations
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Religious Wars• Ireland– Divided 5/6 independent Eire, 1/6 Northern Ireland
(Great Britain province)
– Northern Ireland 58% Protestant / 42% Catholic
– Protestant Land Owners / Catholic Blue collar workers
• Palestine– Series of conflicts over the creation of Israel have
presented an intractable conflict since 1948
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Conclusion• Religion is a key driver of cultural decisions
• Differences in belief and the strong conviction of “what God demands” drives conflicts
• Interpretations of meanings of beliefs fuel warfare and violence, often complicated by territorial imperatives
• Curious human behavior tied to strong beliefs in God and afterlife