Religion

(Christianity)

Christianity • largest world religion

– about 2 billion adherents

– Many adherents in Europe, the Americas

• Three major branches – Roman Catholicism (51% of all Christians)

– Protestant Christianity (24%)

• “denominations” include Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist,

Anglican, Presbyterian, Episcopal etc.

– Eastern Orthodox (11%)

– Other (14%)

• Coptic (Egypt), Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints), Jehovah’s Witnesses

Christian Holy

Places • Relate to life of Christ =

universalizing

– Jerusalem

• Holy Sepulchre

– Bethlehem (birth)

– Nazareth (childhood)

• Later sites associated

with saints and “miracles”

– Examples

• Lourdes, France

• Fatima, Portugal

Diffusion of

Christianity

– To Europe (Roman Empire)

• follows Jewish diaspora

– RELOCATION

• “Paul’s letters”

– “pagan” = “country dweller”

– HIERARCHICAL

• “pagans” = convert

– CONTAGIOUS

– Outside of Europe

• colonization

– RELOCATION

• missionaries

– conversion of authorities

(kings, chiefs, tribal leaders)

– HIERARCHICAL

– followed by acceptance by

common people

– CONTAGIOUS

Islam in Europe (Ottoman Empire)

Christianity in

Europe

• South/Romance = Catholic

– Italy, Spain, Portugal, France

• North/Germanic = Protestant

– UK = Anglican = Protestant

• political not doctrinal

– Scandinavia

• Sweden, Norway, Denmark

– other Nordic

• Iceland

• Latvia (split)

• Uralic

– Finland

– Estonia

• Does Ireland fit this pattern?

– Ireland = Catholic

– Why?

• ethnic identity/nationalism

Diffusion of Christianity • Global

– Secondary hearths influence global distribution

• not the place of origin but place from which there was

significant change

• Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City

– Spanish, French colonies = Catholic

– “Latin” America

• Protestantism = Northern Europe (Germany/UK)

– British/Dutch colonies = Protestant

– North America (we will handle tomorrow)

– Australia, New Zealand

• Eastern Orthodox = Constantinople (now Istanbul)

– Orthodox missionaries → Eastern Europe/Russia

– St. Cyril and Methodius = Cyrillic Alphabet

– Moscow = “the Third Rome” after fall of Constantinople to Muslims

– relocation diffusion to Siberia

Christianity in

Europe

• East/Slavic = Orthodox

– Exceptions = Poland

• Catholic, why?

– between Protestant Germany

and Orthodox Russia

– ethnic identity/Nationalism

Cyrillic Alphabet (Eastern Europe,

Slavic, Eastern Orthodox)

Religion in the

Balkans

• Islam = legacy of Ottomans

– Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia • Ottoman Turk influence

• Former Yugoslavia/Balkans – SHATTERBELT

• a region caught between stronger

colliding external cultural-political

forces, under persistent stress, and

often fragmented by aggressive rivals

– Leads to civil war in the 1990s • Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia

– Pro-Russian

– Eastern Orthodox

• Croatia, Slovenia

– Pro-Germany (WWII)

– “Western” focus

– Roman Catholic

• Bosnian

– identity is Muslim

Religion in

Europe

• Multi-religious

states

– Netherlands

– Germany

– Switzerland

– Latvia

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Diffusion of Christianity • Global

– Secondary hearths influence global distribution

• not the place of origin but place from which there was

significant change

• Roman Catholicism = Rome/Vatican City

– Spanish, French colonies = Catholic

– “Latin” America

• Protestantism = Northern Europe (Germany/UK)

– British/Dutch colonies = Protestant

– North America (we will handle tomorrow)

– Australia, New Zealand

• Eastern Orthodox = Constantinople (now Istanbul)

– Orthodox missionaries → Eastern Europe/Russia

– St. Cyril and Methodius = Cyrillic Alphabet

– Moscow = “the Third Rome” after fall of Constantinople to Muslims

– relocation diffusion to Siberia

• Africa = based on colonial holdings (see later map)

• Dark Red =

Catholic

• Pink =

Protestant

• Magenta =

Eastern

Orthodox

World Distribution of Religions