RELIGION Unlike language, which is important in all cultures, religion varies in its cultural influence. Historically, almost all cultures have centered on religion, and today many still do. However, in recent years other ideologies have replaced religion as key cultural components in some societies. One such ideology is humanism, with roots in Ancient Greece and Rome (and more recently the European Renaissance), which emphasizes the ability of human beings to guide their own lives. Another is Marxism, which transformed communism into a central ideology in many areas during the 20th century. However, even in societies that are largely non-religious, people are strongly influenced by religious values from earlier days. Religion distinguishes itself from other belief systems by its emphasis on the sacred and divine. According to French sociologist Emile Durkheim, religion is important in explaining anything that surpasses the limits of our knowledge. As human beings, we define most objects, events, and experiences as profane, or ordinary, but we define some things as sacred, or extraordinary, inspiring a sense of awe and reverence. Religions usually explain the relationship of the individual to the world, as well as the meaning of life and death, and what happens to people after they die. These beliefs become intertwined with other values, beliefs, and customs of the society so that they become basic to a people’s way of life. For example, almost since its founding Islam has been the basis for shari’a law that defines the political systems of many Muslim countries. Geographers are interested in religion because it shapes the cultural landscape, with predominant religions varying among regions of the world. Geographers document the places where various religions are located and offer explanations as to why some religions have diffused globally, whereas others have remained highly localized. Universalizing Religions The three main universalizing religions are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Each attempts to be global in its appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just to those in one location. They contrast to ethnic religions that appeal primarily to one group of people living in one place. About 60% of the world’s population identifies with a universalizing religion, 24% to an ethnic religion, and about 16% to no religion. Each of the three universalizing religions is divided into subgroups: • Branches are large and basic divisions within a religion. • Denominations are divisions of branches that unite local groups in a single administrative body. • Sects are relatively small groups that do not affiliate with the more mainstream denominations. Major Religions of the World as a Percentage of World Population. Although there are many different religions in the world, most people that call themselves religious adhere to the few religions identified on the chart. More than 60% of the world’s population identifies with one of the three universalizing religions: Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism. The largest single ethnic religion is Hinduism, with nearly 14% of the world’s population, mostly located on the Indian subcontinent. 76 UNIT THREE CULTURE 77 Christianity Christianity has by far the most followers, with about 2.3 billion people worldwide calling themselves Christians. It also has the most widespread distribution, and it is the predominant religion in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Christianity has three major branches: • Roman Catholic – About 50% of the world’s Christians are Roman Catholic, with concentrations in Latin America, French Canada (Quebec), Central Africa, and Southern and Eastern Europe. • Protestant – About 18% of the world’s Christians are Protestants. This branch first split from the Catholic Church in the 16th century, and it later divided into hundreds of denominations. Protestantism is strong in North America, Northern Europe, Britain, South Africa, and Australia. • Eastern Orthodox – About 12% of all Christians are Eastern Orthodox, a branch that officially split from Roman Catholicism in the 11th century C.E. It is strong in Eastern Europe and Russia. Other Christians affiliate with a variety of African, Asian, and Latin American churches that cannot be categorized with the three major branches. Many communities were isolated from others at an early point in the development of the religion, but have remained Christian over the centuries. Examples are the Ethiopian Church, with about 10 million followers, and the Coptic Church of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea with about 50 million adherents. More than one-half of U.S. adults consider themselves Protestants and one-fourth identify as Catholics. Only about 4% – according to an ABC news poll in 2011 – identify as adherents to a non-Christian religion - Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and a smattering of others. Although the diversity of Protestant denominations is great, regional differences mean that most people live in communities where one denomination predominates. For example, Baptists prevail in the southern states from Texas east to Virginia and Georgia. Many Methodists live in the Northeast and the Southwest, and Lutherans concentrate in Minnesota and North Dakota. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) live mainly in the state Christianity in the United States. About 50% of the U.S. population is Protestant, but they belong to hundreds of different denominations and sects. Even the major denominations above are divided into different churches. For example, Baptists are divided into Southern Baptists, Northern Baptists, National Baptists, National Missionary Baptists, and Progressive National Baptists. Many Protestants belong to independent denominations that do not affiliate with the major groups listed above. . of Utah and its surrounding areas. These patterns are determined partly by movements of people in history. For example, Mormons traveled to Utah to escape religious persecution in the east, and immigrants from Scandinavia brought their Lutheran religion with them to the northern part of the Midwest. Islam The second largest world religion is Islam, with about 1.6 billion adherents. It is the predominant religion of the Middle East from North Africa to Central Asia, but about half of the world’s Muslims live in four countries outside the Middle East: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. The religion is spreading rapidly to other areas, including North America and Europe, and overall it is growing more quickly than Christianity is. For example, there are about 2.6 million Muslims in the United States, making Islam a significant part of religious life in that country. It is also the youngest of the world religions, with a founding date in the 7th century C.E. on the Arabian Peninsula. Islam is divided into two main branches: • Sunni comprise 83% of all Muslims and is the largest branch in the Middle East and Asia. Although many live in the Middle East, the country with the largest concentration of Sunni Muslims is Indonesia. • Shiites make up about 16% of all Muslims, and most are located in only a few countries of the Middle East. Nearly 40% of all Shiites live in Iran, 15% in Pakistan, 10% in Iraq, and 10% in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Sunnis and Shiites in the Middle East. Only two countries in the Middle East are majority Shiite: Iran and Iraq. All the rest, with the exceptions of Lebanon and Israel, are majority Sunni. A great deal of ethnic identity is based on Sunni or Shiite affiliation, and the two branches historically have experienced many tensions. The religious split is part of the reason the Middle East is one of the political and religious “hot spots” of our age. 78 UNIT THREE CULTURE 79 The split between Sunni and Shiite branches occurred very early in the history of the religion, when an argument erupted over the rightful successor to Muhammad, the religion’s 7th century founder. The Sunni believed that the successor should be chosen by agreement among the religious leaders, but the Shiites believed that the successor should be a member of Muhammad’s family. The Sunni won the argument, but the Shiites refused to accept the decision, and the two branches have maintained their separate identities ever since, creating major divisions among and within Muslim countries that have often led to conflict. Buddhism Although Buddhism is the world’s third major universalizing religion, it has only 365 million followers, considerably fewer than Christianity and Islam have. The religion began on the Indian subcontinent, where its founder, Siddhartha (the Buddha) lived. The religion diffused along the Silk Road and water routes across the Indian Ocean, mainly to East and Southeast Asia, where it remains a strong religion today. Today India is overwhelmingly Hindu and Islam, with only a small fraction of its citizens identifying as Buddhists. Buddhism has three main branches: • Mahayana – 56% of Buddhists are Mahayana, or “Big Wheel,” characterized by broad incorporation of ideas and gods from other religions as it spread into East Asia. • Theraveda – About 38% of Buddhists are Theraveda, characterized by a stricter adherence to the original teachings of the Buddha. This branch is strong in Southeast Asia. • Tantrayana – Only about 6% of Buddhists are Tantrayana, the “Vehicle of the Text,” with its emphasis on magic as well as different meditation techniques. It is found primarily in Tibet and Mongolia. An accurate count of Buddhists is difficult because eastern religions don’t require their followers to identify with only one religion. In contrast to most Westerners, many Asians combine their religious beliefs so that they claim to be adherents to more than one belief system. For example, in Japan, many Buddhists also subscribe to Shintoism, a native Japanese religion. Other Universalizing Religions Two other religions – Sikhism and Baha’i – qualify as universalizing religions because they actively seek converts to their broad views and beliefs. About 21 million Sikhs live in the Punjab region of India, with about 3 million more living elsewhere. Sikhs stress continual improvement and movement toward perfection by taking individual responsibility for their actions, a universal message that appeals to many. Sikhism combines beliefs from Hinduism and Islam – the two largest religions on the Indian subcontinent – but centers on the teachings of its founder, Guru Nanak. Baha’i is a relatively new faith, founded in Iran in 1844 by Siyyid ‘Ali Muhammad, known as the Bab (Persian for “gateway”). Most followers live in Iran, where they are viewed by some Shiite Muslims as heretics to the faith, since they believe that Husayn ‘Ali Nuri (Known as Baha’u’llah, or “Glory of God”) was the prophet and messenger of God, not Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic faith. Ethnic Religions Ethnic religions differ from universalizing religions in that they generally do not seek converts outside the group that gave rise to the religion. As a result, they tend to be spatially concentrated. The main exception is Judaism, whose adherents are widely scattered. Hinduism Although Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, most of its 800 million adherents live in India. A few live in the neighboring country of Nepal, and only about 1% are dispersed around the world. Hindus make up 80% of the population of India, 90% of Nepal, and a small minority in every other country. Hinduism is generally regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion still in practice, but it is not tightly organized into branches or denominations. It has no central god or a single holy book, so each individual decides the best way to worship. There is a belief in the existence of a universal spirit (Brahman) that manifests itself in many shapes and forms, including the gods Vishnu and Shiva, but Hindus show allegiance to different gods. The Chinese Religions Because eastern religions do not require their followers to adhere to only one faith, Buddhism often blends with local belief systems, including Confucianism and Daoism. Neither religion involves concepts of supernatural omnipotence, so they are often viewed as philosophies, not religions. Confucianism provides a code of moral conduct based on humaneness and family loyalty. Daoism holds that human happiness lies in maintaining proper harmony with nature. These faiths survive in China today, and are also influential in Korea and Japan. There is no reliable data on the number of adherents, but the collective influence of the Chinese religious complex is huge, particularly since the religions have diffused not only to Korea and Japan, but to almost all other parts of East and Southeast Asia. Shintoism Shintoism is a native ethnic religion of Japan that focuses particularly on nature and reverence of ancestors. Ancient Shintoists considered forces of nature to be sacred, especially the sun and the moon, but also rivers, trees, rocks, and mountains. In the late 19th century Shintoism became the official state religion as part of an effort by the government to increase Japanese nationalism. Shintoism still thrives in Japan, although it is no longer the official state religion. Prayers are offered to ancestors, and shrines mark reverence for house deities. Judaism Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, with a founding around 2000 B.C.E. by Abraham in the lands bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Throughout its long existence, it has remained fundamentally an ethnic religion, a fact reflected in its relatively low numbers – about 15 million adherents. Unlike most other ethnic religions, its members are spread widely across the earth, mainly because of diaspora, or forced exodus from their lands of origin. About 6 millions Jews live in the United States, 4 million in Israel, and 2 million in the former Soviet Union. Within the United States, 80 UNIT THREE CULTURE 81 Jews are heavily concentrated in the urban Northeast, with about one-third living in the New York area alone. The only country where Jews constitute a majority is Israel, a country created in 1948 as the Jewish homeland, the area where the religion began. The influence of Judaism expands far beyond its numbers. It was the first recorded monotheistic religion, centered on the belief in one God. Christianity and Islam also have their roots in Judaism. Jesus was born a Jew, and Muhammad traced his ancestry to Abraham. Shamanism and Traditional Religions Shamanism is an ethnic religion in which people follow their shaman, a religious leader and teacher who is believed to be in contact with the supernatural. The religion takes different forms, largely because its followers are isolated from one another. Shamanism is reflected in the “totem poles” of North American natives, and shamans in East Asia are believed to be in contact with the ancestors, an important value in China, Korea, and Japan. Shamanism in Africa often takes the form of animism, the belief that inanimate objects (rocks, mountain, rivers, plants) have spirits and conscious life. Shamanism is a traditional religion, an integral part of a local culture and society, but not all traditional religions are shamanist. Traditional African religions involve beliefs in a god as creator and protector, in spirits, and in a life hereafter, opening the way for Christianity and Islam to convert some Africans to their beliefs. However, most Africans still adhere to their native religions, especially among ordinary, non-elite people. The Spatial Impact of Religions Geographers study the impact of universalizing and ethnic religions on the landscape. In large cities around the world, the tallest, most centralized, and elaborate buildings are often religious structures. Places of worship vary with the religion – churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, pagodas – but many other structures are arranged around the religious buildings. For example, the Hindu cultural landscape – urban as well as rural – is dotted with shrines that impose minimal disruption to the natural landscape. Shrines and temples are located near water, because water is part of sacred rituals, and it is believed that gods will not venture far from water. Buddhism also has affected the natural landscape through its respect for the Bodhi tree, where the Buddha first received his enlightenment in the Ganges River Valley. Bodhi trees are protected in Buddhist lands, with the religion diffused as far as China and Japan, marking the cultural landscapes of many villages and towns. An important religious land use that impacts the cultural landscape has to do with disposing of the dead. In several religions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – the dead are buried in specially designated areas called cemeteries. Early Christians buried their dead in the yard around the church, but as these areas became overcrowded, separate burial grounds were established outside the city walls. Cemeteries may take up significant space in a community. Before the widespread development of public parks in the 19th century, cemeteries were often the only green space in cities. Cemeteries are still used as parks in Muslim countries. Because cemeteries take up land space, the government in China has ordered that the practice of burial be discontinued in order to preserve land for agriculture. Cremation is increasingly practiced instead.