Parkview AP Human Geography Unit 3: Culture and Religion Vocabulary
Culture Vocabulary Notes
Acculturation: The process of cultural change and adaptation that occurs when individuals from one cultural group come into contact with another. It often involves the adoption of certain cultural traits while retaining distinct cultural identities.
Assimilation: A form of cultural change where one group adopts the cultural traits of another, resulting in a loss of distinct identities. This often involves immigrants adopting the customs and values of a dominant culture.
Centripetal Force: Factors that promote unity and stability within a culture or country, fostering a collective identity and cooperation among members.
Centrifugal Force: Elements that disrupt the social or political unity within a culture or state, leading to division, conflict, or fragmentation.
Contagious Diffusion: The rapid spread of an idea, trait, or innovation through a population. It occurs directly from person to person without any barrier or hierarchy.
Cultural Appropriation: The act of adopting elements from one culture by members of another culture, often without permission or understanding of the significance, leading to ethical concerns.
Cultural Convergence: The tendency for cultures to become more similar as they interact and exchange ideas, often due to globalization.
Cultural Divergence: The process by which cultures become increasingly distinct and dissimilar from each other, often due to geographical, historical, or social factors.
Cultural Landscape: The visible imprint of human activity on the landscape, showcasing the relationship between culture and the natural environment.
Cultural Relativism: The principle of understanding and evaluating a culture based on its own values and beliefs rather than judging it by the standards of another culture.
Ethnic Neighborhood: Areas within a city where a particular ethnic group resides, maintaining their cultural heritage and practices.
Ethnocentrism: The belief in the superiority of one's own culture, leading to the evaluation of other cultures based on one's own cultural standards.
Expansion Diffusion: The spread of cultural traits or innovations from a central point outward, increasing their reach and influence without losing their original presence.
Indigenous Community: A group of people who are native to a particular geographic area, maintaining cultural ties and traditions that are often distinct from those of colonizers or dominant cultures.
Hearth: The place of origin of a particular culture, where significant cultural traits or practices are established and disseminated.
Hierarchical Diffusion: The spread of cultural elements or innovations from the top down, starting from influential or high-status individuals or entities to lower-status ones.
Material Culture: The tangible, physical objects and artifacts that are created, used, or valued by a culture, reflecting cultural practices and values.
Multiculturalism: A societal approach that recognizes, appreciates, and promotes the coexistence of diverse cultures and identities within a community or nation.
Nonmaterial Culture: Intangible aspects of a culture, such as beliefs, values, norms, and practices, that shape a group's way of life.
Relocation Diffusion: The movement of people and their cultural traits from one location to another, resulting in the spread of culture via migration.
Sense of Place: The emotional and symbolic meanings that individuals and groups attach to specific locations, shaped by personal experiences and cultural narratives.
Sequent Occupancy: The concept that successive groups of people with different cultural practices can inhabit the same area, leaving a layered cultural imprint over time.
Stimulus Diffusion: When a cultural trait or innovation spreads, but is adapted or modified as it moves to new cultures.
Syncretism: The blending of different cultural beliefs and practices into a new, unified system.
Taboo: A strong social prohibition against certain practices or discussions due to cultural or religious beliefs.
Time-Space Convergence: The phenomenon where advancements in transportation and communication technologies decrease the time it takes for ideas and goods to spread across distances.
Religion Vocabulary Notes
Animistic Religion: Beliefs that incorporate the idea of spiritual essence in nature, where various elements of the natural world are considered to possess spirits.
Buddhism: A religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), focusing on the path to enlightenment through concepts like the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
Caste System: A social hierarchy prevalent in India, dividing people into social classes based on their birth, occupation, or spiritual purity.
Confucianism: A philosophy based on the teachings of Confucius that emphasizes social harmony, ethics, and moral integrity among individuals and social institutions.
Diaspora: The dispersion of a cultural group from their original homeland, often resulting in communities maintaining their cultural identity in new environments.
Ethnic Religion: A belief system closely associated with a specific ethnic group or culture, often tied to their identity and heritage.
Feng Shui: An ancient Chinese practice that involves arranging the environment to promote harmony and balance with energy forces.
Hajj: An annual pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, required of all Muslims who are physically and financially able.
Interfaith Boundary: The spatial boundary separating different religious groups, often creating distinct cultural and religious landscape features.
Intrafaith Boundary: Divisions or differences within a single faith or religion, representing various beliefs or interpretations among adherents.
Karma: The Hindu and Buddhist concept of action and subsequent reaction, suggesting that a person's actions influence their future life circumstances.
Monotheistic Religion: A belief system centered around the worship of a single deity or god.
Pilgrimage: A religious journey undertaken by followers to reach a sacred site or location significant to their faith.
Polytheistic Religion: A belief system that involves the worship of multiple deities or gods.
Reincarnation: The belief in the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death, found in several religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Religious Fundamentalism: A strict adherence to specific religious beliefs, often accompanied by a desire to return to the foundational principles of that faith.
Secularism: The principle of separating religion from civic affairs and governmental functions, promoting a neutral stance toward all religious beliefs.
Shamanism: A practice involving a shaman who acts as a mediator between the spiritual world and the physical world, often used for healing and guidance.
Shiite (Shiah): A branch of Islam that believes in the leadership of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and his descendants.
Shintoism: The indigenous spirituality of Japan, characterized by the worship of kami (spirits) and practices that emphasize rituals and traditions.
Sikhism: A monotheistic religion founded in the 15th century in Punjab, emphasizing equality, community service, and devotion to God.
Sunni: The largest denomination of Islam, following the teachings and practices based on the consensus of the community.
Taoism: A philosophical and religious tradition originating in China that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao, or the fundamental principle of the universe.
Universalizing Religion: Belief systems that seek to gain followers from all over the world, promoting universal truths and messages.
Zionism: A nationalist and political movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Israel.