Transcript Sikhism

Religion
a fundamental part of human culture
Can have a profound effect on human interaction with their environment and other cultures
thereby shaping the development of a people’s cultural landscape
Religion
Although religious affiliation is on the
decline in some parts of the world’s core
regions, it still acts as a powerful shaper of
daily life, from eating habits and dress
codes to coming of age rituals and death
ceremonies, holiday celebrations, and
family practices in both the core and
periphery
Geography and Religion
Geographers see that the
process by which one
religion diffuses across the
landscape may conflict
with the distribution of
others – examples?
Geographers also observe
that religion is derived in
part from elements of the
physical environment, and
that religions, in turn,
modify the landscape.
Geography and Religion
Geographers, though, are
not theologians, so they
stay focused on those
elements of religion that
are geographically
significant:
Spatial connections:
Distinctive places of
origin
Extent of Diffusion
Process of Diffusion
Practices and beliefs
that lead some to have
more widespread
distributions
Globalization and Local Diversity of
Religion
Geographers find the
tension in scale between
globalization and local
diversity especially acute
in religion:
People care deeply about
their religion
Religions values are
important in how
people identify
themselves and organize
their landscape
Migrants may assimilate
in all ways BUT religion
DISCUSS: Has more
modern technology and
forms of communication
increased or decreased
religious tension?
Religion
Definitions:
relatively structured set of
beliefs & practices through
which people seek mental &
physical harmony with the
powers of the universe.
Set of stones, symbols,
beliefs, & practices that give
meaning to the practitioner’s
experiences of life though
reference to an ultimate
power of reality
A belief system and a set of
practices that recognizes the
existence of a power higher
than humans
Religion
Religion encompasses
ancestral or cultural
traditions, writings, history,
and mythology, as well as
personal faith and religious
experience
Through rituals religion is
celebrated (birth, marriage,
death, etc.)
Religion doesn’t just explain
natural forces but helps
people make sense of their
place in the world.
Religion is one of the most
complex, and often
controversial, aspects of the
human condition.
Definitive trait of a culture
and highly territorial
phenomenon with links to
the spirit of a place,
ethnicity, and nationality
Example
Core component of culture
Often lies at the root of conflict
Virgin of Guadalupe
Universalizing vs. Ethnic Religions
Universalizing Religions
Have universal appeal and
attract all people to their beliefs
Examples:
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism
Universalizing religions can be
broken down into:
Branches:
Large fundamental divisions
within a religion
Denominations:
60% of world follows a
universalizing religion
Universalizing religions have
precise places of origin, based
on events in the life of a man.
Groups of common
congregations within a branch
Sects:
Smaller groups that have
broken away from a recognized
denomination within a branch
Universalizing vs. Ethnic
Religions
Ethnic religions
Ethnic religions have unknown
or unclear origins, not tied to
single historical individuals
Attempt to appeal to only one
group
One place or one ethnicity
Examples:
Judaism, Hinduism
Types of Religions
Polytheistic
Belief in more than one
god, or goddess
Hinduism?? , Voodoo
Monotheistic
Belief in one god, or
goddess
Islam, Christianity, Judaism
Animistic
Centered on the belief that
inanimate objects, such as
mountains, boulders, rivers,
and trees, possess spirits and
should therefore be revered.
Religion Families
Abrahamic
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Baha’I faith
Rastafarianism
Indian
Hindu
Buddhism
Sikhism
Jainism
Religion Families
African
Primal Indigenous
African traditional
African Diasporic
Far East
Taoism
Confucianism
Shinto
Caodaism
Yiguandao (I-Kuan Tao)
Chinese folk
Religion Families
Other
Juche
Spiritism
Neopaganism
Ahl-E Haqq (Yarsan)
Yazidism
Scientology
Universalizing Religions
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Sikhism
Ba’hai
Christianity
Largest universalizing religion
2 billion adherents
Predominate in:
Branches
Roman Catholic
Europe: SW, East
North America
South America
South America
North America = 40% (NW, SE)
Europe
Headed by Pope
Australia
Receive grace from sacraments
Eucharist
Founder
Protestant
Jesus of Nazareth
Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.
Date: 30 C.E.
Europe: Northwest
North America= 28% (highly clustered)
Origin
Reformation- Martin Luther
Palestine (Israel)
Oct 31, 1517
Individuals could directly communicate with God
Eastern Orthodox
Doctrine
10 commandments
Europe: SE, East
Middle East
Diffusion
Ruled by Patriarchs
Initially
Relocation- Migration
missionaries
Expansion
Contagious- Roman Empire
Split with Roman Catholic teachings after 8th century
C.E.
On the map:
For the Mormons, Lutherans, and
Baptists:
List and explain 2 reasons why they
are dominant in their specific regions
How is this map incomplete?
Christianity
Holy book
Bible

Administration

Holy places
Churches
Jerusalem
Landscape impact
Churches


Cathedrals
Protestant
More plain
Orthodox
Cathedrals, Byzantine style
Cemeteries
Christians bury their dead
Hierarchy in burials

Pope

Archbishops- Province

Bishops- Diocese

Priests- Parish
Mormons- hierarchical
Calendar

Roman Catholic
More elaborate
Roman Catholic *hierarchical
Roman/ Protestant


Orthodox


Gregorian calendar
Julian calendar
Holidays

Easter= death and resurrection of Jesus

Christmas= Birth of Jesus
Islam
2nd largest universalizing religion
World’s fastest growing religion
1.3 billion people
Branches
Sunni
83 % of Muslims
Middle East, Asia
“people following the example of Muhammad”
Founder
Muhammad
Succession of Muhammad
From the community
622 C.E.
Shiite
Origin
Arabian Peninsula, Middle East
Doctrine
5 Pillars of Islam
16% of Muslims
Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Oman, and Bahrain
Word for “sectarian”
Succession of Muhammad
Must come from familial line of Muhammad
Allah one true God
Prayer 5x a day facing Mecca
Charity
Fast during Ramadan
Hajj- Pilgrimage to Mecca
Diffusion
Military conquest after Muhammad’s
death
Then relocation diffusion through
missionaries
Ex. North Africa
Ex. Indonesia- Arab traders
Islam
Holy Book
Administration
Local autonomy
The Quran
No formal religious hierarchy
Holy Places
Mecca
Birthplace of Muhammad
Secular states
Calendar
Lunar calendar
Medina
30 year cycle
Muhammad's tomb
19 years with 354 days
Jerusalem
11 years with 355 days
Muhammad’s ascension
Holidays
Holy month of Ramadan
Landscape Impact
Mosques
Central, open-air courtyard
Minaret tower
Cemeteries- Burial of dead
Art
Calligraphy
Geometric design
Islam in the US
Islam has had a presence
in the US through the
Nation of Islam, also
known as the Black
Muslims
Founded in Detroit in
1930 and led for more
than 40 years by Elijah
Muhammad
Today is led by Louis
Farrakhan
Buddhism
3rd largest universalizing religion
Difficult to gage number
Can be Buddhist and other religion
Branches
Mahayana
56 %
400 million adherents
China, Japan, Korea
China, SE Asia
Split from Theravada 2000 years ago
Less demanding
Founder
Siddhartha Gautama
563 B.C.E.
Origin
More encompassing
Theravada
38%
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Oldest branch
“way of the elders”
India/ Nepal
Doctrine
Four noble truths
8-fold path
Full-time occupation, monks
Tibetan
6%
Tibet and Mongolia
Diffusion
No rapid diffusion
Emperor Asoka 273- 232 B.C.E.
Trade routes brought it to China
Buddhism
Holy Book
Calendar
none
Holidays
Holy Places
Shrines
Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and
death
Same day for Theravada monks
8 sacred sites
All associated with the Buddha
4 locations of miracles
Landscape Impact
Pagodas
Contain relic of Buddha
Not designed for congregational worship
Different for others
Other Universalizing Religions
Baha’I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYqI4BLETjo&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_m
ode=1&safe=active
7 million adherents
Origin
Grew out of Babi faith
Founder: Siyyid ‘Ali
Muhammad
Shiraz, Iran
1844 C.E.
Doctrine
Believe that one of Bab’s
disciples was a prophet of God
Function: to overcome disunity
in religions and establish a
universal faith
House of Worship
Temples on every continent
Calendar
Established by Bab
19 months with 19 days, 4 “extra”
Diffusion
Followers persecuted and
exiled to Iraq
Sikhism
One of the smaller universalizing
religions
25 million adherents
Founded in the late 15th century
in present day Pakistan
Lahore
Follows teachings of Guru Nanak
Chief religious prophet
God revealed himself to Nanak
One Creator, people have capacity for
improvement on earth
Sikhs mean disciple in Hindi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drcCaFRraM0&safety_mode=true&p
ersist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Monotheistic
Syncretic religion?
Blend of Hinduism and Islam
practices and beliefs
Diffusion of Sikhism
Diffused outward from its
origin in Pakistan, particularly
towards northern India
Sikhs have a global diaspora
today and are especially
prominent in the U.S., Canada,
the UK, former British colonies
of East Africa, and Australia
High concentration of Sikhs
exist in Punjab region
Straddles Northwestern India
and Northern Pakistan
Cultural Landscapes
Holiest Site:
The Golden Temple
In the Punjab region
Holy Book:
Guru Granth Sahib contains the
teaching of all its prophets, called
gurus