Transcript Religion Overviewx

Bell Work #7
 What SPECIFICALLY do you feel we need to go over from this
chapter?
Ch. 6 Religion:
Overview
Universalizing vs. Ethnic Religions
 Universalizing
 Global, attempt to appeal to all people wherever they may live
 Examples?
 Ethnic
 Appeal primarily to one group of people living in one place
 Examples?
Atheism vs. Agnosticism
 Atheism
 Belief that God does not exist
 Agnosticism
 Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists
Branch, Denomination, Sect
 Branch – large and fundamental division within a religion
 Examples?
 Denomination – division of a branch that unites a number of local
congregations in a single legal and administrative body
 Examples?
 Sect – relatively small group that has broken away from an established
denomination
 Examples?
Monotheism vs. Polytheism
 Monotheism
 One God
 Examples?
 Polytheism
 Multiple Gods
 Examples?
Origin/Diffusion of
Religions
 Universalizing - Precise places of origin based on events in the life of
man
 Ethnic – unknown origins/dates
 Diffusion of ethnic religions – limited, lack missionaries dedicated to
spreading religion
 Diffusion of ethnic religions happens mostly through relocation
diffusion
Christianity
 More than 2 billion adherents – most widely followed religion
 North America, South America, Europe, Australia, parts of Africa and
Asia
 Branches
 Roman Catholic (51%)
 Eastern Orthodox (11%)
 Protestant (24%)
Where are the branches
distributed?
 Roman Catholic
 Southwest/eastern Europe, Latin America, Southwestern/northeastern
US, Quebec
 Orthodox
 East/southeast Europe
 14 Self-governing churches, the largest?
 Protestant
 Northwest Europe
Protestant denominations in
the US
 Baptist?
 The southeast
 Lutheran?
 Upper Midwest
 Latter-day Saints?
 Another name?
 West – Utah and surrounding states
Origin/Beliefs of Christianity
 Founder?
 Jesus Christ – born in Bethlehem, died in Jerusalem, rose from the
dead, Resurrection from dead provides people with hope for salvation
 Differences between the branches
 Roman Catholic – follow bible as well as church hierarchy (pope)
 Orthodox – split from Roman church in 5th C as result of rivalry with
the pope
 Protestant – Reformation in 16th C, disagreed with Catholic teachings
Diffusion of Christianity
 Hierarchical
 Dominance of Christianity throughout Roman Empire
 Relocation
 Missionaries, Colonization
First Split in Christianity, 1054 CE
Western Roman empire = Roman Catholicism
Eastern Roman empire = Eastern Orthodox
•The Eastern Orthodox
Church makes up 14% of
Christianity and is a loose
collection of 14 selfgoverning churches in
Eastern Europe and the
Middle East.
•To the right are the spires
of St. Basil’s Cathedral in
the Kremlin of Moscow.
Notice the Orthodox cross
on the onion-domed spire.
 Roman Catholicism is
the largest branch of
the Christian faith.
The Vatican in Rome is
the headquarters of the
Papacy and a powerful
symbol to Catholics
around the world.
 European cities were
dominated by the spires
of great cathedrals and
churches until the 20th
century.
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage
Vatican City-Pope John Paul II greeted pilgrims in St.
Peter’s Square
Sacred
Landscapes of
Christianity
Catholic Churches
Are often located in the
center of European cities,
with spires reaching far
above the other buildings.
St. Michaels, (1472)
Bordeaux, France
Religious Landscapes in the United States
Islam
 1.5 billion adherents
 North Africa, Southwest Asia, Central Asia
 Other countries outside the Middle East?
 Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India
 Branches
 Sunni
 Shiite
Where are the branches
distributed?
 Sunni
 83% of Muslims, largest branch, most Muslim countries in SW Asia
 Shiite
 16% of Muslims
 90% of Iran’s population is Shiite
Origin/Beliefs/Diffusion of
Islam
 Founder?
 Muhammed – Mecca
 5 Pillars of Faith – one God, prayer 5 times daily, charity, fasting
during Ramadan, Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca
 Diffused by Muslims conquering land
 Arab traders brought Islam to Indonesia
Islam
 Islam is the 2nd largest & fastest
growing religion with 1.5 billion
followers.
 It has 2 main sects or Split in
the Faith / After Muhammad's
death
 Sunni (great majority)
 83% of Muslims, largest branch,
most Muslim countries in SW
Asia /centered in Iraq
 Shiite
 16% of Muslims
 90% of Iran’s population is Shiite
The Diffusion of Islam
The Hajj-Pilgrims circle the holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the Hajj.
Minaret
(for call to prayer)
stands on the Sabah
State Mosque
in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
The Dome of the Rock,
with its gilded dome and
octagonal base, stands
in Jerusalem.
After the Great Mosque
at Mecca and the
Prophet’s tomb at
Medina, it is Islam’s
third holiest site.
According to Muslim
tradition, the rock at its
center was the point
from which the Prophet
Muhammad visited
heaven one night in 619.
Buddhism
 Location?
 East Asia, Southeast Asia
 3rd largest universalizing religion
 Branches
 Mahayana
 Theravada
 Vajrayana
 Accurate number is difficult to count because primarily only monks
participate in religious functions, people can be a believer in Buddhism but
also other Eastern religions
Buddhist Beliefs
 Founder?
 Siddhartha Guatama – present day Nepal
 Four Noble Truths
 Suffering leads to reincarnation
 Endless cycle of reincarnation until Nirvana is attained through an
Eightfold Path
Hinduism
 Universalizing or ethnic?
 3rd largest religion – 900 million adherents
 Location?
 90% in India, others in Bangladesh and Nepal
 Allegiance to a particular god or concept within a broad range of
possibilities
 Vaishnavism, Sivaism are the largest
Origin of Hinduism
 No specific founder
 Existed prior to recorded history
 1500 BC – earliest surviving documents
Judaism
 Universalizing or ethnic?
 14 millions adherents
 United States/Israel
 Christianity and Islam have roots in Judaism
Diffusion of Judaism
 Different than other ethnic religions, practiced in many countries
 Romans forced them to disperse
 Diaspora
Sacred Sites of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is sacred to three major religions:
Judaism (Western Wall)
Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)
Islam (Dome of the Rock)
Western Wall, Jerusalem
Places of Worship
Sacred Places
 Ethnic religions – holy places derive from the distinctive physical
environment
 Universalizing religions – cities and other places associated with
founder’s life endowed with holiness
 Islam – Mecca (birthplace of Muhammed), Medina (Muhammed’s
tomb)
 Hinduism – tirtha (pilgrimage), Mt. Kailas, Ganges River – holiest river
Disposing of the dead
 Christians, Muslims, Jews usually bury dead in a cemetery
 Cemeteries can consume significant space, put pressure on agricultural
land
 Hindus – cremation, tends to strain India’s wood supply
Administration of Space
 Hierarchical religion – well-defined geographic structure and organizes
territory into local administrative units
 Example?
 Roman Catholic - Pope, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests
 Autonomous religion – self-sufficient, little interaction between
communities
 Examples?
 Islam, Protestantism, Judaism, Hinduism
Religion vs. Social Change
 Globalization has exposed local residents in developing countries to
values and beliefs originating in the West
 Many religious adherents in developing countries view economic
development as incompatible with religious values
 Afghanistan – strict laws inspired by Islamic values imposed by the
Taliban
 India – caste system shortcomings highlighted by British
administrators and Christian missionaries, efforts to provide more
opportunities to lower castes more recently
Religion vs. Communism
 Communist government of the Soviet Union pursued antireligious
programs
 Marxism became the official doctrine, so religious doctrine was a
potential threat, religion dwindled in daily life
 Fall of the Soviet Union brought religious revival to Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
 Buddhism in Vietnam/SE Asia Countries – neither sides of Vietnam
War were sympathetic to Buddhists
 Current governments have discouraged religious activities
Religion vs. Religion
 Island of Eire (Ireland)
 Republic of Ireland – 87% Catholic, Northern Ireland (UK) – 46%
Protestant, 40% Catholic
 Catholics in Northern Ireland have been excluded from higher-paying
jobs and better schools
 Catholics began protesting in 1968, 3000 have been killed since then
 Extremist groups disrupt daily life despite the majority of Catholics
and Protestants wanting to live in peace with each other