Learning Target/QOD

• Learning Target: Students will be able to compare the differences between the major world religions and their origins.

• QOD Where are the major religions located today? Give continents/ countires / or direction.

David J. Doranddoran@ggc.edu

Central Gwinnett High SchoolNovember 23, 2009

AP Human Geography:The Spatial Distribution of World Religions

AP Geography

• What is Culture?• What are the two most

important cultural attributes which identify a unique culture (nation) ?

• What is religion? • Name some world religions?• What specific geographic

regions are associated with particular faiths?

• How are world religions categorized?

What is Culture?Culture is the shared learned behavior of a unique group of people

President Johnson – Liberia: Africa’s first elected female leader!

Traditional Dress: SomaliaWhat cultures influence this fashion?

What are the two most important cultural attributes?

• Language & Religion are the two most important cultural attributes which identify a unique culture (nation)

What is religion?

• Religion is a set of beliefs shared by a group of people

Can you name some world religions?

• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Hinduism• Buddhism• Sikhs• Confucianism• Taoism• Shinto• Animism

What specific geographic regions are associated with particular faiths?

• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Hinduism• Buddhism• Sikhs• Confucianism• Taoism• Shinto• Animism

The Geographic Location of World Religions by Majority

What specific geographic regions are associated with particular faiths?

• Judaism: U.S. & Israel• Christianity: Europe & U.S.• Islam: SW Asia & Africa• Hinduism: India• Buddhism: SE Asia & Tibet• Sikhs: The Punjab of India• Confucianism: China• Taoism: China• Shinto: Japan• Animism: Africa

Seoul, South Korea

Jakarta, Indonesia

How are world religions categorized?

• Categories of Religion– Eastern & Western Religions– Universal & Ethnic Religions– Monotheism & Polytheism– Chinese Philosophies– Indigenous Faiths: Animism– Denominations & Schisms

Eastern & Western Religions

• Eastern Religions:– Polytheistic Faiths• India• East Asia• Southeast Asia

• Western Religions:– Monotheistic Faiths• Europe• The Americas• Southwest Asia

Universalizing & Ethnic Religions• Universalizing Religions:– Global faiths– Seek Converts (Missionary)• Buddhism• Christianity• Islam

• Ethnic Religions:– Born into faith– Few Converts• Hinduism• Judaism

Polytheistic & Monotheistic Religions

• Polytheistic Faiths:– Multiple Gods• Hinduism• Buddhism

• Monotheistic Faiths– One God• Judaism• Christianity• Islam

Philosophies & Indigenous Beliefs:

• Chinese Philosophies– Confucius– Taoism– Syncretic Buddhism

• Indigenous Beliefs– Animism– Paganism– Syncreticism • Santeria & Voodoo

Denominations & Schisms

• Christianity:– World’s most divided faith!

• Great Schism 1051• Protestant Reformation 1517• American Colonization 1700• American Independence 1776

• Islam:– Sunni & Shia Divide

• The rift occurred during Islam’s 1st century over the successor of the Prophet Mohammed

Religious Conflicts

• QOD• Name at least 1

religious conflict in the world today. What do you know about it?

• http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5617767

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r1EmEni2Rw

The Five Pillars:1. There is only one God (Allah)2. Pray 5 x Day facing Mecca3. Practice Charity (Tithe)4. Fasting during month of Ramadan5. Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca

How did world religions diffuse geographically?

Arab merchants brought Islam to the Indian Ocean Basin by 1,000 CE:What other religions diffused throughout the Indian Ocean Basin?

Portuguese brought Christianity to East Timor & Goa, Spanish brought Christianity to the Philippines, & Indians brought Hinduism to Bali

Trade brought Islam to the Sahara, Sahel, & East African Coast

• Timbuktu and Zanzibar:– What city does Zanzibar resemble?

• Look at its architectural style?• What culture influenced it?• Clue: It preserved Greco-Roman

civilization when most of Europe lived in poverty and ignorance of the Middle Ages.

Venice was influenced by Arab civilization through merchants.

The Jewish Diaspora:The Jewish Diaspora occurred in the first century after the destruction of Jerusalem & Masada by the Romans. Most fled to the port cities of the Mediterranean. The Jewish Ghetto of Venice was the most famous enclave of Jews – who dominated the banking and merchant trade. The Bubonic Plague was blamed on the Jews. The King of Poland welcomed Jewish refugees. The Jewish Pale was pushed west by Czarist Russian Pogroms. Most of the Jews of Poland, the Czech Republic, & Hungary were exterminated by Hitler’s henchmen during WWII. 6 million were massacred. Survivors migrated to Israel and the US after 1945.

Jerusalem’s Old City: Holy to all Monotheistic FaithsUnderstand Secular versus Religious States and Religious Fundamentalists

Name one religious state?