APHG- U3 (3.7a) Diffusion of Religion (only)

pagoda

cultural landscape pagoda- tall buildings of ornate design; more for individual worship than congregational worship.

minarets

cultural landscape: located on most mosques; used to call worshippers to prayer; comparable to church bell towers in Christianity.

mosque

cultural landscape: house of worship for Muslims

Halal meat

dietary foods for Muslims Like Jews, Muslims do not each pig/pork products; furthermore there are strict rules about the slaughtering of sheep, goats, cows (mass industrialization & slaughtering of animals is prohibited; a special prayer of thanksgiving must be made first)

Ethnic Religions

A religion that is particular to a cultural group; they DO NOT seek converts; religion is not found far from its hearth EXAMPLES: Judaism (Hebrews), Hinduism (Indians); Shintoism (Japanese), Confucianism & Daoism (Chinese),

Kosher Laws

dietary rules prominent in many forms of Judaism no pork; meat cannot be eaten with dairy production; all blood must be drained from meat & poultry before it is to be eaten.

Secular

The indifference to religion and a believe that religions should be excluded from civic affairs and public education; EXAMPLES: separation of church & state; 10 commandments should NOT be posted in schools; the commercialization of Christmas; It is NOT anti-religion, it just means separation. Becoming more common in Stage 4 & stage 5 countries; in MDCs, Western Europe & United States.

Shamanism

The practice of identifying special individuals (shamans) who will interact with spirits for the benefit of the community. Still found amongst folk religions in Africa, Central Asia (Mongolia) and the remotes parts of South America.

Hijab

a headscarf worn by Muslim women; often mistaken by westerners as a signed of suppression (ethnocentrism) Islam is a egalitarian religion, worn by women for a variety of reasons (modesty, sign of respect in mosque, a symbol of their faith...comparable to christians wearing a crucifix.) Many religions have had a traditional of head coverings throughout their faiths.

pilgrimage

a journey to a sacred place examples: Vatican city (pope) for Catholics, Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Western Wailing Wall in Jerusalem for Jews, Mecca for Muslims, Ganges River in India for Hindus

Universalizing religions

a religion that actively seeks converts (missionaries) because they believe that their religion has a universal appeal There are only 3: Buddhism (originated in South Asia & spread to SE Asia & East Asia); Islam (originated in Arabia & diffused to North Africa, East Africa, South Asia & SE Asia); Christianity (originated in SW Asia & diffused to Europe, Ethiopia, Americas & Philippines)

arabeque

cultural landscape: an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic or Moorish decoration.

Islam spatial distribution

hearth is Mecca, Saudi Arabia as a universalizing religion, Islam spread contagiously from it hearth due to it egalitarian/universal appeal. What world regions are near the hearth?

spatial distribution of Buddhism

hearth is in India however, Buddhism spread contagiously & found greater popularity in East & Southeast Asia. Universalizing religion/ egalitarian religion

synagogue/temple

house of worship for Jews

Kaaba

is the cuboid building at the center of Islam's most sacred mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam. The Quran states that the Kaaba was the first House of Worship that was built or re-built by Abraham & Ishmael.

Koran (Qur'an)

sacred text of Islam; believed to be "divinely dictated" word of God/Allah; as result, many Muslims rejects its translations into other languages because it can alter the original word of Allah/God.

calligraphy

since Islam was founded on the Prophet Muhammad's destruction of pagan idols, Islam forbids the use of images, statues of prophets. As a result, mosques are often decorated with Quran verses written in calligraphy & arabesque (geometric patterns)

egalitarian religions

the belief that all men and women, rich and poor are equal in the eyes of God and have the opportunity to reach salvation. true of the three universalizing religions; one of the reasons for their rapid diffusion & appeal

Hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

Five Pillars of Islam

five acts of worship required of all Muslims

Spatial distribution of Christianity

Bethlem: city which Jesus was born Nazareth: city in which Jesus grew up Jerusalem: site of crucifixion all three cities located in the holy land of Israel; religion spread contagiously from its hearth along trade routes into Western Europe "universalizing" through European colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas, parts of Sub-Saharan Africa & the Philippines.

Animistic religions

The belief that inanimate objects (sun, mountains) possess souls and can help/dinder human efforts on earth. EXAMPLES: Shamanism (typical of indigenous/native ppl- Native Americans, Mongols, Aborigines,) Still has a strong presence in "5 Toos" in more more remote areas like SE Asia (Papua New Guinea), rural Africa and parts of Central America (Haiti)

spatial diffusion of Judaism

Contemporary map of the distribution of the world's Jews (less than 1% of the world's population is Jewish since it is an ethnic religion...special covenant was made with Hebrews) 45% of the world's 17 million Jews live in Israel today and another 39% in United States & France. Why is the map distributed in this manner? History of religious persecution....Babylonian & Romans forced Jews out of Canaan/Israel; history of anti-semitism throughout medieval europe pushed Jews into Germany and eastern europe; nazi persecution led to Jewish migration back to Israel (created in 1947) & the US

Polytheistic religions

The belief in MANY GODS EXAMPLES: Shintoism, Shamanism, Greco-Roman Pantheon

Monotheistic

The belief in ONE GOD There are only 3 in the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam (all Abrahamic religions from SW Asia)