Geography of Religion: Class Notes
Cultural Geography: Religion
Carroll and Smith
I. Geography of Religion * What is Religion? * Major Religions & Divisions * Religious Landscapes * Religious Conflict and Interaction
II. Religion * A set of beliefs * an explanation of the origins and purpose of humans and their role on earth * existence of a higher power, spirits or god * Which involves rituals, festivals, rites of passage and space (religious landscapes)
III. Key Terms * Universalizing Religion: attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location. * Proselytize: to try to convert people to one’s belief or opinion. * Syncretic: Traditions that borrow from both the past and the present • Secularization - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim no allegiance to any church. – Some of these people are atheists. Others simply do not practice. Still others call themselves spiritual, but not religious. – Common in Europe and the cities of the U.S. – Common in former Soviet Union and China. • Ethnic Religions: concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely based on physical characteristics of a particular location. • Fundamentalism - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim there is only one way to interpret worship. – Fundamentalists generally envision a return to a more perfect religion and ethics they imagine existed in the past. * Common in the U.S. and in some Islamic nations. * Monotheism: existence of only one god. * Polytheism: existence of many gods. * Cosmogony: A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.
IV. Religious Divisions * Branch: A large and fundamental division within a religion. * Denomination: A division within a branch of a religion. * Sect: A relatively
Carroll and Smith
I. Geography of Religion * What is Religion? * Major Religions & Divisions * Religious Landscapes * Religious Conflict and Interaction
II. Religion * A set of beliefs * an explanation of the origins and purpose of humans and their role on earth * existence of a higher power, spirits or god * Which involves rituals, festivals, rites of passage and space (religious landscapes)
III. Key Terms * Universalizing Religion: attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location. * Proselytize: to try to convert people to one’s belief or opinion. * Syncretic: Traditions that borrow from both the past and the present • Secularization - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim no allegiance to any church. – Some of these people are atheists. Others simply do not practice. Still others call themselves spiritual, but not religious. – Common in Europe and the cities of the U.S. – Common in former Soviet Union and China. • Ethnic Religions: concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely based on physical characteristics of a particular location. • Fundamentalism - a process that is leading to increasingly large groups of people who claim there is only one way to interpret worship. – Fundamentalists generally envision a return to a more perfect religion and ethics they imagine existed in the past. * Common in the U.S. and in some Islamic nations. * Monotheism: existence of only one god. * Polytheism: existence of many gods. * Cosmogony: A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.
IV. Religious Divisions * Branch: A large and fundamental division within a religion. * Denomination: A division within a branch of a religion. * Sect: A relatively