AP Human Geography

Chapter Six - Religion

Seth Adler
 Seth Adler
I. Where Are Religions Distributed?
a. Universalizing religion – A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, all over
the world.
b. Ethnic religion – A religion that appeals only to one type of people.

A. Universalizing Religions
a. 58% of the world practiced a universalizing religion, 26% practice an ethnic
religion, 16% no religion.
b. The three main universalizing religions are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
c. A religion is divided in three ways.
1. Branch – A large division within a religion.
2. Denomination – A division of a branch.
3. Sect – A small group broken away from a denomination.

1. Christianity
a. More than 2 billion adherent, more than any other.
b. Most widespread distribution.
c. Predominant in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia.
- Branches Of Christianity
a. Three major Branches: Roman Catholic (51%), Protestant (24%), and Orthodox
(11%).
b. Europe: Roman Catholicism is prominent in the Southwest and East.
Protestantism is prominent in the Northwest. Orthodox is prominent in the East
and Southeast.
c. The Orthodox branch is made up of a collection of 14 churches in the East.
More than 40% Belong to the Russian Orthodox Church (est. Sixteenth Century).
- Christianity In The Western Hemisphere
a. 90% of people in the Western Hemisphere are Christian.
- Smaller Branches Of Christianity
a. Most of these branches are isolated because of differences in doctrine and
because of Islamic control in Southwest Asia and North Africa.
b. The 2 small churches in Africa are the Coptic Church of Egypt and the Ethiopian
Church.
c. The Ethiopian Church started by 2 shipwrecked Christians who converted the
king in the fourth century.

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2. Islam
a. 1.3 billion people.
b. Predominant in the Middle East.
c. Half of the world‟s Muslims live in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
d. Islam means “Submission to the will of God”
e. Five pillars of faith.
1. There is no god worthy of worship except the one God, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God.
2. Five times a day, a Muslim prays, facing the city of Mecca.
3. A Muslim gives generously to charity.
4. A Muslim fasts during the month of Ramadan.
5. A Muslim makes a pilgrimage to Makkah.
- Branches Of Islam
a. 2 Branches: Sunni and Shiite.
 Sunnis comprise 83% of Muslims and are the largest branch. Sunni means
“People who follow the example of Muhammad.”
 Shiites comprise 16% of Muslims. Nearly 30% of all Shiites live in Iran.
Shiite means “Sectarian.”
- Islam In North America And Europe
a. The Muslim population has increased.
b. France has the largest Muslim population
c. In the United States, the Nation of Islam, known as Black Muslims, are found in
Detroit in the 1930. Tensions between Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X divided
the sect in 1960s.

3. Buddhism
a. Third most universalizing religion.
b. 400 million adherents, living in China and Southeast Asia.
c. Four Noble Truths.
1. All living must endure suffering.
2. Suffering, which is caused by the desire to live, leads to reincarnation.
3. The goal of life is to escape from suffering and the endless cycle of
reincarnation into Nirvana, which is achieved through mental and moral self-
purification.
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4. Nirvana is attained through an Eightfold Path, which includes rightness of
belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and meditation.
d. Buddhism splits into more than one branch because people disagree on the
statements by its founder, Siddhartha Gautama. The three main branches are
Mahayana (56%; China, Japan, and Korea), Theravada (38%; Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand), and Tentrayana (6%; Tibet and Mongolia).
e. Difficult to count because most Buddhists also believe in another religion.

4. Other Universalizing Religions

a. Sikhism and Baha‟i. Sikhs are clustered in the Punjab region of India; Baha‟is are
dispersed in Africa and Asia.

B. Ethnic Religions
a. Largest is Hinduism. It is the third-largest religion.

1. Hinduism
a. Mostly in India, but some in Nepal.
b. Hindus believe it is up to the individual to decide the best way to worship God.
c. Various paths include the path of knowledge, the path of reunification, the path of
devotion, and the path of action.
d. Hinduism does not have a single holy book.
e. Some manifestations of God are Vaishnavism, Sivaism and Shaktism.

2. Other Ethnic Religions

a. In East Asia, people practice both a universalizing and an ethnic religion.
- Confucianism
a. Confucius (551-497 B.C.)
b. A philosopher in the Chinese province of Lu. His sayings emphasized the importance
of li (“propriety” or “correct behavior”).
c. Confucianism is an ethnic religion because it has strong rooting in traditional values
of special importance to Chinese people.
d. These rules applied to China‟s ruler as well as its citizens.
- Daoism (Taoism)
a. Lao-Zi (604-531? B.C.) organized Daoism.
b. His writings emphasized the mystical and magical aspects of life, rather than the
importance of service, which Confucius had emphasized.
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c. Daoists seek dao (or tao), which means the “way” or “path.”
d. Daoisms split into many sects, some acting like secret societies.
e. The religion was banned in China by the Communists in 1949.
- Shintoism
a. Distinctive ethnic religion of Japan.
b. Forces of nature are divine, especially the sun and the moon.
c. Under the reign of the Emperor Meiji (1868-1912), it became the official religion of
Japan. After the defeat in WWII, the emperor had to denounce his divinity.
- Judaism
a. 1/3 live in US, 1/3 live in Israel, 1/3 live in the rest of the world.
b. Within the United States, Jews are clustered into large cities, especially in the
New York metropolitan area.
c. First religion to be a monotheism.
d. Monotheism – Belief in one god.
e. Polytheism – Belief in multiple gods.
- Ethnic African Religions
a. Animism – Believe that inanimate objects have spirits.
b. Little is known because there are few holy books.
c. Monotheistic.
d. Majority in Botswana.

II. Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions?

A. Origin Of Religions
a. Universalizing religions have a precise origin. Ethnic religions have unclear
origins.

1. Origin Of Universalizing Religions

a. The Beginnings of Buddhism go back 2,500 years, Christianity 2,000 years, and
Islam 1,500 years.
- Origin of Christianity
a. Founded by the teachings of Jesus, who lived in Bethlehem between 8 and 4 B.C.
and Died around A.D. 30.
b. The Four Gospels of the Christian Bible – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John –
documented the deeds that Jesus did.

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c. In his third year of his mission, he was betrayed by his companion, Judas Iscariot,
and turned over to the authorities. On the third day after his death, his tomb was
empty.
- Origin of Islam
a. Abraham married Sarah, who did not have children. Then, he married Hagar, who
had Ishmael. Then, Sarah had Isaac. She banished Hagar and Ismael. Hagar and
Ismael wondered the Arabian desert to Makkah. Centuries later, one of Ishmael‟s
descendants, Muhammad, became the prophet of Islam. Jews and Christians trace
their story though Sara, while Muslims trace their story through Hagar.
b. Muhammad was born in Makkah around 570. He had his first revelation of God
through Angel Gabriel. The Quran is a record of God‟s words. It is written in
Arabic.
c. After suffering persecution, he was told by god to emigrate to Yathrib in 622, an
event known as the Hija which marks the start of the Muslim calendar.
d. The 2 main branches, Shiites and Sunnis, are split because of the disagreement in
the line of succession. Because Muhammad had no son, his father-in-law was the
next successor (Abu Bakr).
e. The next 2 caliphs were Umar and Uthman.
f. Uthman had initially opposed Muhammad so Muslims criticized him and found a
leader in Ali, a cousin of Muhammad.
g. After they were assassinated, the chain had been broken.
- Origin of Buddhism
a. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, was born about 563 B.C. in present-
day Nepal. A son of a lord, he was sheltered from life‟s hardships.
b. His life changed on his fourth trip. On the first trip, he encountered an old man.
On the second trip, he encountered a diseased old man. On the third trip, he
encountered a corps. Finally, he did not want to live, so on his fourth trip, he
encountered a monk, who taught him how to withdraw from the world.
c. At age 29, he left his palace and meditated for the next 6 years in the forest. He
emerged as the Buddha and trained monks and preached.
d. Theravada is the older of the two largest branches. They believe they are closer to
Buddha‟s original approach. They believe that this is a full-time occupation, so they
are monks.
e. Mahayana believe they can help more people because they are less demanding.
- Origin of Other Universalizing Religions
a. Sikhism and Baha‟i are the two most recent.
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b. The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, traveled through South Asia 500 years ago,
spreading his new faith. Nine other gurus followed him, the fifth, Arjan, wrote the
Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book.
c. Baha‟i was established in Iran in the nineteenth century.

2. Origin Of Hinduism, an Ethnic Religion

a. It existed before recorded history

B. Diffusion of Religions
a. Ethnic religions typically remain clustered in one location.

1. Diffusion of Universalizing Religions

a. The hearths of the three main universalizing religions are based off of three main
individuals and later transmitted by followers. All originated in Asia (Christianity
and Islam in Southwest, Buddhism in the South).
- Diffusion of Christianity
a. Diffused through all means of diffusion.
b. First diffused from its hearth in Palestine through relocation diffusion.
c. Missionaries – Individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through
relocation diffusion
d. Paul of Tarsus traveled through the Roman Empire as a missionary.
e. Christianity spread widely through the Roman Empire through contagious diffusion
by daily contact and conversations.
f. Pagan – A follower of a polytheistic religion. Comes from the countryside.
g. Christianity then spread through hierarchical diffusion by kings and emperors.
h. Emperor Constantine encouraged the spread of Christianity by embracing it in 313,
and Emperor Theodosius proclaimed it the empire‟s official religion in 380.
i. Latin America is primarily Roman Catholic because their territory was colonized by
Portugal.
j. The US is primarily Protestant because the early colonists came from England.
k. New England has concentrations of Roman Catholics because of immigration from
Ireland, Italy, and Eastern Europe.
l. Mormons settled in Fayette, New York and eventually moved to Salt Lake Valley in
Utah.
- Diffusion of Islam

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a. Muhammad‟s successors organized followers into armies that extended into Africa,
Asia, and Europe.
b. Often through intermarriage, Muslims converted non-Arabs to Islam.
c. To the West, Muslims captured much of North Africa, crossed the Strait of
Gibraltar, and retained part of the Western Europe, mostly Spain.
d. Indonesia is predominantly Muslim because Arab traders brought the religion there
in the thirteenth century.
e. Spread by relocation diffusion of missionaries.
- Diffusion of Buddhism
a. Did not diffuse rapidly.
b. Asoka, emperor of the Magadhan Empire from 273 to 232 B.C., was mostly
responsible for the spread.
c. The Magadhan Empire formed the nucleus of several powerful kingdoms in South
Asia.
d. When Asoka became a Buddhist, he wanted to spread it and formed a counsel at
Pataliputra to send missionaries.
e. In the first century, merchants along trading routs from India introduced
Buddhism to China.
f. From China, it spread to Korea, then to Japan. It also lost its original support in
India.
- Diffusion of Other Universalizing Religions
a. The Bahá‟í religion diffused in the nineteenth twentieth centuries, under the
leadership of „Abdu‟l-Bahá, son of the prophet Bahá‟u‟lláh. Bahá‟í also spread rapidly
during the late twentieth century, when a temple was constructed on every
continent.
b. Sikhism remained relatively clustered in the Punjab, where the religion originated.
After it became an independent state, the British took control but let them fight in
the British army.
c. Preferring to live in Hindu-dominated India rather than Muslim dominated Pakistan,
2.5 million Sikhs moved from Pakistan‟s West Punjab region to East Punjab in India.

2. Lack of Diffusion of Ethnic Religions

a. These religions lacked missionaries
- Mingling of Ethnic and Universalizing Religions
a. Traditional African religious ideas and practices have been merged with
Christianity.
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b. Buddhism is the universalizing religion most mingled with ethnic religions.
c. Although Japan is a wealthy country with excellent record-keeping, the number of
Shintoists in the country is currently estimated at either 4 million or 100 million.
When responding to questionnaires, 4 million respond yes. However, when counting
those who attended festivals and holidays, they counted 100 million.
d. Ethnic religions can diffuse if adherents migrate to new locations for economic
reasons.
e. Mauritius, an island by Madagascar, has Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.
- Judaism, An Exception
a. The diffusion of Jews is different because Judaism is practiced across many
countries, not just its hearth.
b. When Romans forced the Jews to disperse, it was known as diaspora. After
dispersing, they continued to practice in Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
c. Ghettos – A city neighborhood set up by law to farce the inhabitance only to be
Jews.

C. Holy Places
 An ethnic religion has a less widespread distribution because its holy place
relate to the mountains or rives.
 A universalizing religion has holy cities relating to the founders life instead
of physical features.
a. Pilgrimage – Journey for religious purposes.

1. Holy Places in Universalizing Religions

a. Buddhism and Islam place the most emphasis on identifying shrines. Places are
holy because they are a location of importance.
- Buddhist Shrines
a. 8 places are holy to Buddhists. 4 places are most important because they relate to
the Buddha in a small cluster in Northeast India.
1. Lumbini in Southern Nepal, where Buddha was born in 563 BC.
2. Bodh Gaya, where Buddha reached enlightenment.
3. Deer Park in Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon.
4. Kusinagara, where Buddha died at age 80.
b. The four other location are important because they are where Buddha‟s principle
occurred.

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 Sravasti is where Buddha performed his greatest miracle. He created
multiple images of himself and visited heaven.
 Samkasya is where Buddha ascended to heaven, preached to his mother, then
returned to Earth,
 Rajagrha is where Buddha tamed a wild elephant and after he died, is where
the first Buddhist Council met.
 Vaisali is where Buddha said he would die and is where the second Buddhist
Council met.

- Holy Places in Islam

a. The cities associated with the life of Muhammad.
b. The holiest city is Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad.
c. In Makkah, the al-Ka‟ba, a cube like structure stands in the center of the Great
Mosque, was built by Abraham and Ishmael containing a black stone given to
Abraham by God.
d. The second most holy location in Islam is Medina. This is where Muhammad first
received his support and is where his tomb is, in the second largest mosque.
e. The pilgrimage to Makkah is called a Hajj.

- Holy Places in Sikhism

a. Sikhims most holy structure, the Darbar Sahib, or Golden Temple, was built at
Amritsar, in Punjab, by Arjan, the fifth Guru, during the sixteenth century. The
Guru Granth Sahib is kept there.
b. In 1984, the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple at Amritsar and killed
approximately a thousand Sikhs defending the temple. In retaliation later that
year, India‟s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her guards,
who were Sikhs.
2. Holy Places in Ethnic Religions
a. One of the reasons why ethnic religions are highly clustered is that they are closely
tied to the physical geography.
- Holy Places in Hinduism
a. Ethnic religion of India.
b. Most holy shrines are on riverbanks or coastlines.
c. Their pilgrimage is known as a tirtha.
d. Hindu holy places are arranged into a hierarchy.
e. Relative importance of shrines is established by tradition, not by doctrine.
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f. Many Hindus make a tirtha to Mt. Kailas, which is holy because Siva lives there.
g. Hindus believe they achieve purification by bathing in holy rivers such as the
Ganges river in India. Hardwar is the most popular bathing spot.
h. Recent improvements in transportation have increased accessibility of shrines.
- Cosmogony in Ethnic Religions
a. Cosmogony – A set of beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.
b. Chinese ethnic religions, such as Confucianism and Daoism, believe that the universe
is made up of yin and yang. The yin force is associated with earth, darkness,
female, cold, depth, passivity, and death. The yang force is associated with heaven,
light, male, heat, height, activity, and life. Yin and yang forces interact with each
other to achieve balance and harmony.
c. The universalizing religions believe that god created the universe, including man and
the environment. To serve god, humans must make use of the land by draining
rivers and cutting down forests.
d. Christians believe Earth was given by God to finish the task of creation.
e. Muslims believe humans are representatives of god in their deeds.

D. The Calendar
a. An ethnic religion is more clustered because the holidays are based on the
environment.
b. Universalizing religions are more dispersed because the holidays relate to the
founder‟s not the seasons.

1. The Calendar in Ethnic Religions

a. Knowledge of the seasons is important in agriculture.
- The Jewish Calendar
a. Judaism is considered an ethnic religion because its holidays are based on events in
the agricultural calendar of Israel.
 Pesach – The liberation of the Jews from slavery. When farmers offered God
the first fruits of the Spring. Also known as Pssover.
 Sukkot – Hebrew word for booths, or temporary shelters. Final gathering of
the fruit for the year. Prayers for rain next year.
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 Shavuot – When Moses received the 10 commandments. End of the grain
harvest.
b. Lunar calendar. Add an extra month 7 out of every 19 years.
- The Solstice
a. Winter Solstice on December 21 and June 21.
b. Shortest day and longest night.

2. The Calendar in Universalizing Religions

- Islamic and Baha‟i Calendars
a. Islam uses a lunar calendar. In a 30 year cycle, the Islamic calendar has 19 years
with 354 days and 11 years with 355 days.
b. The Baha‟is uses a calendar established by the Bab that has 19 months of 19 days,
with 4 intercalary days (5 in leap years). The year begins on the first day of
Spring, March 21. Baha‟is are supposed to attend the Nineteen Day Feast, held on
the first day of each month to pray.
- Christian, Buddhist, and Sikh Holidays
a. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, observed on the first
Sunday after the full moon following the Spring equinox in late March. Protestant
and Roman Catholics use the Gregorian calendar, but Orthodox use the Julian
calendar.
b. Most Northern Europeans and North Americans associate Christmas with cold,
winters, but people in the Southern Hemisphere associate it with warm, hot
summers.
c. All Buddhists celebrate Buddha‟s birth, Enlightenment, and death. Japanese
Buddhists celebrate his birth on April 8, Enlightenment on December 8, and death
on February 15. Theravadist Buddhists celebrate them all on the same day, usually
in April.
d. The major holidays in Sikhism are the births and deaths of the 10 gurus. The tenth
guru, Gobind Singh, declared that after his death, instead of an eleventh guru, the
highest spiritual authority would be the Guru Granth Sahib. That is a major holiday,
when the Holy Granth was installed as the religion‟s spiritual guide.

III. Why Do Religions Organize Space in Distinctive Patterns?

A. Places of Worship
a. Church, basilica, mosque, temple, pagoda, and synagogue
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1. Christian Churches
a. The word church derives from the Greek term meaning lord, master, and power.
It also refers to the gathering of believers.
b. The church is more prominent in Christianity because it is an expression of
religious beliefs and attendance is important.
c. The church was originally the tallest and largest building.
d. Orthodox churches were developed in the Byzantine Era and have highly ornate,
topped by domes. The Protestant churches are more simple and is decorated in
the assembly hall.
e. Early churches in the U.S. were built from wood (Northeast), brick (Southeast),
and adobe (Southwest). Stucco and stone were prominent in Latin America.

2. Places of Worship in Other Religions

a. Other religions do not consider their important buildings to be a place of
worship.
- Muslim Mosques
a. Muslims consider mosques to be places of assembly and are primarily found in
larger cities of the Muslim world.
b. A mosque is organized around a central courtyard. Surrounding it is a coister
used for school and non-religious activities. The minaret is a tower where the
muzzan summon people for worship.

- Hindu Temples
a. Important religious activities are more likely to take place at home. Temples are
built to house shrines, not to pray in.
b. The typical temple contains a small, dimly lit room with an artifact.
c. Size and frequency of temples is determined by the local population.
- Buddhist and Shintoist Pagodas
a. Visually attractive. Tall, many sided towers with balconies and slanted roofs. They
contain relics that are believed to be part of Buddha‟s body or clothing. These are
not built to worship.
- Baha‟i Houses of Worship

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a. The locations are not because of proximity, but have been dispersed across
different continents to dramatize the religion. They are open to all religions.
b. Built in Wilmette, Illinois, in 1953; Sydney, Australia, and Kampala, Uganda, both in
1961; Lagenhain, near Frankfurt, Germany, in 1964; Panama City, Panama, in 1972;
Tiapapata, near Apia, Samoa, in 1984; and New Delhi, India, in 1986. Also in Russia.

B. Sacred Space

1. Disposing of the Dead

- Burial
a. Christians, Muslims, and Jews bury the dead in a cemetery. Catacombs were used
to bury the early Christians. Some Christians bury the dead with their feet facing
Jerusalem.
b. Cremation is encouraged in China because cemeteries consume 10% of farmland.
- Other Methods of Disposing of Bodies
a. Hindus practice cremation. They wash the body in the Ganges river. Burial is only
for children and people with diseases. Cremation is an act of purification.
b. Zoroastrians expose the dead to wild birds and animals. Tibetan Buddhists reserve
cremation for the priests.
c. Water burial is used in some parts of Micronesia.

2. Religious Settlements
a. Early utopian settlements in the United States were Bethlehem, Pennsylvania;
Oneida, New York; Ephrata, Pennsylvania; Nauvoo, Illinois; and New Harmony,
Indiana.
b. The utopian movement started with the building of Salt Lake City by the Mormons.
c. Most utopian societies declined in importance and residents moved away.

3. Religious Place Names

a. In Québec, a province with a predominantly Roman Catholic population, a large
number of settlements are named for saints, whereas relatively few religious
toponyms are found in predominantly Protestant Ontario, New York, and Vermont.

C. Administration of Space
a. Universalizing religions must be connected to ensure communication and
consistency.
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1. Hierarchical Religions
a. Hierarchical Religion – Well-defined geographic structure and organizes territory
into local administrative units. i.e. Roman Catholicism.
- Later-Day Saints
a. Mormons organize the landscape. Primarily in Utah and surrounding states.
Organized into wards of 750 people. Several wards are combined into a stake of
5,000 people. The highest authority in the Church frequently redraws wards
because of the growing population.
- Roman Catholic Hierarchy
a. Organized into an administrative structure.
 The Pope
 Archbishops report to the Pope. Each heads a province, which is a group of
several dioceses. Distinguished archbishops are known as a cardinal.
 Bishops report to the archbishop. Each administers a diocese, which is the
most basic unit of organization in the religion. The headquarters, called a
see, are in the largest city.
 Priests report to Bishops. A diocese is divided into parishes, each headed by
a priest.

2. Locally Autonomous Religions

a. Autonomous religions – Self-sufficient religions

- Local Autonomy in Islam

a. Most local autonomy of the universalizing religions. There is not religious
headquarters are individuals are expected to pray privately.
b. Strong unity is maintained by a high degree of communication such as the pilgrimage
to Makkah.

- Protestant Denominations
a. The Episcopalin, Lutheran, and most Methodist churches have hierarchical
structures. Baptists and United Church of Christ are extremely autonomous.

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b. Individual churches are united in a presbytery, several of which in turn are
governed by a synod, with a general assembly as ultimate authority over all
churches.
- Ethnic Religions
a. Judaism and Hinduism have no centralized structure of control.
b. Hinduism is more autonomous because worship is done privately. Hindus share ideas
primarily through undertaking pilgrimages and reading traditional writings.

IV. Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise Among Religious Groups?

A. Religion Versus Government Policies

a. Religious groups may oppose government changes because they see it as promoting
social change conflicting with traditional thought.
b. Islam has been most affected because of conflict between religious values and
modernization of the economy.

1. Religion Versus Social Change

a. Many religious groups in LDCs view economic development as incompatible,
especially where Christianity is not the predominant language.
- Taliban Versus Western Values
a. When the Taliban gained power in Afghanistan in 1996, many Afghans saw this as
better to the corrupt warlords.
b. The Taliban imposed strict laws inspired by the Islamic values. They banned
Western, Non-Islamic activities such as playing music, and the Internet. Buddhists
statues were destroyed. Islamic scholars criticized the Taliban as being poorly
educated.
c. Men were beaten for shaving their beards and stoned for committing adultery.
Homosexuals were buried alive, and prostitutes were hanged in front of large
audiences. Thieves had their hands cut off, and women wearing nail polish had their
fingers cut off.
d. In 2001, the US overthrew the Taliban and replaced it with a democracy. However,
the Taliban were able to regroup.

- Hinduism Versus Social Equality

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a. Caste - The system of class of distinct hierarchy in which a Hindu was born.
b. The caste system originated in 1500BC when Aryans invaded India from the West.
c. Brahmans where the priests and top administrators. Kshatriyas were warriors.
Vaisyas were merchants. And Shudras were workers and artisans. The
untouchables were the lowest. They are thought to be the original Indians when
the Aryans took control.
d. A high-class Brahman may practice based on knowledge where as a low-class will
practice without a developed set of rules.
e. The Indian government legally abolished the untouchable caste.

2. Religion Versus Communism

a. The three religions most affected were Orthodox Christianity, Islam, and
Buddhism.

- Orthodox Christianity and Islam Versus The Soviet Union

a. In 1721, Czar Peter the Great made the Russian Orthodox Church a part of the
Russian government. The patriarch was replaced by a 12-member committee, known
as the Holy Synod, nominated by the Czar.
b. After the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, which overthrew the czar, the Communist
government pursued antireligious programs. Marxism became the official doctrine
and religious doctrine was considered a threat.
c. The Soviet government in 1918 eliminated all church-state connections that Peter
the Great had made. With religious organizations prevented from conducting social
work, religion diminished in everyday life.
d. The end of Communist rule in the late twentieth century brought a religious revival
in Eastern Europe.
- Buddhism Versus Southeast Asian Countries
a. In Southeast Asia, Buddhist were hurt by the Vietnam War. Air raids bombed
shrines and others were vandalized. On some occasions, Buddhists immolated
(burned) themselves to protect their policies.
b. The Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia, the most beautiful shrine, is being
destroyed. These countries do not have the funds needed to restore them.

B. Religion Versus Religion

a. Conflicts are more likely to occur where two religions meet.

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b. Fundamentalism – Literal interpretation and a strict adherence to basic
principles of religion.
c. Two long standing religious conflicts are in Northern Ireland and the Middle
East.

1. Religious Wars in Ireland

a. On the island of Eire, the Republic of Ireland contains 5/6 of the island and is
87% Roman Catholic. The other 1/6 of the island is part of the United Kingdom
and is 46% Protestant and 40% Roman Catholic.
b. After being made part of the United Kingdom in 1801, the entire island wanted
independence in the nineteenth century after long periods of poor economic
conditions. Independence was declared in 1937 and a republic was made in 1949.
The six northern countries voted to remain Protestant United Kingdom rather
that Roman Catholic Ireland.
c. Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland have been discriminated with lower paying
jobs.
d. Roman Catholics joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a military organization
that is dedicated to achieving Irish unity by whatever means available, including
violence. Similarly, Protestants created an extremist organization to fight the
IRA including the Ulstar Defense Force (UDF).
e. Although the majority of the population are willing to live peacefully, the
extremists disrupt daily life. As long as most Protestants are firmly committed
to remaining in the United Kingdom and most Roman Catholics are equally
committed to union with the Republic of Ireland, peaceful settlement appears
difficult.

2. Religious Wars in the Middle East

a. Conflict in the Middle East is among the world‟s longest standing and most
intractable. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have fought for 2,000 years to
control the same small strip of land in the Eastern Mediterranean.
b. All three trace their origin to Abraham, which makes it difficult to share.
 Judaism – Ethnic religion. Calls it the Promise Land. The major events of
Judaism took place there.
 Islam – Most widely practiced religion in Palestine after the Muslims
conqured it in the seventh century. Third holiest city. Where Muhammad
ascended to heaven.
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 Christianity – Palestine is the Holy Land and Jerusalem the Holy City. Major
events in Jesus‟s life, death, and resurrection.

- Crusades Between Christians and Muslims

a. In the seventh century, Muslims captured most of the Middle East including
Palestine and Jerusalem. Most of the people converted from Christianity to Islam.
b. The army moved West and into Europe in AD 711 and as they tried to conquer the
continent, they were stopped the Franks (a West Germanic people), led by Charles
Martel. Because of him, he ensured that Christianity would be the predominant
religion in Europe.
c. To recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims, European Christians launched
military campaigns, known as crusades, over a 150 year period. Crusaders captured
Jerusalem from the Muslims in 1099 during the First Crusade, lost it in 1187 (which
led to the Third Crusade), regained it in 1229 as part of a treaty ending the Sixth
Crusade, and lost it again in 1244.

- Jews Versus Muslims In Palestine

a. When the Muslim Ottoman Empire that controlled Palestine was defeated after
WWI, Great Britain took over Palestine under a mandate from the League of
Nations.
b. The British allowed some Jews to return but there were too many conflicts
between the Arabs after WWII, so the British withdrew from Palestine.
c. The United Nations voted in 1947 to divide Palestine into 2 states, one Jewish and
one Muslim. Jerusalem would be an international city, open to all religions, and run
by the United Nations. After Israel was created, the Arab Muslims declared war.
d. In 1949, Jerusalem was divided. The Muslims got the Old City of Jerusalem. The
newer, western portion became Israel‟s.
e. After many wars, Israel conquered most of the land. Especially important was the
six-day war in 1967 when Israel captured territory from its neighbors. Israel
returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.
- Conflict Over The Holy Land: Palestinian Perspectives
a. After the 1973 war, the Palestinians emerged as Israel‟s opponent. The Palestinians
saw themselves as the rules of Israel. Five groups consider themselves to be
Palestinians:

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 People living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem territories captured
by Israel in 1967
 Citizens of Israel who are Muslims rather than Jews
 People who fled from Israel after the 1948-49 war
 People who fled from the West Bank or Gaza after the 1967 war
 Citizens of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
b. After capturing the West Bank from Jordan in 1967, Jewish settlers lived there
because they believe it was theirs and living costs were too high in the original land
of Israel. To protect the settlers, Israel has military control over most of the
West Bank.
c. The Palestinian fight against Israel was coordinated by the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) under the leadership of Yassir Arafat, who died in 2004.
d. The Fatah Party is willing to recognize Israel as a country if they get their land
back from the 1967 war. The Hamas Party wants to continue fighting and is
considered a terrorist group.

- Conflict Over The Holy Land: Israeli Perspective

a. Israel sees itself as a small country with a Jewish majority, surrounded by hostile
Muslim countries.
b. First, the country‟s major population centers are very close to the borders, making
them vulnerable to surprise attacks.
c. The second geographical problem is that its northern half is just a strip of land
80km wide.
 A coastal plain along the Mediterranean, extending inland 25 km
 A series of hills above 1,000km
 The Jordan River Valley, much of which is below sea level.
d. Jordan and Syria used the hills between 1948 and 1967 to attack settlements in the
Jordan River Valley. Israel captured these highlands to stop the attacks. Israel
still has military control over Golan Heights and West Bank, yet attacks still
continue.
e. In recent years, a majority of Israelis supported the construction of a barrier to
deter Palestinian attacks.
f. As long as any one religion has control over Jerusalem, the other religious groups
will not be satisfied

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