The Origins and Diffusion of Religions They Who Goeth Around
Getteth around They Who Goeth Around Getteth around
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Origin of Religions Universalizing Religions Ethnic Religions
Universalizing religions have precise places of origin and are
based on the life events of one man. Ethnic religions have unknown
or unclear origins and are not tied to historic individuals.
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Origins of Universalizing Religions Founded on the teachings of
Jesus, who was born in Galilean Bethlehem between 8 and 4 BCE.
Catholicism was ordered by Constantine when he converted in 312 AD.
Orthodoxy dates to the 5 th century CE and rivalry between Rome and
Constantinople. The split solidified in 1054 when the Roman pope
condemned the Patriarch of Constantinople. Protestantism originated
with the Reformation and Martin Luther in 1517. Islam traces its
origins to that of Judaism and Christianity with the Bible.
Muhammad, born in Mecca (Makkah) in 570 AD received revelations
from God (Allah in Arabic) in 610. Muslims Codified the revelations
of God through Muhammad in al Quran. The division between the two
main branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia, originated in a
disagreement over leadership after Muhammads death in 632. Shia
Muslims supported Muhammads cousin, Ali. Siddhartha Gautama was
born in 563 BCE in Lumbini in present day Nepal near the border
with India. In about 528 BCE, Siddhartha was said to have found a
spiritual path to Nirvana and became The Buddha, the awakened or
enlightened one. Theravada is the original form, the Mahayana
Buddhism split from it about 2000 years ago. Zen, another branch of
Buddhism began in China in the 7 th century.
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Origins of Ethnic Religions Again, ethnic religions have
unknown or unclear origins and are not tied to a specific founder.
For Example: The origins of Hinduism in India are unclear. The
oldest manuscripts date to 1500 BCE, but the oldest artifacts date
to 2500 BCE. Hinduism grew and developed over time from the
interaction of the Harappan, Aryan and the Dravidian cultures.
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Diffusion of Religions Universalizing Religions Ethnic
Religions Universalizing religions tend to diffuse from single,
specific hearths and spread through a combination of relocation,
hierarchical and contagious diffusion. Ethnic religions are often
tied to the physical landscape and seasons of a hearth and so
remain highly clustered in the hearth region.
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Diffusion of Universalizing Religions The three largest
universalizing religions are each based on the life of a key
individual. Each has a hearth in Asia (Buddhism in India,
Christianity in Israel, Islam in Saudi Arabia). Followers of each
migrated, preaching the message of the religions to people well
beyond the hearth.
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Diffusion of Buddhism Buddhism did not diffuse rapidly from its
hearth but later began to spread through a combination of
hierarchical and relocation diffusion. In 257BCE, Asoka, the
emperor of the Magadhan empire, converted to Buddhism and declared
his empire as Buddhist. Asoka also sent Buddhist missionaries to
neighboring territories Sri Lanka, Kashmir, the Himalayas, Burma,
and elsewhere in India. In the first century AD, Buddhist merchants
moved along trading routes and introduced Buddhism to China.
Widespread conversions began there in the 4 th century. Buddhism
spread from China to the Koreas in the 4 th century and from the
Koreas to Japan in the 6 th century.
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Diffusion of Buddhism
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Diffusion of Christianity Christianity spread through a
combination of relocation, hierarchical and contagious diffusion
from its hearth in ancient Israel. Relocation Contagious
Hierarchical In 1 st century AD Paul of Tarsus and other
missionaries began spreading Christianity along the Roman Empires
protected sea and road routes. While missionaries moved from city
to city, the converts they left behind after establishing churches
spread Christianity within the Roman empire through contagious
diffusion in their communities. Christianities survival was set
through hierarchical diffusion when the Roman Emperor Constantine
converted in 313 CE. His successor, Theodosius then proclaimed it
the official religion of the empire in 380. Diffusion continued for
centuries in a blend of the three methods. It diffused into Eastern
Europe through the conversion of various kings. After 1500 it
diffused with English colonialism into the Americas, Australia, New
Zealand and Africa. In those places, various indigenous groups
converted or intermarried. The branch of Christianity that
dominates in a place reflects the branch of the Christians who
colonized or later migrated there.
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Diffusion of Christianity
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Diffusion of Islam By the time of Muhammads death, Islam had
diffused over much of the Arabian Peninsula by: Relocation
diffusion: Muhammads Hijrah from Mecca to Medina Hierarchical
Diffusion: Muhammads defeat of Mecca Contagious Diffusion:
conversions from person to person. After Muhammads death, Muslim
armies conquered Palestine, the Persian Empire and much of India.
While Islam does not force converts, many indigenous peoples did
convert or intermarry to align with the new rulers. Armies also
moved across northern Africa and then crossed the starit of
Gibraltar into Spain. Muslims controlled much of present day Spain
until 1492. While Christians regained Western Europe, Muslims moved
into southeastern Europe and Turkey. Muslim missionaries also
spread Islam to parts of Subsaharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
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Diffusion of Islam
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Diffusion of Ethnic Religions Most ethnic religions have
little, if any diffusion. First, the religions lack missionaries
devoted to converting others. Second, ethnic religions are often
tied to the landscape and the seasons of its hearth region.
Finally, spread of universalizing religions (Christianity and
Islam) comes through converting members of ethnic religions.
African Religions East and Southeast Asian Religions The
universalizing religion my supplant the local, ethnic religion or
mingle with it. In some parts of Africa, Christianity dominates and
reflects the colonizers branch (Catholicism in Guinea from the
Spanish, Lutheran in Namibia from the Germans). In other places,
through syncretism, Christianity incorporates ritual aspects of the
local ethnic religions. There are several thousand unique African
Christian Churches. In East and Southeast Asia, Buddhism has spread
and mingled with local ethnic religions. In Japan, the Shinto first
resisted the spread of Buddhism, then embraced it. Through
syncretism, Buddhist monks took over the management of Shinto
shrines and Buddhist deities were incorporated into the Shinto
Pantheon. Conversely, Hindu migrants moved to Mauritius and
maintained their religion (52% Hindu, 28% Christian, and 175
Muslim). Mauritius had no original indigenous population.
Christianity and Islam are exclusive religions that require
singular adherence to them and them alone. Many ethnic religions
(and Buddhism) are non-exclusive religions so adherents can
practice aspects of multiple religions.
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Diffusion of Judaism (an exception) World map of Judaism
Despite its status as an ethnic religion and despite its close ties
to the place and seasons of historic Israel, Judaism has diffused
widely over the world. (see world map) After Romans burned the
temple in 70AD, many Jews migrated in a movement called the
diaspora to Europe, Northern Africa and Asia. Jews lived among
other nationalities, often as guest populations without official
citizenship. They lived in isolated communities (ghettos) and
retained their religious practices while sometimes adopting
cultural practices of their hosts. As a result of the holocaust at
the hands of the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s, many Jews left Europe
and spread to the Americas.
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Holy Places Universalizing Religions Universalizing religions
often endow with holiness cities and other places associated with
the founders life. These places need not be near one another and
are not tied to any particular physical environment. Ethnic
Religions Ethnic religions often have holy places closely
associated with the geography and seasons of their hearths.
PILGRIMAGES
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Holy Places: Buddhism and Islam The most important holy sites
for Islam are: Mecca (birthplace of Muhammad) Medina (first city to
adopt Islam) Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca, contains al Kaba and the
well of Zemzem) One of the five pillars of Islam states that all
Muslims who are able should make a pilgrimage to Mecca and the Kaba
at least once in their lives. Eight places are particularly holy in
Buddhism as they are associated with the life of the Buddha: 1)
Lumbini (birth place) 2) Bodh Gaya (place of enlightenment) 3)
Sarnath Deer Park (first sermon) 4) Kusinagara (parinirvana place)
5) Sravasti (ascension to heaven) 6) Samkasya (second ascension to
heaven) 7) Rajaghra (taming the elephant) 8) Vaisali (prediction of
death)
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Ethnic Holy Places: Hinduism Remember: ethnic religions tend to
remain clustered and concentrated in a small area because their
system is often inextricably linked to the local landscape and
seasonal shift. Presence in and interaction with the land is so
integral to the religion, it often is not possible to practice it
outside the hearth land. While Hinduism stresses meditation, tirtha
(a pilgrimage to a holy site) also helps to further one on the path
to moksha. Holy sites are often tied in some way to one of the
manifestations of Brahman (God). Some sites are universal in their
appeal to all Hindu, while others are significant only at the local
level. One universally important site is the Ganges river. Many
Hindu make pilgrimages to bathe in its waters. Hinduism is highly
tied to the geography of India.
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Environmental Perception Recall from chapter 4 that
environmental perception is the way that a culture will observe,
interpret and react to the natural environment. Universalizing
Religions Ethnic Religions Universalizing religions often maintain
that God gave the Earth to humans who are free to bend it to their
wills. URs usually dont incorporate natural events into their
cosmogony. Ethnic religions often have a more reverential
relationship with the land and do not alter it as much. ERs often
incorporate nature events and forces into their cosmogonies.
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The Calendar Universalizing and ethnic religions also handle
the notion of sacred time differently. Universalizing Religions
Ethnic Religions Major holy days (sacred time, i.e. holidays) in
universalizing religions tend to relate to events in the life of
the founder, not to events in the physical landscape. You should
know: Islam (lunar calendar, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and Eid
al-Adha) Bahai (19 month, 19 day calendar established by the Bab)
Christianity (Christmas and Easter) Buddhists (Buddhas birth,
enlightenment and death) Major holy days in ethnic religions tend
often correspond to natural events in the physical landscape like
the changing of seasons or the key points in local agriculture. You
should know: Judaism (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Sukkot,
Shavuot) In General (summer solstice, winter solstice)