The current global and regional distributions of religions and their branches result from geographic processes of origin and diffusion. The most widely followed universalizing religions—Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—have well-defined places of origin and widespread and well-documented patterns of diffusion. An ethnic religion such as Hinduism has contested origins and limited diffusion.

Key Issue 2: Why Do Religions Have Distinctive Distributions?

Origin of Christianity & Islam in Southwest Asia Both Christianity and Islam originated in Southwest Asia. It is characteristic of universalizing religions, such as Christianity and Islam, that their places of origin are known and rooted in the events in the life of its founder.

Origin of Christianity Christianity was founded upon the teachings of Jesus, who was born between 8 and 4 B.C.E. in Bethlehem and died crucified in Jerusalem about 30 C.E. Raised a Jew, Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of God. The four Gospels of the Christian Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) document miracles that the writers attributed to Jesus. He was referred to as Christ, from the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah, which means “anointed.” After being betrayed by his follower Judas Iscariot in the third year of his mission, he was executed as an agitator. On the third day after his death, his tomb was found empty, Christians believe that Jesus died to atone for human sins, that he was raised from the dead by God, and his resurrection from the dead provides people hope for salvation.

Roman Catholic Branch Roman Catholics accept the teachings of the Bible, as well as the interpretation of those teachings by the Church hierarchy, led by the Pope. The Pope is viewed by Roman Catholics as possessing a universal primacy or authority, and they believe the Church is infallible in resolving theological disputes. The seven sacraments of Baptism, the Eucharist, Penance, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing the Sick are seen by Roman Catholics as God conveying His grace directly to humanity.

Orthodox Branch Orthodoxy encompasses the faith and practices of a collection of churches that emerged in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. In the fifth century, the Roman and Eastern churches split due to a growing rivalry between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1054, Pope Leo IX condemned the Patriarch of Constantinople, finalizing the split between Rome and Constantinople’s churches. Orthodoxy accepts the seven sacraments but rejects Roman doctrines adopted since the eighth century.

Protestant Branch Protestantism originated with the principles of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The Reformation movement is viewed as beginning when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. According to Luther, Christians have primary responsibility for achieving personal salvation through direct communication with God. Grace is achieved through faith rather than through sacraments performed by the Church.

Origin of Islam The foundation of Islamic belief involves performing five practices, known as five pillars of faith:

1. Shahadah, which means that Muslims frequently recite their belief that there is no deity worthy of worship except the one God, the source of all creation, as well as their belief that Muhammad is the messenger of God.

2. Salat, which means that five times daily, a Muslim prays, facing the city of Makkah (Mecca), as a direct link to God.

3. Zakat, which means that a Muslim gives generously to charity as an act of purification and growth.

4. Sawm of Ramadan, which means that a Muslim fasts during the month of Ramadan as an act of self purification.

5. Hajj, which means that if physically and financially able, a Muslim makes a pilgrimage to Makkah.

Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all consider humanity originating with Adam and Abraham to have been one of his descendants. Jews and Christians trace their story through Abraham’s first wife, Sarah, and her son Isaac. Muslims trace their story through his second wife, Hagar, and her son Ishmael. Muslims believe Abraham took his wife Hagar and son Ishmael to Makkah. Hundreds of years later, according to Islamic belief, one of Ishmael’s descendants, Muhammad, became the Prophet of Islam.

Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam In 570 C.E. Muhammad was born in Makkah. Muslims believe that at age 40, during a meditative retreat, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel

Gabriel. Gabriel revealed God’s words to Muhammad, which were collected as Islam’s holy book, the Quran. Muhammad and his followers faced persecution, and in 622 he was commanded by God to emigrate to the city of Yathrib (present-day Madinah), in an event known as the Hijra (marking the beginning of the Muslim calendar). He returned to Makkah several years later and established Islam as the city’s religion.

Shiite and Sunni Branches The two largest branches of Islam, Sunni and Shiite, harken back to the earliest days of the religion and reflect the disagreement over the line of succession in Islamic leadership. As Muhammad had no son, his father-in-law, Abu Bakr, became caliph (“successor of the prophet”).

Following Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were caliphs, expanding the reach of Islam to Egypt and Persia. Shiite Muslims believe the line of succession lies with Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, while Sunni Muslims believe Abu Bakr as the true caliph.

Origin of Buddhism & Hinduism in South Asia Buddhism has a determined origin, based on the events in the life of a man. Hinduism, however, has unknown or unclear origins, not tied to a specific historical individual.

Origin of Buddhism Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, born in about 563 B.C.E. in Lumbinī in present-day Nepal. Gautama lived a privileged life as the son of a lord. After witnessing a decrepit old man, a disease-ridden man, and a corpse on three separate journeys and determining that he could no longer enjoy his comfortable life, Gautama set out on a fourth trip and saw a monk, who taught him about withdrawal from the world. At age 29 Gautama left his palace one night and lived in a forest for the next 6 years, experimenting with techniques of meditation. Gautama emerged as the Buddha, the “awakened or enlightened one,” and spent 45 years spreading his beliefs across India.

The Four Noble Truths are core to Buddhist beliefs:

1. All living beings must endure suffering.

2. Suffering, which is caused by a desire to live, leads to reincarnation (repeated rebirth in new bodies or forms of life).

3. The goal of all existence is to escape suffering and the endless cycle of reincarnation into Nirvana (a state of complete redemption), which is achieved through mental and moral self-purification.

4. Nirvana is attained through an Eightfold Path: rightness of belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and meditation.

Theravada Buddhism Theravada is the older of the two largest branches of Buddhism. Theravada means “the way of the elders,” illustrating the Theravada Buddhist belief that they are more aligned with Buddha’s original approach. Theravadists believe that to be a good Buddhist, one must renounce worldly possessions and become a monk.

Mahayana Buddhism Roughly 2,000 years ago, Mahayana split from Theravada Buddhism. Mahayana is translated as “the great vehicle.” Mahayanists believe that that their approach to Buddhism can help more people because it is less demanding than the all-encompassing Theravadist system. Mahayanists emphasize Buddha’s later years of teaching and helping others, while Theravadists affirm the Buddha’s approach to selfhelp and introspection.

Vajrayana Buddhism Vajrayanas highlight the practice of rituals, known as Tantras, which have been recorded in texts. Vajrayanas believe that Buddha began to practice Tantras during his lifetime, although other Buddhists view Vajrayana as an approach to Buddhism that developed from Mahayana Buddhism several centuries later.

Unknown Origin of Hinduism In contrast to the universalizing religions, Hinduism has unknown origins as the religion existed before any recorded history. The earliest Hindu religious documents are about 3,500 years old. The Aryan tribes from Central Asia invaded India about 1400 B.C.E. and brought their religion with them. Centuries of intermingling with the Dravidians already living in the area modified their religious beliefs.

Historical Diffusion of Religions Universalizing religions have diffused from specific places of origin (or hearths) to other regions of the world, while most ethnic religions have generally remained clustered in a defined area. Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism all originated in Asia and diffused the world over from there.

Diffusion of Buddhism Buddhism diffused through missionaries also but diffused rather slowly compared to Christianity and Islam. The hearth of Buddhism is in northeastern India. The person most responsible for the diffusion of Buddhism was Emperor Asoka of the Magadhan Empire. The Magadhan Empire controlled a large area of South Asia between the sixth B.C.E. and the eighth century C.E. and Asoka sent missionaries to territories not controlled by the empire. Merchants diffused Buddhism to China and the Chinese were quite receptive to it. It later diffused to other countries in East Asia, though it lost its original base of support in India.

Diffusion of Islam Within a century of Muhammad’s death, Muslim armies conquered areas in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Some of the territory that was conquered by Islamic armies was eventually lost and some of those areas started practicing another religion. As was the case with Christianity, Islam diffused well beyond its hearth. Indonesia, which is the world’s fourth most populous country, is predominately Muslim because Arab traders brought the religion there in the thirteenth century.

Diffusion of Christianity Geographers can describe the diffusion of Christianity by reconstructing patterns of communications, interaction, and migration.

Relocation Diffusion of Christianity Christianity first spread from the eastern Mediterranean through relocation diffusion. Missionaries—individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through relocation diffusion—relayed the teachings of Jesus along the Roman Empire’s land and sea networks to people in other places.

Expansion Diffusion of Christianity Two types of expansion diffusion established the dominance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire in the fourth century: hierarchical and contagious diffusion. After the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the Emperor Theodosius proclaimed it as the empire’s official religion in 380 C.E., the religion spread into Eastern Europe through hierarchical diffusion through the conversion of kings and other elites over the subsequent centuries. Contagious diffusion spread Christianity throughout the world. The permanent resettlement of Europeans further spread Christianity to North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand through relocation diffusion. Conquest and the conversion of indigenous populations and intermarriage further spread the religion. Recently, it has further diffused to Africa, where it is widely practiced.

Recent Migration of Christians Even though Christians are only one-third of the world’s population they account for one-half of the world’s international migrants. Jews especially have migrated from one country to another at some point of their lives, with migrants accounting for 25 percent of the Judaism’s adherents. In contrast, around 5 percent of all Christians and 4 percent of all Muslims have migrated, compared to only 1 or 2 percent of other religious groups. Buddhist, Hindus, and folk religionists are less likely to migrate.

The destinations of international migrants who are Christian is not reflected in the distribution of Christians. 12 percent of the world’s Christians reside in North America, but is the destination for 34 percent of migrating Christians. 26 percent of the world’s Christians live in Europe, but is the destination for 38 percent of migrating Christians. In contrast, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa attract relatively few Christian migrants.

Immigration of Christians to North America Most immigrants to the United States are Christian, 61 percent in 2102. Unauthorized immigrants were 83 percent Christian. The percentage has declined to 68 percent in 1992. Muslims and Hindus have supplanted the Christian immigrants.Canada (except Québec) and the United States have Protestant majorities because their early colonists traveled predominantly from Protestant England. Likewise, some regions of North America are predominantly Roman Catholic due to flows from Roman Catholic areas of Europe and Latin America. Mormons are concentrated in Utah due to the migration of Brigham Young and his followers to the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-nineteenth century.

Recent Migration of Muslims & Jews Compared to Christianity, the pattern of international migration of Muslims and Jews is even less reflected in the distribution of both groups around the world.

Migration Patterns of Muslims Although 20 percent of the world’s Muslims reside in Southwest Asia and North Africa, 34 percent of Muslim migrants are pulled to the region. Saudi Arabia attracts the largest share of Muslim migrants, making up 10 percent of the world total. The largest number of immigrants to Saudi Arabia come from Egypt. 34 percent of Muslims who migrate internationally travel to Europe, which is the home of 3 percent of the world Muslim population. Most Muslims migrate to Russia, Germany, and France when going to Europe. The largest number of Muslim immigrants to Europe have come from Turkey to Germany and from Algeria to France. In contrast, South Asia, with 30 percent of the world’s Muslims, attracts only 6 percent of the migrants.

Migration Patterns of Jews Israel is the major destination of Jews who migrate internationally. As a state with a Jewish majority, Israel is the major destination of Jews migrating internationally (73 percent). The United States accounts for 10 percent of Jewish international migrants. The Romans forced Jews to migrate from the eastern Mediterranean in 70 C.E. and became dispersed throughout the world. Even though the Jews lived among other nationalities they retained their religious practices, but adopted the language and customs of their new country. In Europe Jews were often persecuted and were legally restricted to neighborhoods, known as ghettos. The distribution of Jews changed after the mass extermination of Jews by the Nazis in World War II, Many Jewish refugees from Europe and Southwest Asia migrated to Israel after its establishment in 1948.

6.2

Ghetto During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic discrimination.

Missionary An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.