Historical Diffusion of Religions

The universalizing religions have diffused from specific hearths, or places of origin, to other regions of the world. In contrast, most ethnic religions have typically remained clustered. The hearths where each of the three largest universalizing religions originated are based on the events in the lives of the three key individuals. All three hearths are in Asia (Christianity and Islam in Southwest Asia, Buddhism in South Asia). Followers transmitted the messages preached in the hearths to people elsewhere, diffusing them across Earth’s surface along distinctive paths, as shown in

Diffusion of Universalizing Religions

Diffusion of Buddhism

Buddhism did not diffuse rapidly from its point of origin in northeastern India. Most responsible for the spread of Buddhism was Ashoka, emperor of the Magadhan Empire from about 268 to 232 B.C.E. The Magadhan Empire formed the nucleus of several powerful kingdoms in South Asia between the sixth century B.C.E. and the eighth century C.E.

In the first century C.E., merchants along the trading routes from northeastern India introduced Buddhism to China. Many Chinese were receptive to the ideas brought by Buddhist missionaries, and Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese languages. Chinese rulers allowed their people to become Buddhist monks during the fourth century C.E., and in the following centuries Buddhism turned into a genuinely Chinese religion. Buddhism further diffused from China to Korea in the fourth century and from Korea to Japan two centuries later. During the same era, Buddhism lost its original base of support in India although Sri Lanka remains partially Buddhist

Diffusion of Buddhism

Diffusion of Islam

Muhammad’s successors organized followers who extended Islamic control over an extensive area of Africa, Asia, and Europe through military conquest. Within a century of Muhammad’s death, Muslims controlled Palestine, the Persian Empire, and much of India, resulting in the conversion of many non-Arabs to Islam, often through intermarriage.

Diffusion of Islam

Islam diffused rapidly from its point of origin in present-day Saudi Arabia. Within 200 years, Muslims controlled much of Southwest Asia & North Africa as well as southwestern Europe.

To the west, Muslims diffused across North Africa, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, and retained much of present-day Spain, until 1492. During the same century in which the Christians regained all of Western Europe, Muslims took control of much of southeastern Europe and Turkey.

Diffusion of Christianity

Christianity’s diffusion has been rather clearly recorded since the time of Jesus in the Roman province known at the time as Judea. Consequently, geographers can examine its diffusion by reconstructing patterns of communications, interaction, and migration.

In Chapter 1, two processes of diffusion were identified: relocation (diffusion through migration) and expansion (diffusion through an additive effect). Within expansion diffusion, we distinguished between hierarchical diffusion (diffusion through key leaders) and contagious diffusion (widespread diffusion). Christianity diffused through a combination of these forms of diffusion.

Relocation Diffusion of Christianity

Christianity first spread from its hearth in Judea through relocation diffusion. Missionaries—individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through relocation diffusion—carried the teachings of Jesus along the Roman Empire’s protected sea routes and excellent road network to people in other locations.

Diffusion of Christianity

Christianity began to diffuse throughout Europe during the time of the Roman Empire and continued after the empire's collapse. Paul of Tarsus, a disciple of Jesus, traveled through the eastern Roman Empire as a missionary.

People in commercial towns and military settlements that were directly linked by the communications network received the message first from Paul and other missionaries. But Christianity also spread widely within the Roman Empire through contagious diffusion—daily contact between believers in the towns and nonbelievers in the surrounding countryside.

Expansion Diffusion of Christianity

The dominance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire was assured during the fourth century through the two types of expansion diffusion:

• Hierarchical diffusion. The spread of Christianity was encouraged when the Roman Empire’s key elite figure, Emperor Constantine (ca. 272–337 C.E.), embraced the religion in 313 C.E., and Emperor Theodosius proclaimed it the empire’s official religion in 380 C.E. In subsequent centuries, Christianity further diffused into Eastern Europe through conversion of kings or other elite figures.

• Contagious diffusion. Since 1500 C.E., contagious diffusion has extended Christianity around the world, especially through the migration, missionary activity, and conquest by Europeans. Through permanent resettlement of Europeans, Christianity became the dominant religion in North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Christianity’s dominance was further achieved by conquest and conversion of indigenous populations and by intermarriage. In recent decades, Christianity has further diffused to Africa, where it is now the most widely practiced religion.

Pause & Reflect 6.2.3

Does the diffusion of Islam provide a good example of hierarchical diffusion, relocation diffusion, or both?