Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Religion manifests itself in many different ways.
We can see religion in the worship of the souls of ances-
tors who are thought to inhabit natural objects such as
mountains, animals, or trees; in the belief that a certain
living person possesses special abilities granted by a super-
natural power; and in the belief in a deity or deities, as
in the great world religions. In some places, societies are
so infused with religion that religious tradition strongly
infl uences behaviors during waking hours through ritual
and practice and even during periods of sleep in prescrib-
ing the orientation of the body.
Across the multitude of religions, some religious
practices such as ritual and prayer are common. Rituals
may mark important events in people's lives: birth and
death, attainment of adulthood, or marriage. Rituals
are typically expressed at regular intervals in a routine
manner, as is done on certain days in the Christian and
Jewish worlds, certain times of the day in the Muslim
world, or according to certain astronomical events in
the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian worlds. A
common ritual is prayer, whether at mealtime, at sunrise
and sundown, at night upon retiring, or in the morning
when arising.
Although religious beliefs and prescriptions infl u-
ence many societies, in other places, religion, at least in its
organized form, has become less signifi cant in the lives of
people. Secularism is the indifference to or rejection of
formal religion. The most secular countries in the world
today are in Europe. A 2009 Pew survey asked people in 56
countries how important religion is in their lives. Among
the wealthiest countries surveyed, the United States stood
out as the highest, with 57 percent of Americans sur-
veyed saying religion is very important in their lives. Only
13 percent of people surveyed in France, 8 percent in
Sweden, and 7 percent in the Czech Republic agreed that
religion is very important in their lives. Regionally, survey
respondents in Subsaharan Africa, South Asia, Southwest
Asia, and South America more strongly agreed that reli-
gion is very important in their lives: 98 percent in Senegal,
97 percent in Bangladesh, 95 percent in Indonesia, and 78
percent in Brazil reported religion to be very important in
their lives.
Although survey respondents in Europe largely did
not see religion as very important in their lives today,
religion certainly had a critical role in the history of
Europe. During the Middle Ages and into the colonial
period, the Christian church was a dominant force polit-
ically, economically and culturally in Europe. Because
Christianity was a major part of life in Europe for cen-
turies, much of the art, architecture, history, customs,
and cultural norms derive from Christian beliefs and
teachings (Fig. 7.4). Even if your society is secular and
regardless of your religious beliefs, what you eat, when
you work, when you shop, and what you are allowed to
do are infl uenced by religion.
Figure 7.4
Antwerp, Belgium. The cathedral in Antwerp was built
beginning in 1352 and still dominates the central part of town.
© Alexander B. Murphy.
Regardless of the religion, the number of adherents,
or the place, organized religion has a powerful effect on
human societies. It has been a major force in combat-
ing social ills, sustaining the poor, promoting the arts,
educating the deprived, and advancing medical knowl-
edge. However, religion has also blocked scientifi c study,
encouraged the oppression of dissidents, supported
colonialism and exploitation, and condemned women to
an inferior status in many societies. Religion is, if noth-
ing else, one of the most complex and often controversial
aspects of the human condition.
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