Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
RELIGIONS
OF THE WORLD
CHRISTIANITY
Mostly Roman Catholic
60
°
Mostly Protestant
Mostly Eastern Orthodox
M
ISLAM
I
M
I
40
°
40
°
Sunni
M
M
I
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Sunni in India
I
Shia
Tropic of Cancer
20
°
20
°
20
°
P
P
P
HINDUISM
P
P
P
P
P
P
BUDDHISM - TANTRAYANA
P
PACIFIC
BUDDHISM - THERAVADA
P
0
°
Equator
CHINESE RELIGIONS and
BUDDHISM - MAHAYANA
SHINTOISM and
BUDDHISM - MAHAYANA
TRADITIONAL and
SHAMANIST RELIGIONS
TRADITIONALIST MIXED
OCEAN
P
M
P
M
20
°
20
°
20
°
P
Tropic of Capricorn
I
JUDAISM
SIKHISM
MORMONISM
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS
ISLAM
P
P
P
I
S
M
P
I
40
40
40
°
°
40
°
°
160
°
140
°
120
°
80
°
60
°
40
°
60
°
60
°
60
°
60
°
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
0
1000
2000
3000 Kilometers
0
Figure 7.6
Religions of the World.
Data from
:
Several sources, including Hammond, Inc., 1977, H. J. de
Blij, P. O. Muller, and A. Winkler Prins,
The World Today,
4e, 2008 State Department Religious
Freedom Report, CIA World Factbook, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, and author
observations.
1000
2000 Miles
©E. H. Fouberg, A. B. Murphy, H. J. de Blij, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
hypothesize that fl ooding along the Indus spurred the
migration of early Hindus eastward to the Ganges
River. The Ganges (
Ganga
, as Indians call it) is
Hinduism's sacred river. Hindus regard its ceaseless
fl ow and spiritual healing power as Earthly manifesta-
tions of the Almighty.
Just as there is no consensus on Hinduism's ori-
gins, there is a lack of agreement on defi ning Hinduism
relative to other major world religions. Some defi ne
Hinduism as a polytheistic religion because of the pres-
ence of many gods. However, many Hindus defi ne their
religion as monotheistic. The one god is Brahman (the
universal soul), and the other gods in the religion are
various expressions of Brahman. Similarly, Western
academics defi ne Hinduism today as an ethnic religion
because Hindus do not actively seek converts. At the
same time, historical evidence shows Hindus migrat-
ing into Southeast Asia and diffusing their religion, as
