Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In some countries, antireligious ideologies are con-
tributing to the decline of organized religion. Church
membership in the former Soviet Union, which dropped
drastically during the twentieth century under com-
munist rule, rebounded after the collapse of the Soviet
system but to much lower numbers. Maoist China's drive
against Confucianism was, in part, an antireligious effort,
and China continues to suppress some organized religious
practices, as reports of religious persecution continue to
emanate from China.
In many areas labeled Christian on the world
map of religions, from Canada to Australia and from
the United States to western Europe, the decline of
organized religion as a cultural force is evident. In the
strongly Catholic regions of southern Europe and
Latin America, many people are dissatisfi ed with the
papal teachings on birth control, as the desire for larger
families wanes in these regions of the world. In Latin
America, the Catholic Church is being challenged by
rapid social change, the diffusion of other Evangelical
Christian denominations into the region, and sexual
abuse scandals similar to those that have occurred in the
United States and Canada.
Secularism has become more widespread dur-
ing the past century. People have abandoned organized
religion in growing numbers. Even if they continue to
be members of a church, their participation in church
activities has declined. Traditions have also weakened.
For example, there was a time when almost all shops
and businesses were closed on Sundays, preserving the
day for sermons, rest, and introspection. Today, shop-
ping centers are mostly open as usual, and Sunday is
increasingly devoted to business and personal affairs,
not to church. To witness the rise of secularism among
Christians in America fi rst-hand, explore your town,
city, or suburb on a Sunday morning: how many people
are wearing casual clothes and hanging out at the cof-
fee shop reading newspapers, and how many people are
attending church services?
At the same time that secularism is on the rise in
the United States, many people who do follow their reli-
gion seem to be doing so more fervently. Religious tradi-
tions are stronger in some cultural regions of the United
States than in others, and Sunday observance continues
at a high level, for example, in the Mormon culture area
of the United States. Even though Catholic dioceses are
closing churches and declaring bankruptcy in some parts
of the Northeast, other Catholic dioceses are building
new churches and enormous activity halls in other parts
of the country. Moreover, Evangelical and other alter-
native churches are growing rapidly in some parts of the
United States and western Europe. Entire industries, such
as Christian music and Christian publications, depend
on the growing commitment of many Americans and
Europeans to their religion.
The division between secularism and fervent adher-
ence is not confi ned to the Christian world. Secularism
is growing in South Korea, where half of the population
does not profess adherence to any particular religion.
Although major faiths are experiencing an overall decline
in adherence, several smaller religions are growing in
importance: Baha'i, Cao Dai, Jainism, and the Spiritual
Church of Brazil.
Migration plays a large role in the diffusion of religions, both
universalizing and ethnic. As Europe becomes more secular,
migrants from outside of Europe continue to settle in the
region. Imagine Europe 30 years from now. Predict where in
Europe secularism will be the most prominent and where
religious adherence will strengthen.
HOW IS RELIGION SEEN IN THE
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE?
Religion marks cultural landscapes with houses of
worship such as churches, mosques, synagogues, and tem-
ples; with cemeteries dotted with religious symbols and
icons; with stores designated to sales of religious goods;
and even with services provided to religious adherents
who travel to sacred sites. When adherents voluntarily
travel to a religious site to pay respects or participate in
a ritual at the site, the act of travel is called a
pilgrimage
.
Geographers who study religion are interested in the act
of pilgrimage and its impacts on place, people, religion,
culture, and environment.
Sacred sites
are places or spaces people infuse with
religious meaning. Members of a religious group may
defi ne a space or place as sacred out of either reverence or
fear. If a sacred site is held with reverence, adherents may
be encouraged to make a pilgrimage to the sacred site for
rejuvenation, refl ection, healing, or fulfi llment of a reli-
gious commitment.
In ancient human history, sacred spaces were typi-
cally features in the physical geographic landscape, such
as buttes, mountain peaks, or rivers. In more recent
history, as universalizing religions diffused across the
world, sacred sites were abandoned, usurped, or altered.
Geographer Mary Lee Nolan studied Irish sacred sites
and observed that many of the remote physical geo-
graphic features of the Irish landscape were sacred to
the Celtic people (Fig. 7.19). When Roman Catholicism
