Ethnic vs. Universalizing Religions: Understanding Religious Geography and Global Traditions
Religion is a vital part of human culture, and it helps us celebrate and understand our place in the world. Understanding religious differences is important to the field of human geography, as geographers research and document the location of religions and use the results to explain why certain religions are widely distributed and why other religions are extremely concentrated. To assist in this study, there are two types of religions for Human Geography studies: universalizing and ethnic religions.
Defining Religion and Theistic Classifications
Religion is a common set of beliefs and practices through which people seek harmony with the power of the universe. It is also a communal way to relate a belief that centers on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object that is believed to be supernatural, sacred, or divine. One factor that distinguishes various religions is the number of gods that followers worship. Religions are monotheistic because they believe in one supreme being or god. In contrast to monotheism, polytheistic religions believe in more than one supreme or deity. Polytheistic religions practiced today include Hinduism and Shintoism.
Universalizing Religions
Universalizing religions offer belief systems that are attractive to the universal population. They look for new members and welcome anyone and everyone who wishes to adopt their belief system. Universalizing religions have many diverse members, who come from different ethnic backgrounds, hence the term universal. Therefore, it is evident that universal religions consist of many different ethnic groups because they convert and accept anyone of any background and are usually not closely tied to one location.
Major Universalizing Faiths
- Christianity: Christianity is the largest universalizing religion, both in area and in number, with about two billion adherents. Founded on the teachings of Jesus, Christianity is monotheistic, believing that God is a Trinity and Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
- Islam: Islam is the second largest universalizing religion with over 1.5 billion adherents. In Arabic, Islam means “submitting to the will of God”. The two branches of Islam are Sunni and Shiite.
- Buddhism: Buddhism is the fourth largest religion, with about 350 million adherents. It was founded in Northern India by the first known Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, and the core Buddhist belief is reincarnation.
Ethnic Religions and the World Religions Paradigm
Origin and predominate location define ethnic and universalizing religions and help explain how the religion diffused over time. World religions is a socially-constructed category that demarcates religions deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential. This typically consists of the "big five" religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
However, the inclusion of Judaism in the "Big Five" raises some issues. On demographic grounds, it does not fit into the list, for there are far fewer Jews in the world than there are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Similarly, it does not fit into the list if the groups are defined by a desire to spread internationally, because Judaism historically has been a non-proselytizing religion.
Religious Symbolism and Traditions
A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Symbolic representation of a specific religious tradition is useful in a society with religious pluralism. For example, the Christian cross has traditionally been a symbol representing Christianity or Christendom as a whole, while the Wheel of Dharma represents Gautama Buddha's teaching of the path to Nirvana.
Comparison of Major World Religions
| Religion | Type | Adherents (Approx.) | Key Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christianity | Universalizing | 2 Billion | Cross and Cruciform |
| Islam | Universalizing | 1.5 Billion | Star and crescent |
| Buddhism | Universalizing | 350 Million | Wheel of Dharma |
| Judaism | Ethnic | Varies | Star of David |
| Hinduism | Ethnic | Varies | Om |