MODIFIED STRATEGIC INTERVENTION MATERIAL

SHS
WORLD RELIGIONS
AND BELIEF SYSTEM
QUARTER 1 – WEEK 2
Interconnectedness of Geography,
Culture, and Religions

8
 THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION

Hello there, learner!

Geography is divided into Physical and Cultural Geography. The geography of
religion provides a better understanding of its roots and development. Are you
ready to explore the connection between geography, culture, and religion?

Geography has a distinct shaping influence on people’s everyday life.

This influence extends to the religious traditions that had developed to
certain pla ces that are distinct and diverse. among others.

Analyze the interconnectedness of geograph y,

culture, and religions
*To determine the influence of geography and culture on
the development of religion.

Are you ready to test your prior knowledge?

Don’t worry if you know little so far. You can
always go ba ck and re -check your answer.

A. IDENTIFICATION. Select the best answer from the list of themes in the geographic study of
religion below. Write only the letter of the c orrect answer.
A. Religious Regions D. Religious Landscapes
B. Religious Ecology E. Religious Diffusion
C. Religion and Society
1. Intera ction of religious faith with other c omponents of culture.
2. Spreading of religion across space.
3. Pla ces where a religion is practic ed.
4. Religious imprint on the material cultural landscape.
5. Perception and intera ction of religions with their natural environments.
B. FACT or BLUFF
__ 1. The universal religions are also called proselytic religions.
__ 2. Islam is classified as an ethnic religion.
__ 3. The concept of universalization of religion is grounded in the “ethic of humanity.”
4. Exclusive religion is associated with a particular ethnic group, which customarily
does not proselytize.
5. The landscapes largely shape historical religious structures and their built
locations, out of which they are born.
6. Judaism is a non- exclusive religion.
7. Non-exclusive religions are polytheist.
__ 8. Exclusive religions are monotheist in nature.
__ 9. As an ethnic religion, Christianity spreads spatially at a slow rate.
__ 10. Religion is known to be universal if it is found in all known contemporary societies.

1
 In the previous SIM, you have learned about the
regions or pla ces where specific religions
evolved and their culture. Identify in the map
the religion that developed/originated from the
various regions of the world.

Can you give an instance in world history that geography has influenced religion
and culture has influence d religion?

Influence of Geography to Religion Influence of Culture to Religion

According to Alberto R.W. Green

(2003), “in the cultural and religious
evolutions of any region, certain
inherent geographical and
climatological factors contribute
substant ially to the local conception
of a deity.” For example, in southern
Mesopotamia, the Sumerian god
Iškur was responsible for storms, wind,
lightning, rain, and thunder. Can you
give an example of a deity being
conceived out of the geographical
realm? Explain the geographical
aspect associated with the said deity.

2
 Geography of Religion:
Geographical Contextualization
Acc ording to a Geography of
Religion theoretical perspective,
religions inherently are
“ geographically contextualized”:
prevailing political, social, religious,
and physical -geographical
conditions evident within a
particular localit y are understood to
influenc e the development and
manifestation of that locality’s
religious traditions at any given
point in time.
Which among these themes do you
usually use in studying other
religions? What makes that
interesting to you?

Identification. Determine in which theme of the geographic study of religion

the following statements are associated. Write the letter of your answer.

A. Religious Regions B. Religious Ecology C. Religion and Society D. Religious Landscapes E. Religious Diffusion
1. Religion is also important, if not the primary, component of ethnicity.
2. It may study Christianity, for example, in the context of its most common division between
Western Christianity (unified Roman Catholic Church and highly divided Protestant denominations)
& Eastern Christianity (Coptics, Maronites, Nestorians & Eastern Orthodox churches).
3. Religion can be integrated with politics and governmen t.
4. Religion has a house of worship such as building, temple, synagogue, or mosque that
frequently have distinctive architecture based on religion.
5. Religion also plays a vital role in environmental perception and whether people view the
environment as an ally or something to fear.
6. Religion can influence economic geography.
7. The geography of religion also concerns itself with how religious belief aids in appeasing
the forces of nature.
8. Religion has its practice for the burial of the dead.
9. It may study any faiths based on its view of natural features as sa cred, including rivers,
forests, springs, and mountains.
10. Most religions have spread through contagious expansion diffusion, meaning increasing
numerically through direct contact of individuals.
11. All human -made religious features are considered sacred, but sacred space also
extends to physical feature s such as mountains, rivers, etc.
12. It may study animism as a common pra ctice in less developed parts of Africa, South
America, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia.
13. Religious faith influences birth rates and other demographic ch aracteristics.
14. Geographers analyzed the environmental attitudes of various faiths because some
religions promote the preservation, and others seem to encourage environmental exploitation.
15. All religions have a source area or a hearth where their diffusion started (e.g., The Semitic
Hearth, found in Southwest Asia, is the source area of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Hinduism and
Buddhism both originated in the Indo -Gangetic Hearth at the northern edge of the Indian
subcontinent of A sia).

3
 Is your religion
universal or ethnic?
Why?

Pla ce the religions to their appropriate c ategory.

Buddhism Christianity Confucianism Daoism Hinduism

Islam Jainism Judaism Shintoism Sikhism

UNIVERAL RELIGIONS ETHNIC RELIGIONS

_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________

Search for other examples of

non-exclusive religions. Give
two and justify.

Universalization is grounded in the “ethic of humanity,” which is

“premised on the idea that ethnic, gendered, or national differences
should not be allowed to disguise the fact that – essentially – we are
all humans. With this, differences are downplayed in favor of that
which unites us all - our humanity. Make a speech explaining
universalization as a sense of religious inclusivity contesting pluralism
Criteria Description Points Pts. Obtained
The concept was clearly
Organization 6
and creatively conveyed.
Important concepts were
Content highlighted and explained 7
in at least 500 words
The idea was clearly and
Presentation artistically presented in the 7
paragraphs
Total 20

4
Search and
describe one ritual
performed by an
indigenous group
that caught your
attention.

List at least three (3) indigenous groups, either in the Philippines or in

foreign countries, and present their beliefs & their cultural relevance.

5
• Geography and culture affect the establishment and development of religions.
• The five themes on the geographic study of religions include religious regions, religious
ecology, religion and society, religious landscapes , and religious diffusion.
• Geographers primarily categorize religion into two types: universal (found in all known
contemporary societies) and ethnic (limited to a certain loc al/group).
• Religions can also be exclusive (monotheistic) and non- exclusive (pol ytheistic).

Make a four- stanza poem depicting the

connection between geography, religion, and
culture.

A. Identification. Determine in which theme of the geographic study of religion the

following statements are associated. Write only the letter of the correct answer.

A. Religious Regions
B. Religious Ecology
C. Religion and Society
D. Religious Landscapes
E. Religious Diffusion

__ _1. Pilgrimages act of religious devotion usually involves large numbers of people traveling in
various ways to places that are often the setting of miracles, sacred physical features, or
the geographic origin of faith.
__ _2. Hinduism and Buddhism both originated in the Indo -Gangetic Hearth at the northern edge
of the Indian subcontinent of A sia.
__ _3. Many religious groups have overt taboos, or the prohibition against certain items or
a ctivities, e.g., caffeine is forbidden to members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints and, subsequently, influences the sale of some bevera ges.
__ _4. The Eastern Orthodox Church is strong in the former Soviet Union, parts of Europe, and
North Afri ca.
__ _5. Most Protestant denominations view a church building as simply a pla ce to worship
and assemble.

B. Analogy
1. Christianity: Univ ersal Religion; Hinduism:
2. Exclusive Religion: _ _; Non -exclusive Religion: Polytheistic
3. Confucianism: Ethnic Religion; Islam: __
4. Universal Religion: _ _; Ethnic Religion: Non -proselytic
5. Judaism: Exclusive Religion; Shintoism: