THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION
Step 1: create a map of the spatial distribution of the world’s main religions
Using a blank World Map, open your textbook to pages 175-176 (10th edition), and
follow these instructions:
A. Christianity: color the Roman Catholic cultural realm (a/k/a the countries
where Roman Catholicism is the majority religion) in yellow
color the Protestant cultural realm in orange
color the Eastern Orthodox cultural realm in red
Create a legend on your map identifying which religious branches correspond to what colors.
Important note about Christianity and language: what language branch predominates
in areas that are mainly
-- Roman Catholic: ________________________
-- Protestant: _____________________________
-- Eastern Orthodox: _______________________
Think about the cultural significance of this fact: why might people speaking different
languages, from different language branches, have practiced Christianity so differently
that they formed a different branch of that religion?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
B. Islam:
color the Sunni Muslim cultural realm in green
color the Shiite Muslim cultural realm in blue
Add this information to the legend.
Important note about Islam and language: what is the name of the largest country that
is entirely within the Shiite cultural realm? ____________ What language family,
language branch, and language predominate in that country? _____________________
________________________________ What language family and language predominate
in the countries to the west of that country?___________________/________________
Once again, why might people speaking different languages, from different language
families, form a different branch of Islam?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
C. Buddhism: color the Buddhist cultural realm in brown, and add this
information to your legend.
Buddhism has three major branches: Mahayana (located mainly in central and eastern
China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam), Theravada (located mainly in Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka), and Tantrayana (located mainly in western China [the
area known as Tibet] and Mongolia). Write the names of these branches on the appropriate
countries on your map. (You need to know these names; get used to them.)
D. Hinduism: color the Hindu cultural realm in red, and add this to your legend.
E. Other religions: mention on your map that Israel is the only predominantly
Jewish state, that Japan is the only predominantly Shinto state, and that Sikhism is
predominately found in the Punjab region of India.
Test yourself and a partner on your knowledge of the spatial distribution of these
religions.
Created by Jeff Reiman – updated 10th edition by David Palmer
Step 2: create a map of the spatial distribution of religion in the United States and
Europe: The United States and Europe are predominantly Christian. You are responsible
for knowing the spatial distribution of the major branches and denominations of
Christianity in the U.S. and Europe. Proceed as follows:
A. United States: Take a map of the U.S., and turn to page 172 of your textbook. You
do not need to be as precise as the textbook’s map, but you should know the following:
The Northeast: What is the main branch/denomination of Christianity in the
northeastern US? _____________ While not originally settled by this religion, its
dominance increased because of immigration in the 19th century. Identify a European
country was a source of this migration? _________________________ From the map of
Europe at page 171, what is the main religion of that European country?
_________________
The Southwest: What is the main branch/denomination of Christianity in the
southwestern US? _____________ What European country was most responsible for
settling that area in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries? ______________________ From the
map at page 171, what is the main religion of that European country? _______________
To the extent that the southwestern U.S.’s predominant religion reflects recent
immigration, from what country are the immigrants coming, and what is the main religion
of that country? ________________________________________________________
Southern Louisiana and South Florida: These areas are predominantly Roman
Catholic because of relocation diffusion. From where did the immigrants come?
So. Louisiana: _____________________ So. Florida: _____________________________
Color all Roman Catholic culture regions in yellow, and label them in a legend.
Color the other culture regions as follows: Lutheran in orange, Baptist in red, and
LDS in brown. Enter this data on the legend. (Do not worry about the other denominations
identified on the map in your textbook.)
B. Europe: Take a map of Europe, and turn to page 171 of your textbook. Again,
you do not need to be as precise as the textbook’s map, but you should know the following:
Color the Roman Catholic culture region in yellow, the Protestant culture region in
orange, and the Eastern Orthodox culture region in red. Identify the information in a
legend.
C. Test yourself: test yourself and a partner on your knowledge of the spatial
distribution of these religions.
Created by Jeff Reiman – updated 10th edition by David Palmer
RELIGION DISTRIBUTION STUDY GUIDE
Within the United States, which denomination of Christianity predominates in the following
regions?
1. Minnesota _______________________
3. Arizona _________________________
5. Maine ___________________________
7. Southern Florida ___________________
9. North Dakota _____________________
2. Southern Louisiana ___________________
4. Georgia ____________________________
6. Utah _______________________________
8. Tennessee __________________________
10. Massachusetts ______________________
Within Europe, which denomination of Christianity predominates in the following countries?
1. Spain ____________________________
3. United Kingdom ___________________
5. Germany _________________________
7. Ukraine __________________________
9. France ___________________________
2. Poland _____________________________
4. Ireland _____________________________
6. Sweden ____________________________
8. Greece _____________________________
10. Iceland ____________________________
Can you identify the portions of the United States that were originally settled by immigrants
from (a) France _____________________ (b) Spain_________________________
(c) Germany/Sweden/Norway ________________________ What pattern do you see?
___________________________________________________________________________
More recent immigration to the United States has occurred from Cuba and Mexico. Because
people prefer to live with others of the same ethnicity, those immigrants settled in regions in
which their religion was already predominant; due to chain migration, the families and friends
of these immigrants followed them to the same region; and due to the gravity model and the
concept of distance decay, those immigrants migrated shorter rather than longer distances.
Using these concepts, identify the regions to which Mexican and Cuban immigrants migrate.
Mexico ___________________________ Cuba __________________________________
Which religion/religious branch/religious denomination predominates in the following countries?
[Be as specific as you can: do not say “Islam” or “Christianity” if you can say “Sunni” or
“Eastern Orthodox.”] Can you close your eyes and see the world’s distribution of religions? If
not, keep working at it.
1. Algeria ____________________________2. Russia ________________________________
3. El Salvador ________________________ 4. India _________________________________
5. Canada ___________________________ 6. Eastern China__________________________
7. Vietnam ___________________________ 8. Australia _____________________________
9. Bolivia ____________________________ 10. Iran ________________________________
11. Japan ____________________________ 12. Turkey ______________________________
13. Western China _____________________ 14. South Africa _________________________
15. Belarus ___________________________ 16. Pakistan ____________________________
17. Saudi Arabia _______________________ 18. Laos _______________________________
19. Myanmar __________________________ 20. Argentina ___________________________
You are responsible for knowing where these countries are on a world map.
Created by Jeff Reiman – updated 10th edition by David Palmer