Geography Education

As mentioned earlier, a South American pope was a symbolic recognition of the demographic shift in the Church's population away from Europe. 

Tags: culture, religion, Christianity.

This New York Times video highlights two current media campaigns that are in their own struggle to shape the meaning(s) of the word jihad for the American public.  While the definition of "Holy War" is often quoted, it also means a struggle.  When you hear the word jihad, who's jihad do you think of first?  The cultural context within which a word is used might not be the same context in which the message is received and interpreted.  This disconnect can be a part of cultural conflicts and misunderstandings.   

Tags: Islam, perspective, religion, culture, USA.

As Europe has become an increasingly secularized set of societies, the demographic based of the Catholic Church has shifted south.  However, the power structure has not migrated south as the European cardinals still are a majority (although 2/3 vote necessary to elect the next pope). 

Tags: Christianity, culture, diffusion, religion.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is one of the best sources for information of culture and religion.  This is a great data set of global religions, complete with maps, charts and graphs.  

Tags: religion, culture, unit 3 culture.

This is an interesting article; place and context mediate cultural interactions.  I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to be a Muslim in the Boston area right now.  This geographer wishes that everyone could feel safe everywhere.    

Tags: terrorism, religion, Boston, Islam.

The majority of the most religious metros are concentrated in the South or Utah.  This particular weekend, many of the rythmns of urban life in Utah cities are remarkably visible as the LDS church holds it's semi-annual General Conference.  On the opposite side of spectrum, 5 of the 10 least religious metros are in New England; the west coast is the other center of diminished religiosity (with a mini-center in Colorado). 

Questions to ponder: What cultural patterns help to partially explain the levels of religiosity in the United States?  What other factors explain the patterns of religiosity in your in your local area? 

Tags: USA, culture, religion, Christianity.

Some folk cultures, such as the Samaritans, have historically intermarried and have been plagued by genetic diseases.  Recently, they have turned to global solutions to their local demographic woes.  "Five young women from Russia and Ukraine have moved to this hilltop village in recent years to marry local men, breathing new life into the community."  

Tags:  folk culture, gender, population, Russia, religion, culture,
Middle East. 

The juxtaposition of the hypermodern coverage of the election of a new pope (telecasts, social media, instantaneous global network coverage, etc.) with the archaic medieval rituals of the conclave (locked doors, smoke signals, etc.)  is endlessly fascinating to me.  Even in the 21st century, there is a place for the traditional.   So who is Pope Francis?  As the first South American pope, some feel this reflects the southern demographic shift within the Catholic Church. Also, click here for the science behind the white vs. black smoke. 

Tags: culture, religion, Christianity.

The geography of religion, even in an era of secularization, is still a powerful  indicator of many patterns of human geography.  What is the religious profile of your state?  What is the spatial distribution of the religious tradition with which you identify?  What explains those spatial patterns?   

Tags: USA, culture, diffusion, religion, Christianity.

Hindu pilgrims from all over India flock to bathe where it the Yamuna Saraswati Rivers join with the Ganges River for a religious experience.  This is a massive undertaking where the cultural practices create migratory patterns that reshape cities because of a sacred physical geography. 

Some of the photography and photo galleries of this cultural event are breathtaking--literally for those taking the plunge.  Russians cut the ice in the shape of a cross and bath in water that is blessed and considered holy.  This appears to be a religious tradition that is particularly adapted to the environmental conditions of the religious adherents (since it appears that the extreme climate plays a critical role in the activity).  Part of the practice involves sacrifice; the colder the swim, the greater the manifestation of religious devotion.    

Tags: Russia, religion, culture. 

This New York Times short video is an intriguing glimpse into some of the cultural pressures behind having the designation of being an official world heritage site.  The grerat mosque combined with the traditional mud-brick feel to the whole city draws in tourists and is a source of communal pride, but many homeowners want to modernize and feel locked into traditional architecture by outside organizations that want them to preserve an 'authentic' cultural legacy.

Tags: Islam, tourism, place, religion, culture, historical, community, Mali, Africa.