First—The test asks a couple of questions about religious conflict in Lebanon. Make sure you brush up on this section in the book. Know the religions that are there and the history about changing majority populations and the constitution.

Religious Regions of Lebanon

Small-scale world

religion maps fail

to show local

details

Understanding

religion regions is

key to several

current conflicts

Sacred Space

Sacred space is space that has special

religious significance and meaning that makes it worth of reverence or devotion. It creates strong attachments between people and territory.•Places (Zion—SLC, Jerusalem)•Sites (temples, Western Wall)•Not necessarily territorially defined (prayer)•Can be a source of disagreement and conflict (federal land vs Native American collection of sage, mesquite, salmon, etc.) (Americans in Saudia Arabia)•Protection of sacred territory/sites (Mecca & Medina)•Pilgrimage

Community, identity and scale: Religion can provide a strong basis for community and individual identity.

ie: Islam—umma = worldwide population of Muslims (transcends doctrinal difference and geographic separation)Dar-al-Islam = countries that are majority MuslimMosque = local, communityFasting during Ramadan & Hijab = individual, body

Religion and settlement:

Diasporic religious communities (communities that have become displaced from their religious hearths) This often causes the development of strong ideas about specific territories—not as holy land, but as a homeland.

•Mormons (even extends to urban patterns)•Jews

Religious Law and Social Space

Religion has a major presence in both public and private space. Laws, education and government can all be influenced by religion—more so in some states (countries) than others.

•Blue Laws (alcohol, cars, hunting, horse racing, etc.)•Sabbath observance in Jewish communities•Kosher (food) Laws•Sharia Law (next slide)

Sharia Law continued:

-Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Maldives (constitution recognizes Islamic Law as a principal basis for legislation)

-Malaysia, Nigeria, Gambia (constitution recognizes the use of Islamic law in certain domains)

Sharia Law continued

-Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Comoros (constitution does not recognize Islamic law as a principal basis for legislation)

-Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (constitution specifically declares the state secular)

Visible on the Landscape:

Examples of Religion on the Cultural Landscape

Places of worship

Shrines, pilgrimage sites

Cemeteries, mausolea

Sacred spaces

Stonehenge, southern England (Druid site)

Sacred SpacesSites of special religious significance (experiences, events)Hallowed grounds that are preserved across generationsFor believers, places endowed with divine meaning

Paha Sapa Kin Wiyopeya Unkiyapi kte sni yelo!!

We never sold the Black Hills!!

(Lakota expression)

Jepara, southern Sumatra

Melang, Java

Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra

MOSQUE

STYLES IN

INDONESIA

Shrine at Lourdes, southern France

Cathedral at Chartres, France

Methodist-Congregationalist

(Protestant) church, southwest Quebec,

Canada

St. Basil’s

(Russian Orthodox), Red Square, Moscow

Mid-City Cemetery

New Orleans

Recoleto Cemetery

Buenos Aires

Jewish cemetery,

Chicago

Temple Beth El (1973), Bloomington Hills, Mich.

Synagogue, Jewish quarter, Prague

(13th century)

Western (Wailing) Wall, Jerusalem

Buddhist stupa, Thailand

(Hemispherical shape is typical, but different forms of Buddhism use differing types and levels of ornamentation.)

Statue of Buddha

Hindu temple,

Northern India

Taj Mahal (Agra, India) –Islamic mausoleum

Hindu cremation ceremony, India

Friday prayers, Grand Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: The Hajj

Civil Religion

The concept of sacredness can occur outside of religion. The way we respect/honor/reverence political leaders, veterans, flags, etc. ties in with sanctification.

Geographer Kenneth Foote uses the site of the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing as an example of this sanctification. (April 1995)

1. The Event

2. Informal consecration: emerging consensus and spontaneous memorials (this went on for five years)

3. Formal ConsecrationOfficial consensus for a permanent monument

4. Final Consecration:Solemn dedication of the site

Ritual Commemoration

Memorial SpacesHow similar to, and how different from, “sacred space”?

Think of “Civil Religion”