Chapter 6, Key Issue 3

Why Do Religions Organize

Space in Distinctive
Patterns?
● Sacred Space
● The Calendar
● Administration of
Space
Places of Worship in ● Church, basilica, mosque, temple, pagoda, and
Universalizing Religions synagogue are familiar names that identify places of
worship in various religions. Physical “anchors”.
Christian Churches ● The Christian landscape is dominated by a high density
of churches. The word church derives from Greek,
meaning lord, master, and power.
Muslim Mosques ● Muslims consider a mosque to be a space for
community assembly to pray together for worship.
Buddhist Pagodas ● Pagoda is a prominent and visually attractive element
of the Buddhist landscape. Includes tall, many-sided
towers arranged in a series of tiers, balconies, and
slanting roofs. Pagodas contain relics that Buddhists
believe to be a portion of Buddha’s body or clothing.
Baha’i Houses of Worship ● Bahai’is have built Houses of Worship in Wilmette,
Illinois in 1954; Sydney, Australia, and Kampala,
Uganda in 1961; Langenhain, Germany 1964; Panama
City, Panama 1972…
Sikhism’s Golden Temple of ● Sikhism’s most holy structure, the Darbar Sahib, or
Amritsar Golden Temple, was built at Amritsar, in the Punjab by
Arjan, the fifth guru, during the 16th century.
Sacred Places in ● Ethnic religions have less widespread distribution
Universalizing Religions because holy places come from physical environment
of its hearth, universalizing religion endows holiness
cities and other places associated with founder’s life.
Buddhist Shrines ● Eight places are holy to Buddhists because they were
the locations of important events in Buddha’s life.
Lumbini, Buddha born; Bodh Gaya, Buddha achieves
perfect wisdom; Deer Park, Buddha gives first sermon;
Kusinagara, Buddha dies at age 80; Sravasti, Buddha
creates multiple images of himself and visited heaven;
Samkasya, ascended into heaven, preached to his mom,
returned to Earth; Rajagrha, Tamed a wild elephant;
Vaisala, Buddha’s site announcement of his death.
Holy Places in Islam ● Cities associated with Muhammad’s life. Holiest city
would be Makkah, birthplace of Muhammad.
The Landscape in Ethnic ● One of the principal reasons that ethnic religions are
Religions highly clustered is that they are closely tied to the
physical geography of a particular place.
Hindu Landscape ● Hinduism is closely tied to the physical geography of
India. Most holiest shrines in India are riverbanks and
coastlines. Hindus consider a pilgrimage, tirtha, to be
an act of purification. Important act in redemption.
Hindu Temples ● Asian ethnic and universalizing religions have
important religious functions that are more likely to
take place at home within the family. Hindu temples
contain a small, dimly lit interior room where a
symbolic artifact or some other image of the god rests.
Cosmogony ● - A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the
universe.
Cosmogony in Ethnic ● Chinese ethnic religions believe that the universe is
Religions made up of two forces, yin and yang, which exists in
everything. The forces interact with each other to
achieve balance and harmony, but in constant state of
change.
Cosmogony in ● The universalizing religions that originated in
Universalizing Religions Southwest Asia, notably Christianity and Islam,
consider God created the universe, including Earth’s
physical environment and human beings.
The Solstice ● -Has special significance in some ethnic religions.
Solstice is a major holiday in some pagan religions.
Stonehenge were apparently aligned with regard for the
solstice.
Disposing of the Dead ● Prominent example of religiously inspired arrangement
of land at a smaller scale is burial practices.
Burial ● Christians, Muslims, and Jews usually bury their dead
in a specially designated area called a cemetery.
Other Methods of Disposing ● Not all faiths bury their dead. Hindus generally practice
of Bodies cremation rather than burial. Body is washed with
water from the Ganges River and the burned with a
slow fire on a funeral pyre. Reserved for children,
ascetics, and people with certain diseases.
Religious Settlements and ● Buildings for worship and burial places are smaller-
Place Names scale manifestations of religion on the landscape but
there are larger-scale examples- entire settlements.
● - an ideal community built around a religious way of
Utopian Settlements life.
● Roman Catholic immigrants have frequently given
Religious Place Names religious toponyms to their settlements in the New.
● Judaism is classified as an ethnic religion because its
The Calendar in Judaism major holidays are based on events in the agricultural
calendar of present-day Israel. Passover- Liberation of
Jews in Egypt. Sukkot- Final gathering- agriculture
 offered to another success in agricultural year. Shavuot-
Date when Moses received 10 commandments from
God. Rosh Hashanah- Two most holy and solemn days
come in autumn, hope and worry whether the upcoming
winter’s rainfall is enough.
● Islam uses lunar calendar. In a 30 year cycle, Islamic
The Calendar in calendar has 19 years of 354 days, 11 years with 355.
Universalizing Religions ● Baha’i: Year divided into 19 month and 19 days each.
● Christianity: Christians commemorate the resurrection
of Jesus on Easter, first Sunday after the first full Moon
following the spring equinox in late March.
● Buddhism: Celebrate as major holidays Buddha’s birth,
Enlightenment, and death.
● Sikhism: Births and deaths of the religion’s 10 gurus.
● -Well- defined geographic structure and organizes
Hierarchical Religions territory into local administrative units.
● Mormons exercise strong organization of the landscape.
Latter-Day Saints ● Pope- bishop of the Diocese of Rome. Archbishops -
report to the Pope. Each heads a province, which is a
Roman Catholic Hierarchy group of several dioceses. Bishops- report to an
archbishop. Priests- report to bishops, parishes each
headed by a priest.
● - Self sufficient and interaction among communities is
confined to little more than loose cooperation and
Locally Autonomous sharing ideas.
Religions ● Islam has neither a religious hierarchy nor a formal
territorial organization. Muezzin calls the faithful to
Local Autonomy in Islam prayer, but everyone expected to participate equally.
● Protestant Christian denominations vary in geographic
structure from extremely autonomous to somewhat
Protestant Denominations hierarchical.
● Judaism requires 10 males for service while Hinduism
is done alone or with others in the household.
Ethnic Religions ● Religious structures, such as churches and mosques, are
prominent features of the landscape.
Check-In ● Some religions encourage pilgrimages to holy places.
● Ethnic religions are more closely tied to their local
physical environment than are universalizing religions.

● The calendar typically revolves around the physical

environment in ethnic religions and the founder’s life in
Check-In (Cont.) universalizing religions.
● Some religions have hierarchical administrative
structures, whereas others emphasize local autonomy.
● This chapter discusses distinctive patterns that religions
have placed on the landscape. Religions have
Summary constructed places of worship. Some examples would
be churches, mosques, and pagodas. The constructed
places of worship also derive distinctive meaning from
the physical landscape. Religious communities are
built, religious toponyms mark the landscape, and
extensive tracts are reserved for burying the dead.