Religion and Society @ Damascus College Ballarat
  • Home
  • Unit 1
    • Early Start >
      • Spirituality
      • Can Religion Be Defined?
    • Outcome 1 The nature and purpose of religion >
      • Truth Narrative
      • Understanding Human Need
      • Theories Explaining Religion
      • World Distribution Of Major Belief Systems
      • The Nine Aspects of Religious Traditions >
        • Rituals in Society
        • Religious Festivals of Life
        • Islam (Sunni)
        • Judaism (Orthodox)
    • Outcome 2 Religion through the ages >
      • The Nature of Religion In the Ancient World
      • Ancient Religions Research
      • Australian Indigenous Religion
    • Outcome 3 Religion in Australia >
      • History, Statistics and Relationships >
        • Historical Perspectives
        • Sacred Spaces
        • Statistics of Religion
        • Government Policies
        • Religious Leaders
        • Australian Spirituality
        • Personal & Community Stories
        • Ecumenism
        • Interfaith Dialogue
        • Future of Religion in Australia
      • Personal Meaning / Tensions >
        • Personal Religious Identity
        • Who is your God?
        • Stages of Faith Development
        • Tensions and Ethical Positions
    • Revision and Exam Preparation
  • Unit 3
    • Early Start R&S 3/4 >
      • Holiday Homework
    • AREA OF STUDY 1 Responding to the search for meaning
    • AREA OF STUDY 2 Expressing meaning
    • AREA OF STUDY 3 Significant life experience, religious beliefs and faith
  • Unit 4
    • AREA OF STUDY 1 Challenge and response
    • AREA OF STUDY 2 Interaction of religion and society
    • Unit 3&4 Exam Preparation
  • Year 12 Certificate
    • Early Start Certificate 12
    • Term 1
    • Term 2 & 3
  • VCAL RE
    • VCAL 11
    • VCAL 12

World Distribution Of Major Belief Systems

Find a world map colour in the map based on the worlds current Religious Affiliation. It is a complex but significant task to understand where different religious traditions are currently most prevalent.

Picture
Because of modern communications and the movement of people around the world, followers of all of these major belief systems may be found in the same city. Cultures and religions influence one another as they meet, and over a period of time their character may change and the relative influence in an area can change. Some examples of this:

  1. In much of Africa and South America, a number of the variants of Christianity exists alongside the traditional local tribal and animistic religions, also known as ethno-religions
  2. The three religions traditionally followed in China are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism and some Chinese may accept parts of all three, and the country is strongly influenced by Communism.
  3. In Japan, Shinto (the name given to the many traditional Japanese cults) is practised alongside Buddhism. There are a number of variants of Buddhism practised in Japan. As of December 2006, the Japanese Government recognized 154 schools of Buddhism includingTendai, Shingon, Jodo, Zen (Soto and Rinzai sects), Nichiren, and Narabukkyo. 
world_map.doc
File Size: 31 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

How many adherents are there?

Use the international tab of the ADRD site to develop responses to the following in a manner that can be presented.

  • What is the country?
  • What is the distribution of the religions in the country? Graph
  • Identify the dominant religious tradition
  • World Region? Map
  • Flag? Image
  • Population?
  • Total Area (sq.miles)?
  • Life Expectancy at Birth?
  • Gross National Income Per Capita?
  • Official Religion(s) or Church(es)?
  • History of the country?
  • Why is the dominant religions is such a position?
 
Presentation of findings
After the presentation of findings …
Student write a brief response to the following
  • How can the movement of religions around the globe be explained?
  • What might have contributed to their growth or decline of a religious tradition in a given area of the globe?

For your GLOSSARY

Adherent
Variant
Sect
​Denomination
Conversion
Invasion
Genocide
Migration
Awakening
Picture

Where did the religions come from?

Middle Eastern Religions:
 Christianity (Palestine)
  • Roman Catholicism (later Europe)
  • Protestantism (later Northern Europe)
  • Eastern Orthodox (later Greece, Russia)
 Islam (Arabia)
  • Shi'ite
  • Sunni
Judaism (Palestine)
Zoroastrianism (Iran)


Far Eastern (Asian) Religions:
  • Confucianism (China)
  • Taoism (China)
  • Shinto (Japan)
  • Mahayana Buddhism (India later China, Mongolia)
  • Vajrayana Buddhism (India later Tibet)

Indian Religions:

  • Hinduism
  • Sikhism
  • Jainism
  • Theravada Buddhism (later Thailand - Sri Lanka)

African Religions:
  • Tribal Religions of Sub-Saharan Africa

American Religions:
  • Religions of Indigenous American Indians

Oceanic Religions:
  • The religions of the Pacific Islanders
  • The beliefs of the Aborigines of Australia
  • The beliefs of the Maoris of New Zealand

Picture
Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly