FR Discuss Islam and Hinduism as contrasting traditions The Hindu emphasis on the plurality of the divine within the oneness of reality contrasts with the Muslim affirmation of the oneness of God.
The Hindu use the iconic representations of the divine contrasts with the Muslim prohibition of such representations. The Hindu tradition is associated with place and linked to the land of India. It is more a way of life than a creed. Islam, by contrast, is transcultural and based on a creed.
The Hindu tradition is socially hierarchical (e.g., caste system), while Islam is socially egalitarian. The Hindu tradition is vegetarian, while Islam includes the sacrificial slaughter of animals.
FR With reference to each of the following, explain how religion has shaped the cultural landscape. Support each explanation with one specific example. Place Names Sacred Sites Burial Sites Architecture
Place Names confirm the importance of religion in everyday life
Place Names promote regional distinctiveness
In Quebec there are many Catholic toponyms
The most basic act by a religious group is the designation of sacred space.
Sacred sites: a geographic intersection between the divine and the mortal
sacred site shows the impact of religion on the cultural landscape through: the ongoing preservation of space the visitation of holy sites/pilgrimages by adherents tension/conflict over use of sacred site
Examples of this tension are Native American site in Hawaii and North America,
Jerusalem,
The Partition of India in 1947 resulted in the creation of the Hindu state of India and the Muslim state of Pakistan (East and West)
The Babri Mosque (destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people. More than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in ensuing riots in many major Indian cities)
Tenochtitlan/Mexico City
Architecture in religion: special buildings used for worship/meditation/spiritual functions makes the landscape distinctive
attracts tourists
Burial sites: places to preserve the dead
Affects local land use Cemetery in Hong Kong "Gardens of stone" view at Arlington National Cemetery.
Makes the landscape distinctive
The Mexican Day of the Dead (November 1) is an occasion for great festivities. Every family prays to the souls of dead relatives so that they will return to Earth for one night. A candle is lit for each soul to help it find its way back to the land of the living.
Impose conformity on the landscape
Cemeteries are vulnerable to desecration
Examples of types of burials: cremation (Hinduism)
park-like cemeteries (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) catacombs exposure of dead burial at sea.
Religion and the Environment Religious ideas may be responsible for some of the changes people make in the physical environment
One of the main functions of many religions is the maintenance of a harmonious relationship between a people and their physical environment.
Religion can influence environmental perception and modification (ap syllabus) FR Discuss how Christian, Animistic, and Taoist views on nature are different. Use specific examples with regards to Christianity in your answer.
Religious Perspectives on Nature Judeo-Christianperspective: the earth was created especially for humans, who are separate from and superior to the natural world. (teleology) TQ Plants Humans Animals Creation/ Universe
Believing that the Earth was given to humans for their use, early Christian thinkers adopted the view that humans were God s helpers in finishing the task of creation, human modifications of the environment were God s work
Christians are more likely to consider floods, droughts, and other natural disasters to be preventable and may take steps to overcome the problem by modifying the environment. cultivating the land draining wetlands clearing forests building cities dams, etc.
Some Christians regard natural disasters as punishment for sins
animistic perspective: humans are extensions of animate and inanimate nature. Humans Nature Inanimate objects/ Cosmos Plants Animals
animistic principal goal is to mediate between people and the spirit-infested forces of nature.
Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body. The shaman also enters supernatural dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community.
Adherents of ethnic religions do not attempt to transform the environment to the same extent. God/gods can be placated through prayer and sacrifice
Environmental hazards may be accepted as normal and unavoidable
Similarly, rivers, mountains, trees, forests, and rocks often achieve the status of sacred space.
Taoist perspective: nature should be valued for its own sake, not for how it might be exploited.
Doaist believe humans should try to live in harmony with nature by balancing the opposite forces of nature, called yin and yang