ABSTRACT

This book, the first in the field for two decades, looks at the relationships between geography and religion. It represents a synthesis of research by geographers of many countries, mainly since the 1960s. No previous book has tackled this emerging field from such a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, and never before have such a variety of detailed case studies been pulled together in so comparative or illuminating a way. Examples and case studies have been drawn from all the major world religions and from all continents from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Major themes covered in the book include the distribution of religion and the processes by which religion and religious ideas spread through space and time. Some of the important links between religion and population are also explored. A great deal of attention is focused on the visible manifestations of religion on the cultural landscape, including landscapes of worship and of death, and the whole field of sacred space and religious pilgrimage.

chapter 1|30 pages

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION

Context and content

chapter 2|25 pages

REFLECTIONS ON RELIGION

chapter 3|37 pages

DISTRIBUTIONS

Spatial patterns of religion

chapter 4|35 pages

DIFFUSION

Religious beliefs and organisations

chapter 5|41 pages

DYNAMICS

How religions change

chapter 6|28 pages

RELIGION AND POPULATION

chapter 7|48 pages

RELIGION AND LANDSCAPE

chapter 8|41 pages

SACRED PLACES AND PILGRIMAGE