ABSTRACT
Historians interested in climatology have argued that, because Jewish monotheism and its offshoots Christianity and Islam originated in a harsh desert climate, they envisioned a creator deity, a supreme and almighty god, who demanded submission and rigorous distinctions between good and evil. This contrasts with the densely populated lands of East Asia, where getting along implies religious tolerance. When one lives in such close proximity to so many others, this view assumes, one becomes tolerant without having to make an issue of it.
