Many "Worlds" in One

1. Density and Distribution of Religions

Take a look at the map below. Here you see the global distribution of the religions of the world. The first thing that stands out is the dense concentration of each. There’s a close relationship between geography and religion. This is due to the origin, expansion, and vitality of indigenous religions as well as their spreading to other regions.

hint

But it's also important to remember that there is religious diversity all over the world. Many places are home to multiple religions, so parts of this map could be dotted with many colors.

Starting in East Asia, in shades of yellow and gold, Buddhism predominates, especially Mahayana Buddhism in China and Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia. In South Asia, Hinduism is represented in orange. There is also a strong Muslim presence, which is not detailed on this map. To the north, in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe and represented in pink, Orthodox Christianity is very widely spread, though many are non-observant and non-practicing. With this map, you have to keep in mind that the 16% categorized as unaffiliated, or nonreligious, are not very well represented. Some of these concentrations on this map are in fact speckled with atheists, agnostics, or otherwise non-religious.

The next thing that might catch your eye is the shades of green, representing Islam. The Middle East is predominantly Muslim, both Sunni and Shia. There are, of course, Jewish and Christian populations as well as some tribal minorities. North Africa is also predominantly, Muslim, as is Indonesia in the Indian Ocean.

did you know

Islam, like many religions, has a long history of conquest with a broad reach. In the 11th century, traders brought the Islamic faith to Indonesia, which is today the largest Muslim country.

The light blue areas represent the Protestant branches of Christianity, and the purple areas show where Catholic Christianity is dominant. Together with Orthodox Christianity, this makes up approximately one-third of the total world population. As you might be able to see, the Americas are overwhelmingly Christian, although many other religions are also practiced here. For example, the indigenous religions are too scant to represent on a general map such as this, but they are still practiced in many tribal communities.

On this map, Western Europe is also cloaked in Christianity. This is to a large extent more of a reflection of its history than the situation today. In general, Western Europe boasts secularism in addition to having a majority who are non-practicing. Eastern Europe is also predominantly Christian and generally more practiced than Western Europe. Eastern Europe also has a strong Muslim presence, as does England. However, this fact is also not reflected on this general prevailing religions map.

What is clearly presented here is the broad diversity of religious faiths and traditions around the globe and their concentrations according to geography.

Yet each individual country has its own particular relationship to a common religion. A distant and secular one, such as many countries in Western Europe, or a theocratic one, such as Iran, or it might have a national church, such as the Church of England.

did you know

England in fact has more practicing Muslims than Anglicans.

term to know

Secularism

The state of being secular or non-religious; the practice of any organization or group that actively rejects the use of religion in its structure, goals, purpose, or organization.

2. United Nations

How does it all work as one world? Well, institutions of objective rule and justice, such as the United Nations, exist to help maintain unity. They are supposed to administer this process by maintaining and respecting the religious diversity of its member states while remaining a secular institution operating without preference for religious ideology or belief.

However, this can mean the United Nations is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Imagine voting on resolutions dealing with anti-defamation of religion, freedom of speech, and the press when it runs against accusations of religious blasphemy.