By this time there were 10000 people following the Islamic religion. Buddhism originated near the current Nepalese-Indian border. In fact, that is the key to a successful universalizing religion. Legal. His time was marked by scientific, cultural, and religious prosperity. Although military conquest occurred in the past, military campaigns have been rare since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. From its origins, the religion spread across what is now India and Nepal. Most of the Meccans did end up converting to Islam, though Muhammad didn't force anybody to convert. The Diffusion of Catholicism Currently, Catholicism (Roman) is the largest religious group of Christianity in the world. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Although there has been some migration of Muslims into western Europe, the percentages of Muslims in each country is small. The most recent of the world’s largest religions, Islam is also the one that is expanding the fastest (Figure 6.14). Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. In the same way that it has always changed, it will continue to do so. The one to take his place was Guru. France has the largest percentage of Muslims at 7.5%. Hinduism diffused into Southeast Asia (mostly India) and into the island of Bali in Indonesia. Start studying Exploring Culture: Diffusion of Religion. Christianity was founded in the eastern Mediterranean, although much like Buddhism, its greatest successes were found in other parts of the world (Figure 6.13). Through out history they killed mass numbers of Sikhs. This is not necessarily through conquest or conversion, but mostly through current demographics. Before his death he had instructed the construction of the Harmandir Sahib. To keep this in perspective, that is much lower than the percentage of Muslims in Spain in 1492. Diffusion of Islam Follow along as we show how Islam spread from a small community to one of the largest religions in the world. Later, Christianity was promoted through the process of colonialism, and as such, it was modified by the process that distributed it. Islam provides a blueprint for most aspects of life and as such, has often been associated with rapid expansion driven by military conquest. During the next 500 years, the religion continued to become more important in these countries and was eventually adopted as the official state religion. Remind yourself that these religious expansions occurred at different times. Much of its territory on the Indian subcontinent would become mostly Hindu or Muslim. He also put together the social codes of the religion which became the Guru Granth Sahib. Since then many of the Sikhism faith have immigrated to Western nations, mainly in North America. Nanak's sister, Bibi Nanaki, also contributed to the cause by heavily supporting Nanak in his attempts and by helping bring the singing of hymns into the prayer of God. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, saw the mass expansion of Amritsar. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. Unless otherwise noted, LibreTexts content is licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. With the collapse of the Empire, Christianity became the only source of social cohesion in Europe for centuries. Many Meccans had expected Muhammad and his followers to be mean to them but they were actually faced with tolerance and acceptance. It spread in all directions but looking at a current religious map reveals that the process did not end 1500 years ago. The Mughal's who feared the expansion of Sikhism became a reoccurring problem to the expansion of the Sikhs. These maps can reinforce this idea in that they demonstrate the historical nature of current religious distributions. There are more than 750 million followers today. Have questions or comments? By Staff Writer Last Updated Apr 10, ... Japan and finally Tibet, where it eventually found its home. Hierarchical diffusion generally involves the conversion of a king, emperor, or other leader who then influences others to convert. Missed the LibreFest? This will help explain why some places will become Buddhist or Christian at one point in history, but become Muslim at another. Finally, in the 18th century the Sikhs managed to find a safe era, under the rule of Ranjit Singhs. Contagious diffusion is most often seen in a religious context as the result of direct proselytizing. ... and was the fifth Abbasid Caliph. Relocation diffusion, oftenthrough missionary work, brings “great leaps forward” by crossing space to secure footholds in far-away places. Due to its position as the oldest large, universalizing religion, Buddhism is a good example of the lifecycle of a religion. Religious Origins and Diffusion Hinduism is the oldest major religion originating around the Indus Valley (within modern day Pakistan) around 4,000 years ago. The successor of Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das (the fourth Guru) encouraged rapid expansion of Sikhism and the city of Amritsar that had became the center of the religion. Hargobind. All these forms of diffusion produce patterns of diffusion that are complex. The diffusion of religion, language, in addition to other aspects of culture historically caused by mass migrations, travel, colonization, ostracism, inter group communication, Interactions among people allowed for the creations of simplified language interconnectedness demonstrated by the developments of Lingua francas, creolization, etc. People of many kinds came to this city to worship along side Guru. Islamic art and music also flourished significantly during his reign. The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by MindTouch® and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. Hierarchical diffusion generally involves the conversion of a king, emperor, or other leader who then influences others to convert. Another important thing to remember is that the religious landscape is just a snapshot. Christianity initially grew in areas dominated by the Roman Empire,but it would adapt and thrive in many places. 6.3: Diffusion of Major Religions.