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Overview:
The continent of Asia has been the birthplace of many of the world's major religions. Today, Asia continues to reflect the religious diversity of the planet. In this lesson, students will conduct an in-depth review of one of the major world religions by focusing on its origins, beliefs, and history. They will then explore reasons for the spread or decline in Asia of each of the major world religions. Finally, students will predict the continued spread of religions based on current events in Asia.
This lesson is one in a series developed in collaboration with The Asia Society, with support from the Freeman Foundation, highlighting the geography and culture of Asia and its people.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies, history
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process and report information"
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Standard 9: "The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface"
Standard 10: "The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"
Standard 12: "The process, patterns and functions of human settlement"
Standard 13: "How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"
Time:
Two hours
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- identify major world religions founded on the Asian continent;
- describe major characteristics of world religions; and
- describe factors that influence the spread or decline of religions in a region.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
One of the defining cultural elements of a region may be the religious affiliation of its people. Asia not only has significant populations of the world's major belief systems, but is the continent on which many of those religions were founded.
Begin the lesson by asking students to list religions with which they are familiar. As they share their responses, group the religions or denominations on the board appropriately, showing how religious groups or denominations relate to each other. Subgroups should be listed with the major religious tradition with which they are associated. For example, students may mention Southern Baptists, Methodists, or Catholics, which should be grouped under "Christianity"; Sunni and Shiite groups should be listed under "Islam"; Theravada and Mahayana groups under "Buddhism"; etc. Grouping related religious bodies will help students to understand their interrelationships.
Emphasize to students that the religions highlighted here are just representations of the diversity of religions practiced and founded in Asia.
Development:
Divide students into pairs. Assign each pair one of the major religions currently practiced in Asia. Then, have the students use National Geographic's interactive MapMachine Student Edition to learn more about that religion and its origins in Asia. Students should use the Major Religion Review worksheet (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) as an organizer.
Religion: Buddhism
Religion: Christianity
Religion: Confucianism
Religion: Hinduism
Religion: Islam
Religion: Judaism
Religion: Shamanism
Religion: Shinto
Religion: Zoroastrianism
Have pairs of students compare, contrast, and collate their results with other students who were assigned the same religion. Then, have each group of students present their findings to the class. As they present, note on a large map of Asia where the religion was founded and where it currently is practiced.
Ask the students to reflect on the final question on the Major Religion Review worksheet. Explain that religions have gained or lost popularity over time for a variety of reasons. Have students brainstorm factors that may influence the foothold that a particular religion has on a region. (Responses may include such factors as politics, trade routes, high population centers, transportation, war, etc.)
Explain that another factor affecting how quickly a religion spreads and how long it remains in a region is the physical landscape of the region. Ask students what natural boundaries would act as a hindrance to the spread of a religious system (deserts, mountains, extreme climate). Ask students to draw arrows on the class map to indicate likely avenues for the spread of the belief system between where it was founded and where it is currently practiced.
Closing:
Have students reflect on the emergence of the major religions in Asia by examining the class map showing the spread of the belief systems. Give each student a blank map of Asia and ask them to predict the flow of religious beliefs for each of the major religions over the next 100 years. Explain that they should reflect on current events in Asia as a factor in the spread or decline of each of the religions. Then, on the reverse side, have students describe why they think the spread of the major religions will take their predicted route.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Teachers can use the students' predictions as an indication of their understanding of the content of this lesson.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students explore some of the most sacred religious sites in Asia by visiting Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Traditions of Asia.
- Ask students to extend their knowledge of religions and belief systems of Asia by doing further research into other religions and belief systems that have played crucial roles in the cultural development of the people in this region. Include Taoism, Confucianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism.
- Have students generate a physical time line for the religions of Asia using note cards and yarn. Each card should contain the name of a religion/belief system in Asia, founder (if appropriate), and description of the original founding area and contemporary area of influence.
- Have students research the spread of one of the religions of Asia and generate a series of thematic maps over the life of the religion.
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