Description
Book SynopsisThe only book of its kind, this balanced and accessibly written text explores the geographical study of religion. Roger W. Stump presents a clear and meticulous examination of the intersection of religious belief and practice with the concepts of place and space. He begins by analyzing the factors that have shaped the spatial distributions of religious groups, including the seminal events that have fostered the organization of religions in diverse hearths and the subsequent processes of migration and conversion that have spread religious beliefs. The author then assesses how major religions have diversified as they have become established in disparate places, producing a variety of religious systems from a common tradition. Stump explores the efforts of religious groups to control secular space at various scales, relating their own uses of particular spaces and the meanings they attribute to space beyond the boundaries of their own communities. Examining sacred space as a diverse but r
Trade ReviewUseful . . . excellent and thought-provoking survey of the geographic study of religion. The book will undoubtedly inspire burgeoning cultural geographers to delve deeper into this often-neglected field. * Journal of Cultural Geography *
The book certainly has matured over a couple of years. It has been edited and proofread very carefully. -- Reinherd Henkel * Erdkunde *
An intriguing, challenging, comprehensive, imaginative, and innovative text that masterfully combines the best traditions of conventional studies of the geography of religion with the insights of postmodern approaches. Clearly written, it provides some of the best explanations of the subtle differences in beliefs between religious sects and schools to be found anywhere. -- Roger Mark Selya, University of Cincinnati
A fresh, innovative, and well-written treatment of the geography of religion. It is also a welcome and significant addition to the geography of religion literature. As someone who teaches an upper-division course on the geography of religion, I have been frustrated with the lack of a comprehensive treatment of the subject. This text will fill that void and should be widely adopted by those who teach such courses. -- Timothy G. Anderson, Ohio University
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Spatial Dynamics of Religious Distributions Chapter 3: The Contextuality of Religions Chapter 4: Religious Territoriality in Secular Space Chapter 5: The Meanings and Uses of Sacred Space Chapter 6: Religion and Human Geography Glossary
