AP Human Geography

http://esriurl.com/humanGeoInquiry6
Ask
Can one cultural trait cause another cultural trait to spread? How would language or
religion help the other to spread?
Certain religions use certain languages, so for example if you wanted to convert to
Christianity it would help to understand English so that you could read the Bible.

What are some factors that would help the spread of a religion?
Colonization, war, and missionaries could help spread a religion.

Acquire
Click the map URL link above to start the map.
With the Details pane visible, click the button, Show Contents of Map.

What is noticeable about the distribution of religions?

Religions are distributed horizontally with fewer at the poles.

Click the checkbox to the left of the layer name, Major World Religions.
Click the checkbox to the left of the layer name, Language Families Of The
World. Layer is now visible.
What is the most common linguistic pattern around the world? Click the map to
identify areas as needed.
Indo-European is the most common language family in the world.

Explore
Click the button, Bookmarks. Select the South America bookmark.
Turn the language and religion layers on and off and on to explore patterns.

Which religions are dominant in South America? Click the map to identify areas as
needed.
Roman Catholicism is most dominant in South America. There are also some parts
of the continent dominated by indigenous religions.

Pan the map to North America. Which religions are dominant in North
America?
Mixed Christian/Protestant religions are dominant in North America
What relationship is there between language and religion in North America?
Protestant areas speak mainly Germanic languages. Roman Catholic areas speak
mostly romance languages.

Analyze
Click the button, Bookmarks. Select the Europe bookmark.
Turn on only two layers, Major World Religions and Indo-European Language
Branches.
What connections do you see between the religions of Europe and the major Indo-
European language families?
As language changes, so does religion. Slavic speakers are mostly Eastern
Orthodox. Protestants mainly speak Germanic languages. Roman Catholics mostly
speak Romance languages.

Turn off the layer, Indo-European Language Branches. Click the other
bookmarks.
Which region has the greatest religious diversity?
Europe

Act
Pan the map to Africa.

What are the different sects of Christianity found across Africa?

Protestant, Mixed Christian, Roman Catholic
What can this information tell you about the continents history? (Hint: Look at the
pattern of Indo-European languages in Africa.)
The continent was probably colonized by countries that practiced these types of
Christianity.

Press the button, Measure. From the Measure window, click the button,
Distance.
Measure how far Islam has spread east & west from Mecca.
About 3,000 miles west, about 1,000 miles east
What were barriers to diffusion, and what enabled it?
Oceans and mountain ranges were barriers to diffusion. Colonization, trade, and
people who traveled to other places to spread their beliefs enabled it.