Vol. 35, No. 2, Fall 1997- "Geography of Religion Part I"



SACRED INTERPRETATIONS OF THE ECOPHYSIOLOGY IN TROPICAL FOREST CANOPIES

(pp. 5 - 31) 


Adrian Cooper

Independent Scholar

Department of Geography

Birkbeck College, University of London

London, England


Abstract


This paper discusses the ways in which ten ecologists with research interests in tropical forest canopies interpret that work from the perspectives of their spiritual faiths. Consequently, this discussion builds upon the rapidly growing discussion among geographers on the ways in which landscape-meaning can embody specific resonances of religious significance. The research for this paper took place between 1985-1996 and draws from tape-recorded one-to-one and small group interviews with the scientists. Each transcript from those interviews was then subjected to a critical discourse analysis. The principal conclusion to be drawn from this work suggests that there are many new themes for discussion between contemporary ecological research and religion. Geography can be considered as a facilitator of that debate, the details of which completely transcend the traditional boundary between physical and human geography, and in doing so, suggests a range of new research opportunities within the geography of religion.




DEBORAH - PROPHETESS AND POSSIBLE APPLIED CLIMATOLOGIST

(pp. 32 - 44)


John R. Mather

Department of Geography

University of Delaware

Newark, Delaware


Sandra Pritchard Mather

Department of Geology

West Chester University

West Chester, Pennsylvania


Abstract


The Bible tell us that around 1200 BC, the prophetess Deborah viewed with alarm the build-up of Canaanite forces under Sisera. Consequently, Deborah sought to bring together the dispersed Israelite tribes to oppose Sisera, his nine hundred iron chariots, and thousands of foot soldiers on the great plain of Megiddo (Jezreel). A heavy rainstorm occurred just before the beginning of the battle. While Deborah interpreted this as God's expected intervention and support, she also understood what this heavy rain would do to soil conditions in the basin of the Kishon River. Not only did the river flood, carrying away many of Sisera's troops, but the muddy conditions on the plain of Megiddo rendered the iron chariots completely useless. Deborah's understanding of how a heavy rainstorm could turn battle conditions in her favor led to a stunning victory that resulted in further consolidation of the Israelite tribes into a single nation. 




PLACES OF WORSHIP: THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION IN A MIDWESTERN CITY, 1930-1960

(pp. 45 - 68)


Etan Diamond

The Polis Center

Indianapolis, Indiana


Abstract


In the period 1930 to 1960, the American religious landscape began to be realigned as mainline and conservative Protestant denominations lost and gained strength respectively. In Indianapolis, a representative mid-sized city, such national trends played themselves out at the local level. In-migration of new residents and suburbanization of existing ones led to increased metropolitan mobility which, in turn, led to the opening of new congregations and new denominations in different parts of the city. But despite this changing spatial geography of religion, the social geography of religion—issues of denominational social status for example—remained the same; high-status denominations still lived in high-status neighborhoods, and vice versa. In discussing the relationships between religion, social status, and urban space, this paper presents a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective on the application of geography to the study of twentieth-century American religious history.




THE JEWISH AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT: STEWARDSHIP, RENEWAL AND THE GREENING OF DIASPORA POLITICS

(pp. 69 - 97)


Zoriah Jac Tharan

Department of Geography

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington


Abstract


Organized Jewish American environmentalism is a relative newcomer in the world of environmental politics. In recent years, American Jews concerned with environmental deterioration have been examining and re-interpreting classical Jewish thought on the environment and working within new and wellestablished Jewish organizations to bring the message of Green Judaism to the wider community through a variety of activities, publications, and activism. This paper discusses the history, development, current status, and potential future of organized Jewish environmentalism in the U.S., detailing the characteristic structures, goals, practices and distinctive traits of the movement. Particular attention is paid to the role of Diaspora identity politics and cultural/religious renewal in the formation and exercise of Jewish environmentalism in America. The ways in which links to the state of Israel among members of this community affect the practice of environmentalism are highlighted




THE HINDU TEMPLE GARDENS OF TRINIDAD: CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN A CARIBBEAN LANDSCAPE

(pp. 98 - 135)


Carolyn V. Prorok

Department of Geography & Environmental Studies

Slippery Rock University

Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania


Clarissa T. Kimber

Department of Geography

Texas A & M University

College Station, Texas


Abstract


Hindu temple gardens are a distinctive element of Trinidad's cultural landscape. Drawing upon an ancient reverence for specific plants such as the pipal tree and tulsi (sacred basil), the medieval practice of planting a garden in the temple compound, as well as the plant palette and visual design of local Caribbean gardens, Hindus in Trinidad have created spaces of meaning, memory and beauty in and around their temple compounds. Trinidad's temple gardens situate Hindu identity in both their Indian past and their Caribbean present. A cultural historical analysis using the notions of adaptation and 'creolization' assist us in furthering our understanding of how the temple gardens took on their present character.




INTERPRETING THE NAVAJO SACRED GEOGRAPHY AS A LANDSCAPE OF HEALING

(pp. 136 - 150)


G. Rebecca Dobbs

Department of Geography

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina


Abstract


Most work on healing places has involved sites associated with the Western cultural tradition and expressed in focused locations. This paper examines a non-Western culture and a diffuse landscape of healing. Everything in Navajo culture could be called "religious," in that religious feeling cannot be separated from any aspect of a traditional Navajo life. Much of this religious feeling is embodied in the landscape itself. This article explores the ways in which the physical landscape, the spiritual landscape, the symbolic landscape, and the built environment--intertwine and interact to produce a sacred geography which functions as a healing landscape. 




RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH

(pp. 151 - 172)


Gerald R. Webster

Department of Geography

University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama




SACRED LANDSCAPES AND SETTLEMENT MYTHOLOGY IN THE FIJI ISLANDS

(pp. 173 -202)


Robert Kuhlken

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington


Abstract


Sacred landscapes are an attribute of human interaction with the physical environment. The creation of sacred space in Fiji corresponds to the particular culture history of various tribal polities. Certain locations on these islands retain an important function within the cosmology and mythic traditions of the indigenous Fijian population. Foremost among these sacred places is the Nakauvadra mountain range in northern Vitilevu. This locale is the setting for numerous first arrival and subsequent dispersal sagas. Other places have been sanctified by acts of war or the antics of legendary ancestor heroes. Sacred landscapes are a cultural resource, and must be carefully managed and protected.



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