Every religion has a hearth, the place where it began. Most of the world's largest religions began in two regions of Asia. From there, the kinds of diffusion you have studied carried them across the world, as the universalizing and ethnic grouping predicts.
| Religion | Hearth | How it spread |
|---|---|---|
| Judaism | Southwest Asia (the Levant) | Mainly relocation, as Jewish communities lived in many lands (the diaspora) |
| Christianity | Southwest Asia (the Levant), 1st century AD | Missionaries along Roman roads; made the Roman Empire's official religion in AD 380; later carried to the Americas, Africa and Asia |
| Islam | Southwest Asia (Mecca, Arabian Peninsula), 7th century AD | Expanding states and empires across North Africa and Asia; traders across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia |
| Hinduism | South Asia (Indus and Ganges valleys) | Mostly within South Asia; later by migration |
| Buddhism | South Asia (northern India and Nepal), about the 6th or 5th century BC | Missionaries sent by Emperor Ashoka; Silk Road traders to China, Korea and Japan; sea routes to Southeast Asia |
| Sikhism | South Asia (Punjab), about AD 1500 | Mostly in Punjab; later by migration |
Why it works
Religions travel the way other culture traits do: with people. Where traders, armies, pilgrims and missionaries traveled, beliefs went too. A religion that welcomed converts could spread by expansion diffusion along trade routes and through empires, while religions tied to one people spread mostly by relocation, when their people moved. That is why the map of religions today follows old routes such as the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean sea lanes.
Key idea
Judaism, Christianity and Islam began in Southwest Asia; Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism began in South Asia. They spread by trade, migration, missionaries and empires, so a religion can end up strongest far from its hearth.
Worked examples
Worked example: Far from the hearth
Buddhism began in South Asia. Where do most Buddhists live today, and why?
- Missionaries and traders carried Buddhism east along the Silk Road and sea routes.
- It took root in China, Korea, Japan and much of Southeast Asia.
- In India its share of the population declined over many centuries.
- China alone has about half of the world's Buddhists.
Answer: In East and Southeast Asia, where it spread by expansion diffusion.
Worked example: Trade routes
The country with the most Muslims today is Indonesia, far from Arabia. How did Islam get there?
- Muslim merchants sailed Indian Ocean trade routes.
- Coastal trading towns in Southeast Asia adopted Islam through contact with them.
- It spread inland over centuries.
Answer: By traders along Indian Ocean sea routes.
Common mistake
Students assume a religion is strongest where it began. Buddhism began in India, but most Buddhists today live in East and Southeast Asia. Christianity began in Southwest Asia, but most Christians live in the Americas, Europe and Africa. Follow the paths of diffusion, not just the hearth.