Religion may be classified in a number of ways. Taking the belief in God as the criterion, religion may be monotheistic and polytheistic. The followers of monotheism believe in a single deity, while the followers of polytheism believe in many gods.
This classification is, however, not spatially or regionally relevant. Religion has been classified on the basis of areas of origin; for example, Eastern versus Western, or African, Far Eastern and Indian.
With proper detail such distinctions may inform us where particular religions had their roots but not reveal their courses of development, paths of diffusion, or current distributions.
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These theological or historical classifications are not very useful for geographers. Geographers are mainly concerned with the patterns and processes of diffusion and the spatial distribution of religions Geographers generally classify religions into following:
(a) Universalizing Religions:
These include Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. These are the faiths that claim applicability to all humans and that seeks to transmit their beliefs through missionary work and conversion.
Membership in universalizing religions is open to anyone who chooses to make some sort of symbolic commitment, such as baptism in Christianity. No one is excluded because of nationality, ethnicity, or previous religious belief.
(b) Ethnic Religions:
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Ethnic religions have strong territorial and cultural group identification. One becomes a member of an ethnic religion by birth or by adoption or a complex life style and cultural identity, not by simple declaration of faith.
These religions, usually, do not proselytize, and their members form distinctive closed communities identified with a particular ethnic group or political unit.
An ethnic religion is an integral element of a specific culture. Judaism, Hinduism, and Japanese Shintoism are the examples of ethnic religions.
(c) Tribal or Traditional Religions:
Tribal or traditional religions are the special forms of ethnic religions distinguished by their small size, their unique identity with localized culture groups not yet fully absorbed into modern society, and their close ties to nature.
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The belief of tribal religion is also known as animism. The followers of animism believe that life exists in all objects, from rocks and trees to lakes and mountains.
They also believe that the non-living objects like rocks, mountains, trees are the abodes of the dead, of spirits, of gods.
Shamanism is a form of tribal religion that involves community acceptance of a Shaman, a religious leader, and healer, of worker of magic, who through, special powers, can intercede with and interpret the spirit world.