A new study links climatic instability and a lack of natural resources to belief in moralizing gods in cultures around the world.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

I’m not posting this in spite of its controversial nature—I am sharing this precisely because it has raised eyebrows.  Many have read this and seen elements of environmental determinism in the cultural analysis of religions (despite the researcher’s insistence that their findings should not be taken as a form of geographical determinism).

While there appears to be a correlation between a belief in moral god(s) and a harsh environment, others could also look at this map and see the mapping of poverty, colonialism or historical evangelism.  Environmental determinism was used to justify colonialism and racist ideologies, geography fully rejected anything with even a hint of environmental determinism.  Geographers are hypersensitive to the critique of environmental determinism; that is why it is difficult to find modern geographic research that knocks on the door of determinism. 

Questions to Ponder: How much environmental determinism is in this research?  What alternatives exist to environmental determinism?  How much of a factor is the environment in shaping cultural patterns? 


Tags: environment, religion, culture,  unit 1 GeoPrinciples.