Religion and geography

[2] Other traditional approaches to the study of the relationship between geography and religion involved the theological explorations of the workings of nature – a highly environmentally deterministic approach which identified the role of geographical environments in determining the nature and evolution of different religious traditions.

A more contemporary approach to the study of the intersections of geography and religion not only highlights the role of religion in affecting landscape changes and in assigning sacred meanings to specific places, but also acknowledges how in turn, religious ideology and practice at specific spaces are guided and transformed by their location.

[5] Recent research in this area has been published by Barry A. Vann who analyzes Muslim population shifts in the Western world and the theological factors that play into these demographic trends.

Environmental determinists developed racial justifications for the relationship between regional habitats, climates, and religions around the beginning of the 20th century.

[12] Many have evaluated how regional differences in religious doctrine, practice, and theologies are influenced by local social, cultural, and political settings.