Religion is one of the most divisive forces in the world’s history. Maps of War is a website that creates fascinating visuals of the world to show how movements spread, wars begin and civilizations fall. They have turned their expertise to religion, focusing on five major faiths to see how they have spread and how wars have determined the influence and stronghold of various religions in a 90-second video.
In the beginning: Hinduism came before the other major religions, with the birth of Krishna in 3,000BC
Beginning with the birth of Krishna, the time-lapse video covers 5,000 years of religion. The map slows down for the births of key religious figures and major wars, showing the decline and spread after these events. The religions traced by the map are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. The fascinating display begins withe the birth of Krishna and the spread of Hinduism back in 3,000BC.
Spread: With the birth of Muhammad, Christianity’s spread was stymied
Next, we see the birth of Abraham and the modest spread of Judaism before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. Around 480BC, Jerusalem is sacked the Jewish diaspora began in earnest.
Expansion: Buddhism and Hinduism remain in much the same areas they always were, whereas Christianity and Islam spread to many lands
Around that same time was the birth of Buddha and the spread of Buddhism in Asia, which continues as Christianity is in its infancy around 32AD
The birth of Muhammad in 570AD begins the massive spread of Islam and sparks Christian/Islamic wars such as the Crusades.
By modern times, the map is filled with vast swathes of blue, or Christian lands and almost equally large green, or Islamic ones. Buddhism retains its hold in China while Hinduism holds fast in India.
Map of religion: The last shot of the map shows the geography of religion today
