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RELIGION and GEOGRAPHY 1) Impulses for a New Dialogue Between Religionswissenschaftlern *) and Geographers BY

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RELIGION and GEOGRAPHY 1) Impulses for a New Dialogue Between Religionswissenschaftlern *) and Geographers BY RELIGION AND GEOGRAPHY 1) Impulses for a new dialogue between Religionswissenschaftlern *) and geographers BY MANFRED BÜTTNER Fundamental insights regarding the reciprocal relation- ships between religion and the environment, based on field research among the Herrnhuter.2) A. INTROI)UCTORY REMARKS When Max Weber, E. Troeltsch and other scholars in the i920's drew the attention of the scientific world to the influence which the religions exerted on their economic and social environment, they not only created an impact on sociology of religion, Religionswissenschcz f t, and theology, but also introduced a turning point in the geography of religion; for in that field the preoccupation till this time had been with exactly the opposite relationship, that is, with the determination of religion by the geographic environment. Since that time all geographers of religion practice their profession in the spirit of Max Weber, or in the "new" spirit, which arose after the First World War. But the time has now come to consider whether this kind of "one- *) Religionswissenschaftin English is translated either as "History of Reli- gions" or "Comparative Study of Religions". Neither is a precise equivalent of the German term. "Science of Religion" also has connotations which are not implied in Religionswissenschaf t. Therefore, the original term is retained though- out the article. [Trans.] I) The main ideas of the following exposition were first presented in Bochum (June 1970) in my paper to the colloquium formally admitting me to the faculty of the University (Habilitationskolloquium). The theme of that paper was "Herrn- hut as a type for group settlements moulded by religion". Die hier vorliegende tbersetzung ins Englische wurde von Herrn Ens (Ottawa) unter der Betreuung durch Herrn Prof. Dr. Pummer vorgenommen. Ich danke diesen Herren sehr für ihre große Miihe. 2) With support from the University of Bochum and the DFG I am presently (assisted by many coworkers) carrying out a larger religio-geographical research among the Herrnhuter and Waldensians. 164 sided" geography of religion is still adequate for the present state of the sciences as a whole. In other disciplines (including geography itself) there have been some developments in recent decades; and there are increasing indications that in geography of religion (which is partic- ularly dependent on its neighbouring disciplines for its methods) a new direction, beyond the already visible tendencies (cf. n. 17) would not only be sensible but even necessary. A brief survey of the history of the geography of religion will show clearly how this discipline has always moved with the prevailing scien- tific trends. On the basis of this background the conclusions which the geographer of religion of today has to draw and their implications for a dialogue with the theologian and the Religionswissenschaftler will be discussed. This discussion will be illustrated with references to studies in the geography of religion which I have just completed among the Herrnhuter. B. HISTORICAL S1112VEYOF THE GEOGRAPHYOF RELIGION 3) I. The geography of religion had its beginnings in the century of the Reformation, that is, in the time period when geography as a whole (as also the other sciences) changed from a philosophy pursued in the Greek spirit to a theologically oriented discipline. It is true that already at that time the following definition, still applicable today, was used: geography of religion is the preoccupation of the geographer with religion! However, since at that time geography as a whole was done only by theologians and our subject did not have its own genuine geographical method or objective (this only begins with Keckermann), it was the theological task of the geography of that time to point out the workings of God in the world. Consequently these early geographers (insofar as they occupied themselves with man) were especially con- cerned to portray the spread of Christianity in the world. As anthropo- geographers they wanted to clarify God's acts of salvation with and for man (Providentia specialis), and thereby they became geographers of religion. 4) According to the understanding of that time, these special 3) Cf. my writings in the bibliography, particularly the Habilitationsschrift of 1973. 4) It is thus not true that the geography of religions has developed out of cultural geography. In the 15th century geography was mainly mathematical geography, which however could only demonstrate the Creatio, or at most the .
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