Final answer:
Major world religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism have spread globally through expansion and relocation diffusion, influenced by factors such as conquests, trade, and the authority of political rulers. Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions, with wide spatial distribution due to historical events like European colonialism and Islamic golden age's promotion of scholarship and education.
Step-by-step explanation:
Spread of Major World Religions
Throughout history, certain religions have spread extensively and are now practiced globally. These include religions from both the Abrahamic (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and Indian traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, etc.). Christianity, for example, has become the most widely practiced religion with approximately 2 billion followers, predominantly due to European exploration, colonialism, and missionary work. Islam, with around 1.5 billion followers, has spread significantly through conquests, trade, and relocation diffusion, as seen when it spread to regions like Indonesia and the United States.
Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Indian religions have primarily spread across Asia, while Judaism, being more ethnically and culturally associated, has a relatively smaller global footprint. Various factors contributed to the spread of these religions, including the movement of people, conquests, political authorities adopting and promoting a particular faith, and the influence of cultural and technological advancements. For example, during Islam's golden age, the promotion of education and scholarship in regions like Spain, Cairo, and Baghdad contributed to Islam's appeal and adoption.
The spatial distribution of these major world religions is now vast, with many adherents found far from the religions' original birthplaces. This distribution has often been the result of both expansion diffusion, where the religion spreads outwards from its cultural hearth, and relocation diffusion, where it moves to a new location and establishes a presence there.