History GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff / MythologyAndReligion

* Speaking of "that other thing", UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} is by no means unpopular in its hometown (how else would the Middle East be able to be stereotyped as all Muslim?) but statistically speaking, it gets way more believers outside of its hometown, by virtue of population difference.

** On the other hand, this wasn't always the case: much of the Middle East save the Arabian Peninsula and Iran were primarily Christian until [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} that other thing]] came around. And even then, Arabia and Iran had a large number of Christians.

* Speaking of "that other thing", UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} is by no means unpopular in its hometown ‒ how else would the Middle East be able to be stereotyped as all Muslim? ‒ but statistically speaking, it gets ''way'' more believers outside of its hometown than many people give it credit for, just by virtue of population difference.
** The Middle East (in its traditional definition[[note]]Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the UAE, and Yemen[[/note]]), in spite of having many of its countries a Muslim-majority, actually accounts for just about 20% of the total world population of Muslims, with most of the percentage being taken up by South Asia (including the relatively-speaking Hindu-majority India), which accounts for almost ''a half''. And the most-populous Muslim-majority country in the world? Not in the Middle East, not in South Asia, but in Southeast Asia (Indonesia).
** As for denominations, Shia Islam arose in Arabia (probably; it's still debated since the split official started at the first Caliphate's collapse). In the present-day, the denomination is wildly popular in Iran (where it is practically ''the'' rule), the Levant and Mesopotamia, as well as South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India...). Meanwhile, openly being a Shia in Arabia nowadays, is... [[{{Understatement}} not easy]].

** Similarly, while Christianity as a religion isn't all that popular in Japan, Christian ''theology'' is surprisingly well-liked in Japan, which explains why many anime and JRPG franchises from TheNineties, such as ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Franchise/MegamiTensei'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', use lots of Biblical and Gnostic motifs or outright include religious figures like God and Lucifer.

* The carbuncle, described as a small mammal with a gem on its forehead, is a mythical creature/cryptid that was sighted in South America that's so obscure in the west that it didn't even have an article on Website/TheOtherWiki in English [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbuncle_(legendary_creature) until 2020]]. In Japan however, it's so popular that it's become somewhat of a [[StockMonsters stock monster]] in [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] and {{Mons}} series, and Japanese is the only language to have a Wikipedia article on it.

* The carbuncle, described as a small mammal with a gem on its forehead, is a mythical creature/cryptid that was sighted in South America that's so obscure in the west that it doesn't even have an article on Website/TheOtherWiki in English (search for "carbuncle" on English Wikipedia and you get an article on the type of compound bacterial boil). In Japan however, it's so popular that it's become somewhat of a [[StockMonsters stock monster]] in [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] and {{Mons}} series, and Japanese is the only language to have a Wikipedia article on it.

** As for denominations, Shia Islam arose in Arabia (probably; it's still debated since the split official started at the first Caliphate's collapse). In the present-day, the denomination is wildly popular in Iran (where it is practically ''the'' rule), the Levant and Mesopotamia, as well as South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India...). Meanwhile, openly being a Shia in Arabia nowadays, is...[[{{Understatement}} not easy]].

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Buddhism Considering how Buddhism originated in India]], it's found more favor in the lands farther East than in its country of origin. This is mainly because the main Buddhist empire of the Mauryas collapsed after the death of Ashoka and small petty rulers reasserted themselves. Later Hindus tried to incorporate some Buddhist ideas into Hinduism, though the schism remained because Buddhists don't adhere to the Vedas and are opposed to its caste system.

** On the other hand, this wasn't always the case: much of the Middle East save the Arabian Peninsula and Iran were primarily Christian until [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} that other thing]] came around. Even these two locations had a large number of Christians.

** As for denominations, Shia Islam arose in Arabia (probably; it's still debated since the split was originally political). In the present-day, the denomination is wildly popular in Iran (where it is practically ''the'' rule), the Levant and Mesopotamia, as well as South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India...). Meanwhile, openly being a Shia in Arabia nowadays, is...[[{{Understatement}} not easy]].

** If you think Mormons, you will think Utah and maybe a few neighboring states like Idaho. Yet for the entirety of the lifetime of founder Joseph Smith, it was mostly an Eastern Seabord and Upstate New York phenomenon. The first Mormons did not reach what is now Utah until after the death of Joseph Smith (who was born in Vermont and died in Illinois)

** Similarly, while Christianity as a religion isn't all that popular in Japan, Christian theology is surprisingly well-liked in Japan, which explains why many anime and JRPG franchises from the late [[TheNineties late-90s]], such as ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Franchise/MegamiTensei'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', use lots of Biblical and Gnostic motifs or outright include religious figures like God and Lucifer.

* Judging by the amount of anime and manga that uses terms and concepts from Myth/NorseMythology (namely the Titans in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' are far closer to norse Jotuns than they are to their greek namesake, the world-tree Yggdrasil shows up in a lot of anime and even [[LightNovel/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar stuff with no correlation to the actual myth]] uses Norse names), the old Nordic tales are rather popular in Japan. In fact, there is a very small, but at the same time, very vocal, Japanese Norse Pagan group.

* Judging by the amount of anime and manga that uses terms and concepts from Myth/NorseMythology (namely the Titans in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' are far closer to norse Jotuns than they are to their greek namesake, the world-tree Yggdrasil shows up in a lot of anime and even [[LightNovel/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar stuff with no correlation to the actual myth]] uses Norse names), the old Nordic tales are rather popular in Japan. In fact, there is a very small, but st the same time, very vocal, Japanese Norse Pagan group.

* Judging by the amount of anime and manga that uses terms and concepts from Myth/NorseMythology (namely the Titans in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' are far closer to norse Jotuns than they are to their greek namesake, the world-tree Yggdrasil shows up in a lot of anime and even [[LightNovel/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar stuff with no correlation to the actual myth]] uses Norse names), the old Nordic tales are rather popular in Japan.

** Similarly, while Christianity as a religion isn't all that popular in Japan, Christian theology is surprisingly well-liked in Japan, which explains why many anime and JRPG franchises from the late [[TheNineties late-90s]], such as ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Franchise/MegamiTensei'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', use lots of Biblical and Gnostic motifs or outright include mythological figures like God and Lucifer.

** Similarly, while Christianity as a religion isn't all that popular in Japan, Christian mythology and theology is surprisingly well-liked in Japan, which explains why many anime and JRPG franchises from the late [[TheNineties late-90s]], such as ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Franchise/MegamiTensei'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', use lots of Biblical and Gnostic motifs or outright include mythological figures like God and Lucifer.

* The largest community of Bahá'í Faith is located in India, which represents almost a half of the faith's roughly 5 million believers. The seat of the religion's governing body is also located in Israel. The faith actually arose in 19th century Iran, where it is persecuted and the target of UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.

* The carbuncle, described as a small mammal with a gem on its forehead, is a mythical creature/cryptid that was sighted in South America that's so obscure in the west that it doesn't even have an article on Wiki/TheOtherWiki in English (search for "carbuncle" on English Wikipedia and you get an article on the type of compound bacterial boil). In Japan however, it's so popular that it's become somewhat of a [[StockMonsters stock monster]] in [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] and {{Mons}} series, and Japanese is the only language to have a Wikipedia article on it.

** Similarly, while Christianity as a religion isn't all that popular in Japan, Christian mythology and theology is surprisingly well-liked in Japan, which explains why many anime and JRPG franchises from the late [[TheNineties late-90s]], such as ''Anima/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Franchise/MegamiTensei'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', use lots of Biblical and Gnostic motifs or outright include mythological figures like God and Lucifer.

* The largest community of Bahá'í Faith is located in India, which represents almost a half of the faith's roughly 5 million believers. The seat of the religion's governing body is also located in Israel. The faith actually arose in 19th century Iran, where it is persecuted and the target of ConspiracyTheories.

* The largest community of Bahá'í Faith is located in India, which represents almost a half of the faith's roughly 5 million believers. The seat of the religion's governing body is also located in Israel. The faith actually arose in 19th century Iran, where it is persecuted and the target of [[ConspiracyTheory conspiracy theories]].

* The largest community of Bahá'í Faith is located in India, which represents almost a half of the faith's roughly 5 million believers. The seat of the religion's governing body is also located in Israel. The faith actually arose in 19th century Iran.

* The carbuncle, described as a small mammal with a gem on its forehead, is a mythical creature/cryptid that was sighted in South America that's so obscure in the west that it doesn't even have an article on Wiki/TheOtherWiki in English... In Japan however, it's so popular that it's become somewhat of a [[StockMonsters stock monster]] in [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] and {{Mons}} series, and Japanese is the only language to have a Wikipedia article on it.

* OlderThanFeudalism: In Myth/ClassicalMythology, being a SmugSnake and [[JerkassGod savage warrior]], the god of war Ares is TheScrappy to the Greeks. He got much more respect as Mars by the Romans (who saw a little bit of their own character in him). It helped that the native Mars/Mavors was a patron of farmers (a sort of harvest protector) as well as warriors. According to legend, Mars was the father of Romulus, Rome's founder and first king. In some of the Latin texts Mars seems almost irreconcilable with Homer's Ares.