The Importance Of Religion In Early Civilizations

"It is probable that ancestor worship is by all means the oldest stage of the belief in spiritual beings, and that from this belief originated the primitive conceptions of the state of man after death. Thence it comes that the oldest social divisions of mankind, the family and the gens, have doubtless originated with many peoples from the worship of ancestors (Stade 1888:406)."

Thesis Statement: These key events reforming religion are what shaped the world for good and for bad in the 14th to the 19th century.

In ancient Roman society, the prevalence and dominance of religion was common and widespread. From the 27 BC, the beginning of the political reign of Augustus Caesar, the messages from religion developed into the social codes of behaviour for Roman citizens and furthermore, allowed for Rome to reach the pinnacle of greatness it did. Under Augustus’ leadership, ancient civilizations was offered a man who is the prime example of what is meant to be a proper Roman. A man who acknowledges and submits to his Fate. A man who held religious piety to a high priority as a form of respect to the Gods, to such an extent that he reaffirmed the traditions of the old Roman religion until it reached mainstream acceptance by the Roman public. Furthermore, Roman Religious Beliefs can be understood through the identification of key values and ideas that would contribute to Roman society by developing standards and codes of behaviour that would reinforce the actions needed of an exemplary Roman citizen. Though at this time, Rome did not have what constitute a “religion” by our modern standards, it was the common held beliefs by the people and the state that acted as a religion to moderate and control the behaviour of Roman citizens.

Throughout history religion has played an important role influencing various societies. Religious beliefs have been embedded in legal systems, social status, economics, sexuality and politics in ancient and modern societies. This concept is applicable to Ancient Athens. The Greek religion consisted of various Gods and Goddesses that represented different elements of Greek life. The practice of various gods or polytheism is ta partria. The religion of Greeks differs drastically from Western forms. In modern Western communities religion and culture exists in separate spheres; however, Athens did not acknowledge a difference between the two concepts. The deities explained various phenomena in the Greek culture. Not only did Athenians rely

While some civilizations are defined by their religion, ancient Egyptian religion was defined by the civilization. The people of ancient Egypt (3500-30 BCE) were greatly influenced by the cyclical nature of their environment and the Nile River, causing their society to be immensely uniform in their ways. This uniformity is reflected in Egyptian theology and overall culture; the Egyptian polytheistic gods and their existence in daily life rarely, if ever, changed and never drastically. However, for a brief period in the Old Kingdom, a rapid shift in Egyptian religion took place. Akhenaten, originally known as Amenhotep IV, became pharaoh of Egypt, and with his rule came the upheaval of practices which had previously been in place for thousands of years.

Religion can invade, conquer, and rule masses of people far more effectively and efficiently than any empire or conqueror. This is not to spark a heated discussion about religions. Its purpose is, to say that, even though it is highly debatable whether religions are false or true, most of them serve a very basic purpose of establishing morals and values. Early religions were used as a source of power and economic growth. Even if one doesn’t believe in or agree with the teachings of any religion, history shows proof that it creates a sense of order. There are many religions in the past that have brought order and civilized conduct to large numbers of people, not through military conquest, but through the promise of reward or the fear of punishment. Religion is the glue that binds local communities into nationhood and creates common understandings and shared values that are essential to the growth of a civilization. No religion is fully formed at its start, so why did some religion play such a big role in growth of the Ancient Civilizations.

The evolution of civilization happened from many reason. Early humans living near rivers were available to water mostly. The storage of grains helped the first civilization. The surplus demand for wine and beer played a role in the evolution of civilization.

As time has progressed, religious scrutiny has expanded. Systems of faith are often written off as fruitless, but religion holds strong purposes. Cultures have religion to explain surroundings, unite individuals, and provide hope.

Religion has influenced an entire range of changes in the elongated history of the world. The alterations that have taken place in the past are clear and concise evidence that the underlying and ultimate influence is religion. Religion has been apart of a plethora number of events in the past because, religion gives humans a clear source of origin of the universe, and carries an everlasting assurance that provides protection and happiness among the permutations in life. Religion also served its purpose in all aspects of life, especially during the events between the 1600’s and 1800’s.

Throughout history, religion has been a very important part of all the empires, civilizations, and ages we learn about. Each religion has its own characteristics, texts, deities, and unique symbols that set it apart from others. Religion is more than believing in gods or following an ancient text, it created new civilizations and ideas. For one, religion influenced leaders and well known historical figures throughout world history. Leaders such as monarchs, referred to themselves as representatives to their god(s). Since their god(s) are not physically with them, someone has to step up and represent them. The Hebrew prophet Abraham, is believed to have been spoken to by God and angels. He then became the leader of the well-known religion, Judaism.

There is irrefutable evidence that over the period of the Middle Ages, both Christianity and Islam have been anchors in both shaping and influencing governance of kingdoms and empires comprising Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and territories ruled by Islam. Religion during this period was widely used to set laws, influence culture, justify armed conflicts, and pronounce punishment on citizens domiciled within the geographies depicted within this essay. I will attempt to illuminate the geopolitical climate, territorial demarcation, and religious influences that depicted life circa 500 – 1517 CE. From the background material submitted, I will directly answer the following questions:

Where did human evolution start? How did the earliest civilizations develop? Diamond elaborates into the evolution of human civilizations from the beginning, comparing evolution rates of human settlements. He explains that since Africa was settled first, they have a head start in development over a continent like the

Religion in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia played a significant role in developing and organizing the society. Based on the common belief of the world’s divine creation, both civilizations had regular rituals and ceremonies to honor the supernatural beings. In rituals and ceremonies, the cult was expressed as the manifestation of components that symbolized the divine such as the cult images, temples, and shrines. Since religion was an important aspect in the people’s daily lives, it also had an impact on the ruling system in the two civilizations. Even though Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have similar foundational beliefs about the cult, different cultic practices imply the difference in the structure and the scope of

Absolutely, the role of religion in the last thousand years of human history cannot be overstated. The wager of wars and the builder of kingdoms, religion has been responsible for many great occurrences. Nonetheless, religion, too, has nefarious potential. The rise of the Humanist movement meant the rise of laicism, which also meant religion and its institutions were constantly challenged – Christianity and the Catholic Church largely came under fire due to mass corruption within the institution. Among Christianity’s critics was Desiderius Erasmus, arguably the first to oppose the Church and one of the most influential writers of the Humanist period; his criticisms of the Catholic Church in The Praise of Folly were derivative of his desire

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the