The Role Of Religion On The Growth Of The Ancient Civilizations

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.

Through history, religion has shaped civilizations in several aspects. In ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations it was very strong shaping force in political structures, but both the religious beliefs and the resulting political system were different, just like pharaohs were different from rajas.

In modern times when one thinks of Monotheism, the first religion that comes to mind is Christianity. But what is Monotheism? Monotheism is the belief that there is only one god. But is Christianity the first group of people to believe in one god? The answer is no, monotheism comes a long way. Zoroastrianism was the first monotheistic religion approximately 3500 years ago. The religion was founded by Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran. The second monotheistic religion known to man kind is Atenism founded by the Pharaoh Akhenaten. And the third Monotheistic religion is Judaism.

Religion has been a major factor for the growth and development of societies since the establishment of even the very first ancient civilizations. Though each of the ancient societies—the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Indians, and the Mesopotamians—had different spiritual beliefs, they each shared the common belief that the presence of religion within a civilization would have positive results upon the entire civilization.

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three major religions in the world with fourteen million followers for Judaism, 2.1 billion for Christianity, and 1.5 billion for Islam. While many people today only see the differences between the three major monotheistic religions, they are in fact much more similar than they are different. Each religion is Abrahamic, monotheistic, and the sacred texts all contain teachings.

From the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations to the Muslim world, antiquity has always been filled with religions of all sorts. These religions helped guide how ancient peoples lived life and came about doing even the most common tasks that people like us do today. Religion impacted the civilizations of the ancient world by greatly influencing how peoples of ancient civilizations acted, how they thought about the world around them, how civilizations were organized and maintained, and how they interacted with civilizations of another religion.

It increased the emphasis on the movement of creation which implies the existence of a single creator. Chrisitianity, Islam, and Judaism;to name a few, became three major relgions, all of which were spread worldwide. These religions share common aspects because they are monotheistic and originated in areas relatively close in the Middle East. For instance, Jewish people firmly believed in one God that was often expressed their source of truth through the Covenant. All of these religions refer to Jesus Christ as a major prophet with helping people to place responsibilities as they are following their belief in one God. Reading these sacred books heightened the expectations of human responsibility by a sense of consistent time. As the foundation of rival religions exist, it appears to society that they pertain to acknowledge the existence of salvation. As a result, these different religions aspire and encourage followers to lead the virtous lifestyle and to progress in their faith as Hebrews and Jews become fully developed as monotheistic

Additionally, religion made it easier for those in power to stay in power which reminded me of the use of religion in the Handmaid's Tale. "McCabe and Bokonon did not succeed in raising what is generally thought of as the standard of living," said Castle. "The truth was that life was as short and brutish and mean as ever. "But people didn't have to pay as much attention to the awful truth. As the living legend of the cruel tyrant in the city and the gentle holy man in the jungle

Before the Common Era when civilizations were first being developed several elements factored into a group being considered a civilization. Everything from establishing a government to currency were markers of civilization. But of these indicators the written language, religion and the class system had the greatest effect on civilizations. These three markers shaped the private and public lives of ancient civilizations.

Judaism as well as its offshoot and formation into the Christian religion both place great emphasis on the notion of their monotheistic God as revealed in the early scriptures. To them God has revealed Himself as the one Lord of all. Evident in the first Commandment that was

God to the people of the big three monotheist religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) see god as an all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful being.

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

There are three major monotheistic religions still in practice today. They are Islam, Judaism, and

The term monotheism is significant to Islam, meaning that a belief in only one God. The first article of faith in Islam is the belief that there is no deity but

They became the cornerstone of many earlier and later civilizations. Even today many countries, especially those in the Middle East, have religious leaders who work with the government to enact laws and “guide” the spiritual aspect of the lives of their citizens. Unfortunately, with such strong beliefs and convictions can come conflict. This conflict can be on a small scale, such as discrimination against those who don’t share the same beliefs to full-scale war which was the case in the first Crusades. In more recent times we have seen mass genocides of people based in part on religious beliefs such as the annihilation of the Jews during the Second World War. Today we see it played out in acts of terrorism, jihads. Religion is a powerful tool that can be used both to help and enrich the lives of people or used as justification for intolerance against others.