Religion In Ancient Civilization

This course took me on a thought-provoking learning journey beginning with the development of humans from hunters and gatherers to the rise of civilizations and empires in the 16th century. A great emphasis was placed on the origins, development, and accomplishments of the world’s major civilizations. In addition, the comparative study of societies and contacts among different civilizations was focused upon.

In the beginning of this course, we discussed the theory of evolution. I learned how humans evolved and that the first humans were hunters and gatherers. Civilization developed as a result of people starting to farm, settling in one place, domesticating animals, and developing trade, government, laws, and overall more complex societies.

With the verge of Civilization in mind, we dove into the ancient religions, economic structures, and political systems of various ancient civilizations. These civilizations paved the way for future advancement and have significantly impacted modern society. Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman, Medieval, and Early Modern European civilizations functioned by the development (the very early civilizations) and the maintenance (the later civilizations) of complex societies, including the development of government and laws (political systems) and religious beliefs.

Government was a very significant part of each of these civilizations. With government, the people had a basic set of laws that they needed to follow which allowed for structure and peace. Overall, government created order among society.

Within the wide arc of governmental rule, religion helped these pre-modern civilizations function.

The role of religion was vital overall because it kept destruction and chaos at bay through the worship of deities (or God(s)) and daily rituals. We see the importance of religion in early civilizations and throughout history by the way it was valued. Religion has continuously been a significant part in the lives of humans and a source of spirituality for many people. In Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome, religion was significant because the gods were thought to be present in the design and implementation of any building project. The people of these civilizations believed that their entire world was controlled by gods and goddesses. The god’s played a significant role in the lives of the common man. Religion also provided a peaceful break from the violence of daily life. It’s evident that religion was tightly interwoven with government since it helped bring about social order and unification among the people in these civilizations. During the Medieval ages, individuals relied on the church for everything, including information about the afterlife. As a consequence, religion was a very influential aspect of people’s lives. And again, religion kept people in order. However, during the early modern civilizations, the centric authority of the church changed as a result of new findings and theories. People started questioning religious authority and some (such as the

Protestants) broke from the Catholic Church because of it.

At the conclusion of this course, we learn that the discovery of new lands was possible due to changes in ship design and navigation. The people who found these lands commonly encountered Indians and missionary work was of great significance during this time. Europeans worked hard to convert the Native Americans of North America.

Overall, drawing together what I have learned from this course, the history of world civilization consists of continuous advancement up until the present day.

Beginning with evolution, humans have worked hard to advance their lives. Early humans worked hard to create societies that would advance their quality of life while humans during the Middle Ages advanced life by becoming closer to God. Likewise, humans during the Renaissance and the Reformation period of history worked to advance life by discovering new inventions and ideas. Finally, humans during the end of the 16th century worked to advance life by finding new lands and continuing, to the present day, to discover more ways to make life better. Furthermore, people have always desired to find answers to phenomena that they couldn’t explain. Humans have always relied on an otherworldly power for protection and security. At times this power was questioned, but even so, religion and spirituality have always been significant to humans throughout history. In addition to religion, each civilization throughout history functioned by the development of social/structural models to advance civilization such as political systems and economic systems. The result of these systems working together was a positive combined effect that made each civilization work better because it allowed its people to withstand much violence and turmoil. Furthermore, these man built social structures helped pave the way for continuous advancement up

until our current age.