- Monotheism
- Ethical Core
- Universalism
Let's begin by looking at monotheism. To explain why gods were so cranky and finicky, gods in pre-literate ancient chiefdoms were anthropomorphic, with human flaws and desires. As such, the courts of gods reflected ancient courts of kings. As such, there was often a "king" god who controlled all of the other gods. Gradually the "king" god (such as Marduk in Mesopotamia or later Aten in Egypt, early home of the Hebrews) began to replace the other gods either by absorbing them or usurping them altogether. As ancient cultures began to study science, the need for a bunch of finicky gods who held nature and humanity at their whim receded as ancient scientists discovered that they could be predicted and/or prevented. In addition, ancient societies previously relied upon polytheistic gods to create cultural and economic bridges, or syncretism. Whereas before including or absorbing another society's gods was good diplomacy, gradually creating a single powerful god became a way to show dominance over another culture.
Another element of modern religion whose roots can be found in ancient times is an ethical core. Religion was originally used to explain why the world worked the way that it did, and later to manipulate it for desired results. As society became more complicated, kings and other community leaders began to use religion to control the general populace. Whether knowing that they were taking advantage of the established belief system or as an extension of the belief system is an argument I leave up to the Marxists and fundamentalists. Nevertheless, ancient gods began to send out demonic beings to punish their followers- beings such as "Fever" or "Jaundice" to punish people who acted amorally, such as urinating in the river or similar acts that violated social decency. This played to ancient people's self interests. The difference between modern and ancient religions is that our religions have the concept of the afterlife to put us in line- ancient people were punished pretty quickly if they stepped out of line. Philosophers also compare the modern law system to this ancient practice.
The final element of modern religion is universalism, or that religion applies to everyone and not just the followers of the religion, ie, that Marduk created all people, not just the Babylonians. Before technology allowed them to, people lived in isolated city-states that allowed them to develop an us-vs.-them mentality. Gods were used by kings to incorporate nearby villages and cities into their religion to display dominance economically and diplomatically. As technology and the economy progressed to the point that large city states (and thus their religions) began trading and inter-marrying, the concept of a dominant god began to take hold. While Hammurabi began the idea with his Code of Law, touting Marduk as the one god, it was Amenhotep IV in Egypt that began to tout his god Aten as the god of all people (not coincidentally, this was also the original home of the Hebrews). There was a global need for cosmopolitanism and cultural acceptance that came with economic and technological advancements; having one god over all people united the world (as they knew it) under one philosophy. This paved the way for monotheistic faiths, which we address in the next chapter.
