What role did religion play in the civilizations of mesopotamia and Egypt?

Answer 1

It is a very simple answer, in the early civilization religion was almost everything. The Kings were selcetd by the church, and Kings had the reputation especially in Egypt that they have been chosen by God. Mostly everything that was recorded or written down were all done by churches, monks beacsue they had the proper education to know how to read and write, so there was also the religious bias in most concepts. Science existed as long as it proved the existence of God, and the closer you were associated with the church the higher place you held in the socail class. There was the church, the state, the landlords, soldiers, peasents, women and slaves. Governments always played around the church becasue the church had the power to domonate people's beliefs and fears. A king couldn't have thrown over a church but a church could have thrown over a king. The church or religion was like a pupet master that yanked the king and the public how they wished, and until the enlightenment era when people really started to question the existence of God through science and were able to prove things through science the church was the the government and the government was the church.

Answer 2

Religion helped explain what they themselves couldn't explain.

Example: In Greek/Roman Religion then but now mythology, they believed in these high powers. Zeus who controlled the skies, lightning and thunder. Posiden/Neptune who controlled the seas and earthquakes. Aphrodite, who caused people to fall in love. It was just an explanation of the world around them. It also taught them morals as well.

Answer 3

It played a big rol in Egyptian society, if that is what you mean. Egyptians had a few hundred gods, even gods of rats and geese. Since Egyptian society was for its sustenance dependent on what they saw as 'supernatural' powers that caused the yearly flooding by the river Nile, they were very fastidious in their religious observations and they saw their Pharaoh as a 'son of God' and their advocate with the gods.

In Egyptian history the role of religion was not big. Contrary to the later Christians who would go to war and conquest over the subject, the adherents of ancient religions never saw their religion as superior to that of others, just as 'different'. Religion was never a reason for dramatic developments in Egypt's history, with the one big exception of the pharaoh Akhnaten who turned Egypt's religous observance upside down with his Sun-worship cult and the establishment of the capital city of Amarna and the so-called Amarna style in painting and sculpture.

After his death the priest class of Egypt saw to it that things were quickly turned back to normal under his young son Tutankhamen. Despite a short reign and an unexpected death he was buried with a great amount of treasure. Several experts think that given the lack of time to make and collect all this, the priests got a bit of their own back by emptying the tomb of Akhnaten of much of its treasures and adding them to Tutankhamen's burial gifts.

Answer 4

whoever is looking this up needs to look in a book and stop relying on the internet for there home work

Answer 5

it was how all the ancient people explained everything

Answer 6

Both civilizations were ruled by priests; major architecture was religious based.

Answer 7

Religion was a ordained by the current pharaoh and was incorporated in every aspect of life. There is no ancient egyptian word for religion. Education was for the wealthy and privileged.

Answer 8

People were able to receive formal education through education in the civilization of Mesopotamia.