So, we can only make more or less reasonable assumptions about the existence of beliefs among the closest ancestors of modern man - the Neanderthals. One can speak more definitely about ancient beliefs in relation to Cro-Magnons - people of modern physical appearance.

In 1886 during construction railway In the valley of the Veser River (France), in a cave near the village of Cro-Magnon, several skeletons of ancient people were found, who in their physical appearance were very close to modern people. One of the skeletons found belonged to an elderly man (“the old man from Cro-Magnon”). What did this Cro-Magnon representative look like? According to reconstructions, he was a tall man, about 180 cm tall, with very strong muscles. The Cro-Magnon skull was long and capacious (brain volume about 1560 cm 3). The forehead was straight, the face was relatively low, wide, especially in the cheekbones, the nose was narrow and long, the lower jaw had a pronounced chin.

Reconstructions of other Cro-Magnons found also allow us to imagine them as people whose faces no longer have anything animalistic, their jaws do not protrude forward, their chin is well developed and protruding, and their facial features are thin. The figure is completely straight, the position of the torso is the same as that of a modern person, the long bones of the limbs have the same dimensions.

The people of this era were skilled hunters. Compared to the Neanderthals, they already possessed more advanced tools - spears, darts with sharp stone and bone tips. The Cro-Magnons already used bolas in the form of stones and cannonballs, carved from mammoth bone and attached to the end of a long belt. They also used stone throwing discs for hunting. They had sharp daggers that were made from the bones of killed animals.

Their hunting ingenuity went much further than that of the Neanderthals. Cro-Magnons set various traps for animals. Thus, one of the simplest traps was a fence with one entrance, which could be easily closed if it was possible to drive the animal into it. Another hunting trick was to wear animal skins. The hunters, camouflaged in this way, crawled almost close to the grazing animals. They moved against the wind and, approaching a short distance, jumped up from the ground and, before the surprised animals could sense the danger and run away, struck them with spears and javelins. We learn about all these hunting tricks of the Cro-Magnons from their rock paintings. Cro-Magnons appeared approximately 30-40 thousand years ago.

We can judge more thoroughly the beliefs of the ancient people of this era. Many burials dating back to this time have been found. Cro-Magnon burial methods were very diverse. Sometimes the dead were buried where people lived, after which the Cro-Magnons left this place. In other cases, the corpses were burned at the stake. The dead were also buried in specially dug graves, and sometimes they covered their heads and feet with stones. In some places stones were piled on the head, chest and legs of the dead man, as if they were afraid that he would get up.

Apparently, for the same reason, the dead were sometimes tied up and buried in a strongly crouched position. The dead were also left in the cave, and the exit to it was blocked with large stones. Often the corpse or head was sprinkled with red paint; when excavating graves, this is noticeable by the color of the ground and bones. Many different things were put into the grave with the dead: jewelry, stone tools, food.

Among the burials of this era, the burial of “mammoth hunters” in Předmosti, near Přerov (Czechoslovakia), discovered in 1894 by K. E. Maška, became widely known. In this burial, 20 skeletons were found, which were laid in crouched positions and with their heads turned to the north: five skeletons of adult men, three of adult women, two of young women, seven of children and three of infants. The grave was oval in shape, 4 m long and 2.5 m wide. One side of the burial was lined with mammoth shoulder blades, the other with their jaws. The top of the grave was covered with a layer of stones 30-50 cm thick to protect it from destruction by predators. Archaeologists suggest that some group of ancient people used this grave for a long period, from time to time placing new deceased members of the clan group into it.

Other archaeological excavations provide a more complete picture of the beliefs of the people of this era. Some images painted by ancient people on the walls of caves are interpreted by scientists as figures of sorcerers. Drawings were found with people disguised as animals, as well as images of half-humans, half-animals, which allows us to conclude that there are elements of hunting magic and belief in werewolves. Among the figurines dating back to this era, there are many images of women. These figurines were called "Venus" in archeology. The faces, arms and legs of these figurines are not particularly pronounced, but, as a rule, the chest, belly, and hips are highlighted, i.e., the physical signs that characterize a woman. Scientists suggest that these female figures serve as a monument to some ancient cult associated with fertility. Many researchers do not doubt the religious nature of these beliefs.

So, according to archeology, only 30-40 thousand years ago ancient people began to have beliefs similar to the beliefs common among some modern peoples.

Science has accumulated a huge amount of material that allows us to identify the most characteristic beliefs of primitive society.

Let us first characterize them in general terms, that is, we will describe the main forms of primitive beliefs.

If we bring together the numerous data that archeology, anthropology, linguistics, folklore, ethnography and other sciences that study the early stages of the development of human society tell us, then we can identify the following main forms of beliefs of ancient people.

Fetishistic beliefs, or fetishism, - worship of individual objects and natural phenomena. This form of belief was called fetishism, and the objects that were worshiped were called fetishes, from the Portuguese word “fetiko” - “made”, “made”, this is how Portuguese sailors called the objects of worship of a number of African peoples.

Magical beliefs, or magic, - belief in the possibility, with the help of certain techniques, conspiracies, rituals, to influence objects and natural phenomena, the course of social life, and later the world of supernatural forces.

Totemistic beliefs, or totemism, - the belief that certain types of animals, plants, some material objects, as well as natural phenomena are the ancestors, ancestors, patrons of specific tribal groups. Such beliefs were called totemism in science, from the words “totem”, “ottotem” - “its kind”, taken from the language of one of the North American Indian tribes.

Animist beliefs, or animism, - belief in the existence of the soul and spirits (from the Latin word "anima" - "soul"). According to animist beliefs, the entire world around humans is inhabited by spirits, and every person, animal or plant has its own soul, a disembodied double.

Shamanistic beliefs, or shamanism, - beliefs according to which it is believed that certain people, shamans (the name of a sorcerer-witch doctor among many northern peoples) can, having brought themselves to a state of ecstasy, frenzy, directly communicate with spirits and use them to heal people from diseases, to ensure good hunting , catch, for making rain, etc.

Cult of nature- beliefs in which the main objects of worship are the spirits of various animals and plants, natural phenomena, celestial bodies: the sun, earth, moon.

Animatist beliefs, or animatism(from the Latin “animato” - “with soul”, “animated”) - beliefs in a special impersonal supernatural force that is diffused throughout the surrounding world and which can be concentrated in individual people (for example, in leaders), animals, objects.

Cult of patron ancestors- beliefs in which the main object of worship is the ancestors and their spirits, whose help can supposedly be enlisted by resorting to various rites and ceremonies.

Cult of tribal leaders- beliefs according to which community leaders, tribal leaders and leaders of tribal unions are endowed with supernatural properties. The main rituals and ceremonies in this cult are aimed at strengthening the power of the leaders, which supposedly should have a beneficial effect on the entire tribe.

Agricultural and pastoral cults, which develop with the separation of agriculture and cattle breeding into independent branches, are beliefs according to which the main objects of worship are spirits and supernatural beings - the patrons of livestock and agriculture, the givers of fertility.

As we see, the beliefs of the era of the primitive communal system were quite diverse and manifested themselves in various combinations. But they all have one common feature, according to which we classify them as beliefs that are close in nature to religion or are religious. In all these beliefs there is a moment of reverence for something supernatural, standing above the surrounding real world, dominating this world.

Ancient people worshiped material objects because they endowed them with supernatural properties. They revered animals because they felt they had a supernatural connection with these animals. Unable to really influence the elemental forces of nature, ancient man tried to influence them through witchcraft. Primitive people later endowed human consciousness and the human psyche with supernatural properties, representing it in the form of a soul independent of the body and controlling the body. The creation, with the help of fantasy, of a supernatural world placed above the real, natural world, was the result of the powerlessness and weakness of primitive man, suppressed by the elemental forces of nature.

In order to more clearly imagine the dependence of primitive people on nature, their powerlessness, it is best to turn to the life of modern peoples who are lagging behind in their development. Here is what, for example, the great Russian explorer of the Far North F. Wrangel wrote: “It is difficult to imagine to what extent hunger reaches among the local peoples, whose existence depends solely on chance. Often, from half the summer, people already feed on tree bark and skins, before which served them as beds and clothing. A deer caught or killed by chance is divided equally among members of the whole clan and eaten, in the full sense of the word, with bones and skin. Everything, even the entrails and crushed antlers and bones, is used for food, because something is needed fill your hungry stomach."

Further, the scientist writes that during all the days of this wild hunger strike, people live only with the thought of a successful deer hunt, and finally this happy moment comes. The scouts bring good news: a herd of deer has been discovered on the other side of the river. “Joyful anticipation enlivened all the faces, and everything predicted an abundant harvest,” F. Wrangel continues his description. “But, to the horror of everyone, suddenly the sad, fatal news was heard: “The deer has staggered!” Indeed, we saw that the entire herd was probably frightened by many hunters, he moved away from the shore and disappeared into the mountains. Despair took the place of joyful hopes. The heart was breaking at the sight of a people suddenly deprived of all means to support their miserable existence. The picture of general despondency and despair was terrible. Women and children moaned loudly, wringing their hands, others threw themselves on the ground and, with screams, blew up the snow and earth, as if they were preparing a grave for themselves. The elders and fathers of the family stood silently, fixing lifeless gazes on those elevations beyond which their hope had disappeared."

* (F. Wrangel. Travel along the northern shores of Siberia and the Arctic Sea, part II. St. Petersburg, 1841, pp. 105-106.)

This is a vivid picture of hopeless despair, fear of the future, painted by F. Wrangel, but here we are talking about modern people. Primitive man, with his pitiful tools of labor, was even weaker and more helpless in the face of nature.

Primitive man was an excellent hunter; he knew well the habits and habits of the animals he hunted. From a barely noticeable trail, he could easily determine which animal had passed here, in which direction and how long ago. Armed with a wooden club and a stone, he boldly entered into single combat with predators and set cunning traps for them.

And yet, the ancient man was hourly convinced that success in the hunt depended not only on his cunning and courage. Days of good fortune, and therefore relative prosperity, were followed by long hunger strikes. Suddenly, all the animals disappeared from the places where he had recently hunted so successfully. Or, despite all his tricks, the animals bypassed his perfectly camouflaged traps, and fish disappeared for a long time in reservoirs. Gathering was also an unreliable support for life. At a time of year when the unbearable heat burned out all the vegetation, man did not find a single edible root or tuber in the petrified earth.

And suddenly the days of hunger strike also unexpectedly gave way to success in the hunt. The trees generously gave man ripe fruits, and he found many edible roots in the ground.

Primitive man could not yet understand the reasons for such changes in his existence. It begins to seem to him that there are some unknown, supernatural forces that influence both nature and his life. Thus, on the living tree of knowledge, as V.I. Lenin said, a barren flower arises - religious ideas.

Not counting on own strength, not trusting his primitive tools, ancient man more and more often pinned his hopes on these mysterious forces, linking both his failures and his victories with them.

Of course, all of the listed forms of belief: the worship of objects, the veneration of animals and plants, witchcraft, and belief in the soul and spirits - are the product of long historical development. Science makes it possible to determine the earliest layers in the beliefs of primitive man.

As we have already said, at the earliest stages of development there was a lot of truth in man’s ideas about nature. Primitive man was a good hunter and well versed in the habits of animals. He knew which plant fruits were good for him. By making tools, he learned the properties and qualities of various materials. However, the low level of social practice, the primitiveness of the tools of labor, and the comparative poverty of experience determined that there was much that was incorrect and distorted in the ideas of ancient man about the world around him.

Not being able to understand some properties of objects or the essence of phenomena, not seeing the necessary real connections between them, ancient man often attributed false properties to them, establishing purely random, superficial connections between them in his mind. This was a delusion, but there was still no belief in the supernatural. We can say that such a distorted reflection of reality was a step towards religion, towards belief in the supernatural world, one of the origins of religion.

To clarify our thought, let us take the following example: primitive man, in his work and everyday life, was constantly faced with the fact of the transformation of some objects and phenomena into others. He has seen more than once how plants grow from seeds, chicks emerge from eggs, butterflies emerge from larvae, and fish emerge from eggs. From things that seemed at first glance inanimate, living organisms arose. Repeatedly, ancient man was faced with the facts of the transformation of water into ice or steam; he noted in his mind the movement of clouds, snow avalanches, the fall of stones from mountains, the flow of rivers, etc. It turned out that the inanimate world, like humans and animals, has the ability to movement. The line between a person and the objects of the surrounding world thus turned out to be fuzzy and vague.

Changing and transforming the objects of the surrounding world in accordance with his goals and needs, primitive man gradually began to endow them with other properties, to “remake” them in his consciousness and imagination. He began to endow natural phenomena and objects with the properties of living things; It seemed to him, for example, that not only a person or an animal could walk, but also rain, snow, that a tree “sees” a hunter sneaking through the forest, a rock lurking menacingly like an animal, etc.

One of man's early misconceptions about the world around him was the personification of nature, attributing to the inanimate world the properties of the living, often the properties of man himself.

Thousands of years separate us from this time. We know quite accurately, based on archaeological data, about the tools of labor of the ancient people of this era, about their way of life. But it is difficult for us to judge their consciousness with the same degree of accuracy. To some extent, ethnographic literature helps us imagine the spiritual world of ancient people.

The wonderful book of the great Soviet traveler and talented writer Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev “In the wilds of the Ussuri region” is widely known. Let us remind the reader about one of the heroes of this book - the brave hunter, brave guide of V.K. Arsenyev Dersu Uzala. He was a real son of nature, a subtle connoisseur of all the secrets of the Ussuri taiga, who perfectly understood its every rustle. But in this case, we are not interested in these qualities of Dersu Uzal, but in his views on the world, on nature, the life of which he felt so subtly.

V.K. Arsenyev writes that he was extremely struck by Dersu Uzal’s naive but firm conviction that all nature is something living. Once at a halt, says V.K. Arsenyev, “Dersu and I, as usual, were sitting and talking. A kettle forgotten on the fire persistently reminded us of its hissing. Dersu put it aside a little, but the kettle continued to hum. Dersu put it even further away Then the kettle began to sing in a thin voice.

Shout him! - said Dersu. - Thin people! - He jumped up and poured hot water on the ground.

How are "people"? - I asked him in bewilderment.

“Water,” he answered simply. - I can scream, I can cry, I can also play.

This primitive man spoke to me for a long time about his worldview. He saw the living force in the water, saw its quiet flow and heard its roar during floods.

Look,” said Dersu, pointing to the fire, “they are also people anyway.” *

* (VC. Arsenyev. In the wilds of the Ussuri region. M., 1949, p. 47.)

According to the descriptions of V.K. Arsenyev, in the ideas of Dersu Uzal, all the objects of the world around him were alive, or, as he called them in his language, they were “people”. Trees are “people”, hills are “people”, rocks are “people”, the thunderstorm of the Ussuri taiga - the tiger (in the Dersu language “amba”) is also “people”. But personifying nature, Dersu Uzala was not afraid of it. If necessary, he and his old single-barreled Berdan gun boldly entered into a duel with a tiger and emerged victorious.

It is impossible, of course, to completely identify these views of Dersu Uzal with the views of ancient man on the world, but apparently there is a lot in common between them. As has already been said, an incorrect explanation of reality is not yet a religion. At the stage of personification of nature, a person attributes properties that are not inherent to them to ordinary objects and phenomena. But, endowing natural objects with properties that are unnatural for them, imagining inanimate objects as living, a person does not yet worship them. Here, not only is there no worship of any supernatural forces hiding behind the world of real things, but there is also no idea of ​​the existence of supernatural forces.

F. Engels, who dealt a lot with the problem of the origin of religion, pointed out in his works such origins of religion as the most ignorant, dark, primitive ideas of ancient people about their own and the external nature surrounding them (see cit., vol. 21, p. 313), identified the main stages in the formation of people’s views on the path to religion, and noted the personification of the forces of nature as one of these stages. The preparatory works for Anti-Dühring contain the following important thought of F. Engels: “The forces of nature appear to primitive man as something alien, mysterious, overwhelming. At a certain stage, through which all cultural peoples pass, he becomes familiar with them through personification.” *.

* (K. Marx and F. Engels. Soch., vol. 20, p. 639.)

The personification of the forces of nature is undoubtedly one of the origins of religion. But here we should immediately make a reservation that not every personification is religious. Religious personification necessarily includes the idea of ​​a supernatural world, supernatural forces that control the world around us. When the ancient Babylonian, personifying nature, subordinated it to the patron god of vegetation, Tammuz, this was already a religious personification. In the same way, when the ancient Greeks, personifying nature, attributed the entire plant cycle with its spring blossoming and autumn withering to the moods of the fertility goddess Demeter, who rejoiced at the return of her daughter Persephone from the dark kingdom of Hades and was sad when she left her, this was a religious personification.

The ancient people, at the early stages of personifying the forces of nature, most likely had no idea of ​​the supernatural. Primitive man personified the world around him because his knowledge of nature was insignificant. The standards with which he approached the assessment of his surroundings were limited, and the comparisons were erroneous. Knowing himself best and observing those around him, he naturally transferred human properties not only to animals, but also to plants and even inanimate objects. And then the forest became alive, the babbling stream spoke, the animals began to be cunning. Such personification was incorrect, a distorted reflection of reality, but it was not yet religious. In the incorrect, distorted reflection of the surrounding world there was already hidden the possibility of the emergence of religion, or more precisely, of some of its elements. However, it would be a long time before this opportunity was realized.

When does this personification of nature acquire the features of religious ideas?

The matter apparently began with the fact that gradually ancient man began to endow real objects not only with qualities that were not inherent in them, but also with supernatural properties. In every object or natural phenomenon, he began to see fantastic forces on which, it seemed to him, his life, success or failure in hunting, etc. depended.

The first ideas about the supernatural were figurative, visual, almost tangible. The supernatural at this stage of development of human beliefs was not represented as an independent incorporeal being (spirit, god), things themselves were endowed with supernatural properties. In nature itself, its real objects and phenomena, ancient man saw something supernatural that had enormous, incomprehensible power over him.

The idea of ​​the supernatural is a figment of the imagination of a person who is aware of his powerlessness before the forces of nature. However, it cannot be said that this fantasy has nothing to do with the real world. It distorts the actual connections of real objects, but the material for fantastic images is drawn by man from the world around him. However, in these fantastic images, real objects and natural phenomena already lose their actual outlines. People say that “fear has big eyes.” The imagination of the ancient man was in the grip of fear, it worked under the influence of his powerlessness before the formidable, powerful nature, the laws of which he did not know, many of the most important properties of which he did not understand.

Ethnographic data also speaks of fear of the formidable forces of nature as one of the sources of primitive beliefs. One of the researchers of Eskimo beliefs, Knut Rasmussen, recorded interesting statements of one Eskimo: “And you cannot give reasons when we ask you: why is life the way it is? This is how it is, and this is how it should be. And all our customs lead our origin from life and enter into life; we don’t explain anything, we don’t think anything, but what I showed you contains all our answers: we are afraid!

We are afraid of the weather, which we must fight, tearing food from the earth and from the sea. We are afraid of want and hunger in cold snowy huts. We are afraid of the diseases that we see around us every day. We are not afraid of death, but of suffering. We are afraid of dead people...

That is why our ancestors armed themselves with all the old everyday rules, developed by the experience and wisdom of generations.

We don’t know, we don’t guess why, but we follow these rules so that we can live in peace. And we are so ignorant, despite all our spellcasters, that we are afraid of everything we do not know. We are afraid of what we see around us, and we are afraid of what legends and legends talk about. Therefore, we adhere to our customs and observe our taboos" * (prohibitions - V.Ch.).

* (K. Rasmussen. The Great Sleigh Road. M., 1958, pp. 82-83.)

Chained in the grip of fear, the consciousness of ancient man began to endow real objects with supernatural properties that for some reason caused fear. Researchers believe that, for example, poisonous plants were endowed with such supernatural properties. The similarity of the found stones, roots or branches with animals also made the imagination of the ancient man work. Noticing the similarity of the stone with the animal that was the main object of the hunt, a person could take this strange, unusual stone with him on the hunt. The coincidence of a successful hunt and this discovery could have led primitive man to the conclusion that this strange stone, similar to an animal, was the main reason for his luck. Success in a hunt was associated with a randomly found stone, which no longer became a simple object, but a miraculous object, a fetish, an object of worship.

Let's remember again about Neanderthal burials and warehouses of cave bear bones. As already mentioned, some scientists believe that Neanderthal burials indicate the emergence of people's belief in the soul and the afterlife. However, the emergence of ideas about the other world, an immortal soul separated from the body, requires a developed imagination, the ability to think abstractly. Such beliefs, as we will see later, arise in later stages of the development of human society. Neanderthals' beliefs were much simpler. In this case, we are most likely dealing with the fact that the corpse has been endowed with some supernatural properties. We observe similar beliefs among some backward peoples. For example, among Australians, funeral customs were generated by a superstitious attitude towards the corpse, the belief that the deceased himself could cause harm. Apparently, the attitude towards the bones of cave bears was similar; they were considered fetishes that had the supernatural properties of being reborn into new bears, and “ensure” a successful hunt in the future.

The veneration of material objects is often found among modern peoples. For example, the power of sorcerers among the indigenous people of Australia is directly associated with the presence of shiny, sparkling stones in the sorcerer’s possession: the more of them, the stronger the sorcerer. Among many African peoples, hunters did not start hunting until they found a suitable object (fetish), which, in their opinion, alone could make the hunt successful. None big Adventure also, it could not be done without preparing or searching for a fetish. Often, much more attention was paid to the search for such items than to preparing supplies for the road.

The main features of fetishism, its specificity, focus on satisfying sensual desires, the desire to endow an ordinary thing with supernatural properties were noted by K. Marx. In one of his articles, he wrote: “Fetishism is very far from elevating a person above his sensual lusts - on the contrary, it is "religion of sensual desires". A fantasy inflamed by lust creates in the fetishist the illusion that an “insensible thing” can change its natural properties just to satisfy his whim. Rough lust of a fetishist breaks therefore, his fetish when he ceases to be his most loyal servant." * This vivid and accurate description of K. Marx allows us to draw a conclusion about the social harm that belief in the supernatural carries. After all, at this stage of human development, the supernatural has not yet separated from consciousness from natural objects, but how much effort is already wasted, how dearly his illusions cost a person!

* (K. Marx and F. Engels. Soch., vol. 1, p. 98.)

In the last century, an entire “museum” of fetishes was discovered in one African sorcerer. There were more than 20 thousand “exhibits.” According to the sorcerer, each of these items at one time brought one benefit or another to either him or his ancestors.

What were these objects? Among the numerous “exhibits” of this strange “museum” was a pot of red clay, into which a rooster’s feather was stuck; wooden stakes wrapped in wool; parrot feathers, human hair. There was also a tiny chair in the “museum”, with an equally small mattress next to it. In this “museum”, collected through the efforts of many generations, the old sorcerer came to “look after” the fetishes, he cleaned them, washed them, at the same time begging for various favors from them. Researchers noticed that not all objects in this museum enjoyed the same worship - some were revered almost like real deities, others were given more modest honors.

This is an interesting detail. A fetish, a revered object, is like a deity for a moment. It is useful only for a certain purpose, only for certain purposes. The fetish is specific, it does not have absolute power, valid in any conditions.

While initially honoring material objects, primitive man did not divide them into main and non-main. But gradually, from a number of fetishes, the main ones, that is, the most “powerful” ones, begin to stand out.

In those distant times we are talking about here, a person’s life and his food supply largely depended on the success or failure of a hunt, on whether he would find enough fruits, tubers, and roots. This constant dependence on the animal and plant world gave rise to false, fantastic ideas and aroused the imagination of ancient man. Not knowing any other social relationships other than blood relations, ancient man transferred them to nature. He represented various species of animals and plants as peculiar clans and tribes, related to the tribes of people; often animals were considered by ancient people to be the ancestors of their tribe. In other words, each clan group believed in some kind of kinship with its ancestor, the totem.

As studies have shown, in first place among totems were useful to humans plants and animals. Thus, in Australia, among the tribes living on the coast, more than 60 percent of all totems were fish or sea animals. Among the tribes living inland, such “water” totems were less than 8 percent.

Totems for Australians, as ethnographic data show, are not deities, but related and close creatures. When talking about them, Australians usually use the following expressions: “This is my father,” “This is my older brother,” “This is my friend,” “This is my flesh.” The feeling of kinship with the totem most often manifested itself in the prohibition of killing it and eating it.

The main ceremonies associated with totemistic beliefs among Australians were the rites of “reproduction” of totems. Usually once a year, at a certain time, a totem animal was killed. The community leader cut off pieces of meat and, giving them to community members, said to everyone: “This year you will eat a lot of meat.” Eating the meat of a totem animal was considered an introduction to the body of the ancestor of the progenitor; its properties were, as it were, transferred to its relatives.

Totemistic beliefs are clearly associated with a certain type of practice, work activity and social relations. Among the Australians, whose main occupation was hunting and gathering, and the main type of social relations were tribal ones, totemistic beliefs dominated. Among their neighboring Melanesians and Polynesians, who already knew agriculture and had livestock (i.e., to a certain extent, they dominated animals and plants) and were at various stages of decomposition of the primitive communal system, totemistic beliefs were preserved only as weak remnants. Man does not worship those objects and natural phenomena that he has known, mastered, and “conquered.”

Scientists have long been confused by the fact that among the ancestral totems there are not only animals and plants, but also inanimate objects, in particular minerals. Apparently, this is a trace of more ancient, fetishistic beliefs.

Thus, we see that the worship of animals and plants fantastically reflected the dependence of ancient man on the blind forces of nature and a certain type of social relations. With the further development of mankind, when gathering was replaced by agriculture, and hunting by the domestication of animals, the strength of the primitive collective increased, it moved further along the path of conquering nature, totemism began to occupy a secondary place in ancient beliefs.

Primitive man did not simply passively venerate fetishes and totems. He tried to force them to serve himself, to satisfy the needs and desires of people. Due to the extremely low level of material production and man's knowledge of the world around him and himself, helplessness before the blind, elemental forces of nature pushed him to compensate for this real powerlessness with the imaginary power of witchcraft, magical activity.

The veneration of material objects by ancient people was accompanied by various actions (fetishes were “looked after,” cleaned, fed, watered, etc.), as well as verbal requests and appeals to these objects. Gradually, on this basis, a whole system of witchcraft actions arises.

A significant part of witchcraft rituals was based on the belief of primitive man that the desired phenomenon could be caused by actions that imitate this phenomenon. For example, during a period of drought, wanting to cause rain, the sorcerer climbed onto the roof of his hut and poured water from a vessel onto the ground. It was believed that the rain would follow his example and irrigate the fields dying from drought. Some Australian tribes, before going to hunt a kangaroo, drew its image in the sand and pierced it with spears: they believed that this would ensure good luck during the hunt. Archaeological scientists have found on the walls of caves in which ancient people lived, images of animals - bears, bison, rhinoceroses, etc., struck by spears and darts. This is how ancient people “secured” their luck in the hunt. Belief in the supernatural power of witchcraft forced ancient people to spend a lot of energy and time performing meaningless magical rituals.

It is precisely this feature of magic that K. Marx’s vivid description refers to: “Weakness has always been saved by faith in miracles; it considered the enemy defeated if it managed to defeat him in its imagination...” *.

* (K. Marx and F. Engels. Soch., vol. 8, p. 123.)

The magical belief in miracles, which originated in ancient times, became an important component element to all religions. And modern clergy call on believers to hope for a miracle and perform magical rituals. For example, one of the main rites of Christianity - baptism - is permeated with magic. In the Orthodox Church, during this ritual, four prayers are read, which are called “incantatory” prayers; they serve, according to the assurances of Orthodox clergy, “to drive away the devil being baptized.” Other magical actions are also performed during baptism: the person being baptized and his successors (godfather and godmother) at a certain moment turn to the west (because the west is “the country where darkness appears, and Satan is the prince of darkness”), renounce Satan three times, confirming this renunciation by "breathing and spitting on the evil spirit." The custom of spitting on Satan is a relic of the beliefs of ancient people, who attributed witchcraft powers to saliva. During the sacrament of baptism, the baby's hair is cut and thrown into the font. There are also traces of the beliefs of an ancient man who believed that by donating his hair to the spirits, he entered into a closer connection with the world of supernatural forces. All of these are examples of witchcraft in a “God-given” religion, which in words vehemently opposes magic as a sign of “lower” “pagan” beliefs compared to Christianity.

Scientists had to put a lot of effort and energy in order to make clear the bizarre world of witchcraft beliefs of ancient man. Apparently, at a certain historical stage, manipulations over revered objects begin to be carried out in a strictly defined, “canonized” order. In this way there arises action magic. Verbal requests and appeals to objects endowed with supernatural properties turn into witchcraft conspiracies, spells - the magic of words. Researchers of magical beliefs identify several types of magic: harmful, military, love, healing, protective, fishing, meteorological.

At the early stages of the development of primitive beliefs, as already mentioned, man endowed real objects with supernatural properties. He did not separate the supernatural from nature. But gradually a person developed ideas about a certain second supernatural nature of things, complementing their actual natural nature. It seemed to him that in every object there was some kind of mysterious double of this object, that a mysterious force lived in it. Over time, this double is separated in the imagination of an ancient person from an object or phenomenon and becomes an independent force.

Ideas arise that behind every bush, mountain, stream, any object or phenomenon, invisible spirits are hidden, that a certain spiritual force - the soul - lurks in humans and animals. Apparently, the initial ideas about this double were very vague. This can be illustrated by examples of the responses of the natives of Nicaragua when asked questions relating to their beliefs. When asked what happens when people die, the natives answered: “When people die, something like a person comes out of their mouth. This creature goes to the place where the men and women are. It looks like a person, but does not die. Body remains in the ground."

Question. Do those who go there retain the same body, the same face, the same members as here on earth?

Answer. No, only the heart goes there.

Question. But when a person's heart is cut out during captive sacrifices, what happens?

Answer. It is not the heart itself that goes away, but what in the body gives people life, and this leaves the body when a person dies.

Gradually, these ideas about the mysterious double became more and more clear, and a belief in spirits and the soul arose. In order to more concretely imagine the process of formation of animistic beliefs among primitive people, let’s look at how some existing peoples imagine the soul and spirits. According to the testimony of the major polar explorer F. Nansen, the Eskimos believe that the soul is connected with breathing. Therefore, while treating a person, shamans breathed on the patient, trying to either heal his soul or breathe a new one into him. At the same time, despite the fact that the soul in the ideas of the Eskimos is endowed with the properties of materiality, physicality, it is thought of as an independent being, independent of the body, therefore it is believed that the soul can be lost, like a thing, and that sometimes shamans steal it. When a person goes on a long journey, the Eskimos believe, his soul remains at home, and this explains the homesickness.

Many peoples believe that in a dream a person’s soul leaves, and his body sleeps. Dreams are the nightly adventures of the soul, the double, but the human body does not participate in these adventures and continues to lie.

Among a number of peoples (Tasmanians, Algonquins, Zulus, Basuts), the word “soul” also means shadow. This suggests that at the early stages of its formation, the concept of “soul” among these peoples coincided with the concept of “shadow”. Other peoples (Koren, Papuans, Arabs, ancient Jews) had a different specific idea of ​​the soul; it was associated with blood. In the languages ​​of these peoples, the concepts of “soul” and “blood” were denoted by one word.

Perhaps the Greenlandic Eskimos had a particularly clear idea of ​​the soul. They believed that fat people have fat souls, and skinny people have skinny souls. Thus, we see that through the ideas of many peoples about the soul, the most ancient understanding of it shines through as some completely material carrier of the vital forces of animals and plants, which was associated with blood, heart, breath, shadow, etc. Gradually, bodily, material properties in ideas about the soul disappeared and the soul became more and more subtle, ethereal, spiritual and finally turned into a completely ethereal spiritual being, independent and independent of the real, bodily world.

However, with the advent of ideas about an incorporeal soul, independent of the real world, separating from the flesh, the ancient man was faced with the question: if the soul can be separated from the flesh, can leave it, leave the bodily shell, then where does it go when a person dies, when does his body become a corpse?

With the emergence of beliefs in the soul, ideas about the afterlife began to form, which was usually depicted in the image of the earthly one.

Primitive people, who did not know class stratification, property inequality, exploitation and exploiters, imagined the other world to be the same for everyone. Initially, the idea of ​​rewarding sinners for their sins and rewarding the righteous for their virtues was not associated with the afterlife. In the afterlife of ancient people there was no hell and heaven.

Subsequently, as animistic ideas developed, every somewhat significant natural phenomenon in the consciousness of primitive man received its own spirit. In order to appease the spirits and win them over to their side, people began to make sacrifices to them, often human ones. Thus, in ancient Peru, several boys and girls of ten years of age were sacrificed annually to the spirits of nature.

We examined the main forms of beliefs of people who lived in the era of the primitive communal system. Contrary to theological theories about the primordial belief in a single omnipotent God, contrary to the concept of primitive monotheism, it turns out that initially people revered crude material objects, animals, plants. The fantasy of ancient man, inflamed by fear of everything unknown, endowed natural objects and phenomena with supernatural properties. Then there appeared an equally blind faith in the soul, which can leave the body, ideas about spirits that hide behind any object, behind every natural phenomenon.

However, at this stage we do not yet see faith in the gods, and the supernatural world itself in the minds of ancient man has not yet separated from the real world. The natural and supernatural in these beliefs are very closely intertwined; the supernatural world is not presented as something independent, standing above nature and society. F. Engels gave a very accurate description of the content of the beliefs of ancient man of this period: “It was a cult of nature and the elements, which was on the path of development towards polytheism” *.

* (K. Marx and F. Engels. Soch., vol. 21, p. 93.)

What place did these beliefs occupy in the life of primitive man? In those cases when a person could confidently rely on himself, on his own strength and knowledge, he did not turn to supernatural forces for help. But as soon as people in their life practice encountered something incomprehensible, on which their well-being and even life largely depended, they began to resort to witchcraft, spells, trying to enlist the support of supernatural forces.

It would therefore be completely wrong to assert that primitive man could not have taken a step without witchcraft, magic, shamans, etc. Quite the contrary, if ancient people had relied on supernatural forces in everything, they would not have taken a step along the path of social progress. Work and the mind developing in work led man forward, helping him to understand nature and himself. Belief in the supernatural only prevented him from doing this.

The Urantia Book

Document 85

Origins of Worship

85:0.1 (944.1) Moral associations aside and spiritual influences completely ignored, the origin of primitive religion was biological and determined by the natural course of evolution. Higher animals have fear, but no illusions, therefore there is no religion. Man creates his primitive religions out of his fear and through his illusions.

85:0.2 (944.2) In the evolution of the human species, primitive forms of worship appear long before the mind of man is able to formulate the more complex concepts of present and hereafter life worthy of the name of religion. By its nature, early religion was entirely rational and based only on associative circumstances. The objects of worship suggested themselves; they were natural objects that were either at hand or seemed important in the daily experience of the narrow-minded primitive Urantians.

85:0.3 (944.3) Once religion had overcome the worship of nature, it acquired spiritual roots, but it was always determined by the social environment. With the development of nature worship, man imagined that in the supermortal world there was a division of labor: nature spirits were at lakes, trees, waterfalls, rain and hundreds of other ordinary earthly phenomena.

85:0.4 (944.4) At one time or another, mortal man has idolized everything on earth, including himself. Moreover, he worshiped everything imaginable in the heavens and under the earth. Primitive man was afraid of all manifestations of force; he worshiped every natural phenomenon that he could not understand. Observations of powerful natural forces such as storms, floods, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, fires, heat and cold had a tremendous impact on the developing human mind. Until now, inexplicable phenomena occurring in life are called “the acts of God” and “the inscrutable providence of God.”

1. Worship of stones and hills

85:1.1 (944.5) The first object to be worshiped by evolving man was a stone. The Kateri people of southern India and numerous tribes in northern India still worship the stone. Jacob slept on the stone because he worshiped it and even sanctified it. Rachel hid sacred stones in her tent.

85:1.2 (944.6) Stones first struck early man as unusual because of their sudden appearance on the surface of a plowed field or pasture. People failed to take into account erosion or the effects of loosening the earth. In addition, the stones made a huge impression on the ancient peoples with their frequent resemblance to animals. The attention of a civilized person is attracted by numerous stone formations in the mountains, so similar to the appearance of animals and even people. However, the most profound impression was made by meteorite stones. Primitive people saw them whistling through the atmosphere in their flaming splendor. The falling star terrified the ancient people, and it was easy for them to believe that its flaming trail was left by a spirit rushing to the earth. It is not surprising that people began to worship such phenomena, especially if after this they found the meteors themselves. This led to even greater reverence for all other stones. Many people in Bengal worship the meteor that fell to earth in 1880 AD. e.

85:1.3 (945.1) The ancient clans and tribes had their sacred stones, and most modern peoples hold with great reverence certain types of stones considered precious. In India, a group of five stones was revered, in Greece - of thirty; Red people usually honored stones laid out in a circle. When calling on Jupiter, the Romans always threw a stone into the air. In India, to this day, a stone can be used as a witness. In some places, the stone can serve as a talisman of legality - thanks to the prestige of the stone, the offender could be brought to justice. However, mere mortals do not always identify the Divine with the object of veneration. Such fetishes are often only symbols of the true objects of worship.

85:1.4 (945.2) The ancient people had special respect for holes in stones. Such porous stones were believed to be extremely effective in treating diseases. To carry stones, the ears were not pierced; instead, stones were inserted into the ears to keep the ear openings open. To this day, superstitious people make holes in coins. African natives make a big fuss about their stone fetishes. In fact, among all backward tribes and peoples, stones still remain an object of superstitious veneration. Stone worship is still a widespread phenomenon in the world. A tombstone is an extant symbol of images and idols that were carved on stone in connection with the belief in the ghosts and spirits of departed brethren.

85:1.5 (945.3) After the worship of stones came the worship of hills, and the first objects of worship were large rock formations. Soon people began to believe that gods lived in the mountains; this became another reason for worshiping mountain peaks. Over time, certain mountains became associated with certain gods, causing them to become sacred. The ignorant and superstitious natives believed that the caves led to the underworld - the abode of evil spirits and demons - as opposed to the mountains, which were identified with later ideas about good spirits and deities.

2. Worship of plants and trees

85:2.1 (945.4) Plants were at first feared; later they became objects of worship, as intoxicating tinctures began to be obtained from them. Primitive people believed that intoxication makes a person divine. It was believed that there was something unusual and sacred in such an experience. Even today, alcoholic drinks are called “spirits”.
* [English spirits means both “spirits” and “spirits”. ( Note ed.)]

85:2.2 (945.5) Ancient man looked at the germinating grain with fear and superstitious reverence. The Apostle Paul was not the first to draw deep spiritual lessons from the sprouting grain and build a religious creed on it.

85:2.3 (945.6) Tree cults are among the most ancient religious phenomena. All ancient marriages took place under trees, and when a woman wanted a child, she was sometimes found in the forest, passionately embracing a mighty oak tree. Many plants and trees were revered for their real or imagined healing properties. The savage believed that all chemical phenomena were explained by the direct action of supernatural forces.

85:2.4 (945.7) Different tribes and peoples had very different ideas about tree spirits. Some trees were inhabited by good spirits, while others were insidious and cruel. The Finns believed that most trees were the abode of good spirits. The Swiss did not trust trees for a long time, believing that cunning spirits lived in them. The inhabitants of India and eastern Russia considered tree spirits to be evil. Trees are still worshiped in Patagonia; The ancient Semites had the same cult. For many years after the Jews stopped worshiping trees, they continued to worship their various deities in groves. With the exception of China, there was once a cult throughout the world tree of life.

85:2.5 (946.1) The belief that underground precious metals or water can be discovered by means of a wooden "magic rod" is a relic of tree worship. The maypole, Christmas tree, and superstitious tree-knocking perpetuated some ancient customs of tree worship and later tree cults.

85:2.6 (946.2) Many of these earliest forms of nature worship merged with later methods of worship, but the earliest types of worship, activated by the auxiliary spirits of the mind, were operative long before the awakening religious nature of humanity became fully susceptible to the stimulus of spiritual influence.

3. Animal Worship

85:3.1 (946.3) Primitive man had a peculiar, friendly feeling toward the higher animals. His ancestors lived and even copulated with them. Already in ancient times in southern Asia they believed that the souls of people returned to earth in the form of animals. This belief was a relic of an even earlier practice of animal worship.

85:3.2 (946.4) Animals were revered by ancient people for their strength and cunning. They believed that the acute sense of smell and vision of some creatures was a sign that spirits were helping them. All races have worshiped animals at one time or another. Among the objects of worship were creatures that were considered half-human and half-animal, such as centaurs and mermaids.

85:3.3 (946.5) The Jews worshiped snakes down to the time of King Hezekiah, and the Hindus still maintain friendly relations with their pet snakes. Dragon worship among the Chinese is a relic of the snake cult. Snake wisdom was a symbol of Greek doctors and still serves as an emblem of modern medicine. The art of snake charming has been passed down since the times of shamans and servants cult of love for snakes, who, as a result of daily snake bites, developed immunity - in fact, a real dependence on the poison, which they could no longer do without.

85:3.4 (946.6) The worship of insects and other animals was facilitated by a later, erroneous understanding of the golden rule—do unto others (all forms of life) as you would have them do unto you. Once upon a time, ancient people believed that the wind rose from the wings of birds, and therefore they feared and worshiped all winged creatures. The ancient Scandinavians believed that eclipses were caused by a wolf devouring part of the sun or moon. Hindus often depict Vishnu with the head of a horse. Often the symbolic image of an animal represents a forgotten god or a vanished cult. Already at an early stage in the development of evolutionary religion, the lamb became a typical slaughtered animal, and the dove a symbol of peace and love.

85:3.5 (946.7) In religion, symbolism can be beneficial or harmful in proportion as it does or does not replace the original idea of ​​worship. Moreover, symbolism should not be confused with direct idolatry, in which a material object is the direct and actual object of worship.

4. Elemental Worship

85:4.1 (946.8) Humanity worshiped earth, air, water, and fire. Primitive tribes revered springs and worshiped rivers. An influential river cult still flourishes in Mongolia. Washing became a religious rite in Babylon, and the Kriik Indians held an annual ritual bath. It was easy for ancient people to imagine that spirits lived in murmuring streams, gushing springs, flowing rivers and turbulent streams. The moving water made a strong impression on these naive creatures, instilling in them the belief that it came to life under the influence of spirits and supernatural powers. Sometimes help was refused to a drowning man for fear of offending some river god.

85:4.2 (947.1) At different times and among different peoples, the most varied things and events have served as religious stimuli. Many hill tribes in India still worship the rainbow. In both India and Africa, people believe that the rainbow is a giant celestial serpent; both Jews and Christians consider it the “sign of the covenant.” The same influences which are considered beneficial in one place may be considered harmful in other places. In South America the east wind is god, for it brings rain; in India he is the devil because he brings dust and drought. The ancient Bedouins believed that one of the nature spirits caused sandstorms, and even in the time of Moses, the belief in nature spirits was strong enough to immortalize them in Jewish theology as the angels of fire, water and air.

85:4.3 (947.2) Clouds, rain, and hail were feared and objects of worship by numerous primitive tribes and in many ancient nature cults. Hurricane winds with thunder and lightning instilled awe in ancient man. He was so amazed by these spontaneous disturbances that he considered thunder to be the voice of an angry god. The worship of fire and the fear of lightning were related to each other and widespread among many ancient groups.

85:4.4 (947.3) In the minds of fear-stricken primitive mortals, fire mingled with magic. A fan of magic will vividly remember one random positive result of casting magic spells, completely forgetting about a whole series of negative results, complete failures. The veneration of fire reached its peak in Persia, where it persisted for a long time. Some tribes worshiped fire as a deity itself, others revered it as a flaming symbol of the purifying spirit of the deities they worshiped. Vestals were tasked with tending the sacred fire, and candles are still burned as part of the ritual of many religious services in the twentieth century.

5. Worship of celestial bodies

85:5.1 (947.4) Worship has followed a natural progression from stones, hills, trees, and animals, through the stage of reverent veneration of the elements, to the deification of the sun, moon, and stars. In India and other places, stars were considered to be the glorified souls of great men who had passed away in the flesh. The Chaldean adherents of the cult of the stars considered themselves the children of father heaven and mother earth.

85:5.2 (947.5) Moon worship preceded sun worship. The worship of the moon reached its apogee in the era of hunting, and the worship of the sun became the main religious rite in the subsequent era of agriculture. Sun worship first became widespread in India, and here it persisted longest. In Persia, the veneration of the sun later gave rise to the cult of Mithras. For many peoples, the sun was considered the progenitor of their kings. The Chaldeans placed the sun at the center of the "seven rings of the universe." Later civilizations named the first day of the week after the sun.

85:5.3 (947.6) The sun god was considered the mystical father of the immaculately conceived sons of destiny; it was believed that such sons were sent from time to time as saviors as gifts to the chosen races. These supernatural babies were always set adrift in some sacred river and then somehow miraculously rescued, after which they grew up to become miraculous individuals and saviors of their nations.

6. Worship of man

85:6.1 (948.1) Having adored everything and everyone on earth and in heaven, man did not hesitate to accord the same adoration to himself. The simple-minded savage makes no clear distinction between animals, men and gods.

85:6.2 (948.2) In ancient times all extraordinary people were considered supermen who inspired such fear that they were looked upon with awe; in a way, they were literally worshiped. Even the birth of twins was considered either an extremely happy or extremely unfortunate event. Sleepwalkers, epileptics, and the weak-minded were often objects of worship for their normal counterparts, who believed that such abnormal beings served as the abode of the gods. Priests, kings and prophets were worshiped; in ancient times they believed that the holiness of pious people was bestowed upon them by the deities.

85:6.3 (948.3) When tribal leaders died, their considered deities. Later, when outstanding souls left this world, they canonized. Without outside help, evolution has never produced gods that are superior to the glorified, exalted and highly developed spirits of the departed. During early evolution, religion created its own gods. In the process of revelation, religion is formulated by the Gods. Evolutionary religion creates its gods in the image and likeness of mortal man; revealed religion strives for the development and transformation of mortal man in the image and likeness of God.

85:6.4 (948.4) The spirit gods, purportedly of human origin, are to be distinguished from the nature gods, for the worship of nature did give rise to a pantheon of nature spirits exalted to the status of gods. Nature cults continued to develop along with the later spirit cults, exerting mutual influence. Many religious systems included a dual concept of deity—natural gods and spirit gods. In some theological systems these ideas are intricately intertwined, as seen in the example of Thor, the spirit hero who was also the lord of lightning.

85:6.5 (948.5) However, the worship of man reached its zenith when mortal rulers began to demand similar reverence from their subjects and, in support of such demands, to claim divine origin.

7. Auxiliary Spirits of Worship and Wisdom

85:7.1 (948.6) Nature worship may seem to have arisen naturally and spontaneously in the minds of primitive men and women. And so it was. During all this time, however, there was at work in the same minds of primitive men a sixth auxiliary spirit, consecrated to these peoples as a directing influence in this stage of human evolution. This spirit constantly aroused in people the craving for worship, no matter how primitive its first forms. The spirit of worship marked the beginning of man's desire for worship, despite the fact that the motivating force of worship was animal fear and that its first manifestations were concentrated on natural objects.

85:7.2 (948.7) You must remember that the directing and guiding factor of all evolutionary development has been feeling and not thought. To the primitive mind, the feelings of fear, danger, reverence and worship are not much different from each other.

85:7.3 (948.8) When the craving for worship is instructed and directed by wisdom—contemplative and empirical thinking—then it begins to develop into the phenomenon of true religion. When the ministry of the seventh auxiliary spirit, the spirit of wisdom, becomes effective, then in his worship man begins to turn away from nature and natural objects and turns his gaze to the God of nature and the eternal Creator of all natural things.

85:7.4 (949.1) [Presented by the Bright Evening Star of Nebadon.]

Modern and primitive religions are humanity’s belief that some higher powers control not only people, but also various processes in the Universe. This is especially true for ancient cults, since at that time the development of science was weak. Man could not explain this or that phenomenon in any other way other than divine intervention. Often this approach to understanding the world led to tragic consequences (the Inquisition, the burning of scientists at the stake, and so on).

There was also a period of coercion. If a person did not accept a belief, then he was tortured and tormented until he changed his point of view. Today, the choice of religion is free, people have the right to independently choose their worldview.

Which religion is the most ancient?

The emergence of primitive religions dates back to a long period, approximately 40-30 thousand years ago. But which belief came first? Scientists have different points of view on this matter. Some believe that this happened when people began to perceive each other’s souls, others - with the advent of witchcraft, and others took the worship of animals or objects as a basis. But the very origin of religion itself represents a large complex of beliefs. It is difficult to give priority to any of them, since there is no necessary data. The information that archaeologists, researchers and historians receive is not enough.

It is impossible not to take into account the distribution of the first beliefs throughout the planet, which forces us to conclude that attempts to look for each tribe that existed at that time had its own object of worship were illegitimate.

We can only say with certainty that the first and subsequent basis of every religion is belief in the supernatural. However, it is expressed differently everywhere. Christians, for example, worship their God, who has no flesh but is omnipresent. It's supernatural. in turn, they plan their own Gods from wood. If they don’t like something, they can cut or pierce their patron with a needle. This is also supernatural. Therefore, every modern religion has its own ancient “ancestor”.

When did the first religion appear?

Initially, primitive religions and myths were closely intertwined. In modern times it is impossible to find an interpretation for some events. The fact is that they tried to tell them to their descendants with the help of mythology, embellishing and/or expressing themselves too figuratively.

However, the question of when beliefs arise is still relevant today. Archaeologists claim that the first religions appeared after homo sapiens. Excavations, the burials of which date back to 80 thousand years ago, definitely indicate that he did not think about other worlds at all. People were simply buried and that was all. There is no evidence that this process was accompanied by rituals.

Weapons, food and some household items are found in later graves (burials made 30-10 thousand years ago). This means that people began to think of death as a long sleep. When a person wakes up, and this must happen, it is necessary that the essentials be near him. People buried or burned took on an invisible, ghostly form. They became peculiar guardians of the clan.

There was also a period without religions, but very little is known about it to modern scientists.

Reasons for the emergence of the first and subsequent religions

Primitive religions and their features are very similar to modern beliefs. Various religious cults have acted in their own and state interests for thousands of years, providing psychological impact to the flock.

There are 4 main reasons for the emergence of ancient beliefs, and they are no different from modern ones:

1. Intelligence. A person needs an explanation for any event that happens in his life. And if he cannot obtain it thanks to his knowledge, then he will certainly receive a justification for what he observes through supernatural intervention.
2. Psychology. Life on earth is finite, and there is no way to resist death, at least for the moment. Therefore, a person must be freed from the fear of dying. Thanks to religion, this can be done quite successfully.
3. Morality. There is no society that would exist without rules and prohibitions. It is difficult to punish everyone who violates them. It is much easier to scare and prevent these actions. If a person is afraid of doing something bad, because supernatural forces will punish him, then the number of violators will significantly decrease.
4. Policy. To maintain the stability of any state, ideological support is required. And only one or another belief can provide it.

Thus, the emergence of religions can be taken for granted, since there are more than enough reasons for this.

Totemism

The types of religions of primitive man and their description should begin with totemism. Ancient people lived in groups. Most often these were families or their association. Alone, a person would not be able to provide himself with everything he needs. This is how the cult of animal worship appeared. Societies hunted animals to obtain food without which they could not survive. And the emergence of totemism is quite logical. This is how humanity paid tribute to its livelihood.

So, totemism is the belief that one family has a blood relationship with a particular animal or natural phenomenon. People saw them as patrons who helped, punished if necessary, resolved conflicts, and so on.

There are two features of totemism. Firstly, each member of the tribe had a desire to look like their animal. For example, some Africans knocked out their lower teeth to look like a zebra or antelope. Secondly, it could not be eaten unless the ritual was followed.

The modern descendant of totemism is Hinduism. Here some animals, most often the cow, are sacred.

Fetishism

It is impossible to consider primitive religions without taking into account fetishism. It represented the belief that some things have supernatural properties. Various objects were worshiped, passed from parents to children, always kept at hand, and so on.

Fetishism is often compared to magic. However, if it is present, it is in a more complex form. Magic helped to have an additional impact on some phenomenon, but did not in any way influence its occurrence.

Another feature of fetishism is that the objects were not worshiped. They were revered and treated with respect.

Magic and religion

Primitive religions could not do without the participation of magic. It is a set of rites and rituals, after which, it was believed, it became possible to control certain events and influence them in every possible way. Many hunters performed various ritual dances, which made the process of finding and killing the animal more successful.

Despite the apparent impossibility of magic, it is magic that forms the basis of most modern religions as a common element. For example, there is a belief that a rite or ritual (the sacrament of baptism, funeral service, and so on) has supernatural power. But it is also considered in a separate form, different from all beliefs. People tell fortunes with cards, call upon spirits, or do anything to see deceased ancestors.

Animism

Primitive religions could not do without the participation of the human soul. Ancient people thought about such concepts as death, sleep, experience, and so on. As a result of such thoughts, the belief arose that everyone has a soul. Later it was supplemented by the fact that only bodies die. The soul passes into another shell or exists independently in a separate other world. This is how animism appears, which is a belief in spirits, and it does not matter whether they belong to a person, an animal or a plant.

The peculiarity of this religion was that the soul could live indefinitely. After the body died, it broke out and calmly continued its existence, only in a different form.

Animism is also the ancestor of most modern religions. Ideas about immortal souls, gods and demons - all this is its basis. But animism also exists separately, in spiritualism, belief in ghosts, essences, and so on.

Shamanism

It is impossible to consider primitive religions without highlighting the clergy. This is most acutely visible in shamanism. As an independent religion, it appears much later than those discussed above, and represents the belief that an intermediary (shaman) can communicate with spirits. Sometimes these spirits were evil, but most often they were kind, giving advice. Shamans often became leaders of tribes or communities, because people understood that they were associated with supernatural forces. Therefore, if something happens, they will be able to protect them better than some king or khan, who is only capable of natural movements (weapons, troops, and so on).

Elements of shamanism are present in virtually all modern religions. Believers have a special attitude towards priests, mullahs or other clergy, believing that they are under the direct influence of higher powers.

Unpopular primitive religious beliefs

The types of primitive religions need to be supplemented with some beliefs that are not as popular as totemism or, for example, magic. These include the agricultural cult. Primitive people who practiced agriculture worshiped the gods of various cultures, as well as the earth itself. There were, for example, patrons of corn, beans, and so on.

The agricultural cult is well represented in modern Christianity. Here the Mother of God is represented as the patroness of bread, George - agriculture, the prophet Elijah - rain and thunder, and so on.

Thus, it will not be possible to briefly consider the primitive forms of religion. Every ancient belief exists to this day, even if it has actually lost its face. Rituals and sacraments, rituals and amulets - all these are parts of the faith of primitive man. And it is impossible in modern times to find a religion that does not have a strong direct connection with the most ancient cults.

The simplest forms of religious beliefs date back more than 40 thousand years, and it was in those distant times that man appeared modern type, which differed significantly from its predecessors, in other words, from its supposed predecessors, primarily in its physical structure, psychological and physiological characteristics.

But the most important difference between that man was that he was intelligent and capable of abstract thinking.

Primitive religions - totemism, magic, fetishism, animism, shamanism

The existence of an ancient and primitive religion has been known for a long time, as well as about a variety of religious movements and beliefs of that distant period of human history. This is evidenced at least by the burial practice of primitive people.

Archaeologists around the world have found evidence that people were buried in those distant times in specially prepared places. Let us even note that at the same time, the existing rituals and procedures for preparing the deceased for the afterlife were previously carried out.

The bodies of these people were covered with a certain layer, usually ocher, and weapons, household items, mainly household items, precious jewelry, etc. were placed next to them.

It is obvious that already in those distant times, the religious idea began to gradually take shape that the deceased continues to live after his death, that in parallel with the real and living world there is another world where the dead live.

At the early stage of the emergence of humanity, the belief in some forces, perhaps in religion, of people who once lived in primitive times, was perfectly reflected by their creativity - in the works of cave and rock paintings.

They were found in large numbers in Europe, including France and Italy. Most of these rock creations are images of people and animals, hunting scenes and so on.

Analysis of rock and cave paintings gave scientists the opportunity to conclude that primitive man firmly believed in a special connection between himself and animals, as well as in the ability to control the behavior of animals using certain magical spells.

Finally, it is worth noting the fact that scientists have established that among people who lived in the primitive age, the veneration of a variety of objects and things was widespread, which, according to their conviction, should bring them good luck and protect them from danger.

Ancient religions of the world - Worship of nature

Religious beliefs and cults of primitive people developed gradually. The primary form of religion was the worship of nature.

The primitive peoples did not know the concept of “nature”; the object of their worship was the impersonal natural force, designated by the concept of “mana”.

Primitive religions of the world - Totemism

Totemism should be considered an early form of religious views.

Totemism is the belief in a fantastic, supernatural relationship between a tribe or clan and a totem (plant, animal, object).

Totemism is the belief in the existence of a family connection between a group of people (tribe, clan) and a certain species of animals or plants. Totemism was the first form of awareness of the unity of the human collective and its connection with the outside world.

The life of the clan was closely connected with certain types of animals that its members hunted.

Subsequently, within the framework of totemism, a whole system of prohibitions arose, which were called taboos. They represented an important mechanism for regulating social relations. Thus, the gender and age taboo excluded sexual relations between close relatives.

Food taboos strictly regulated the nature of the food that was supposed to go to the leader, warriors, women, old people and children. A number of other taboos were intended to guarantee the inviolability of the home or hearth, regulate the rules of burial, and fix positions in the group, the rights and responsibilities of members of the primitive collective.

One of the most ancient religions - Magic

Magic is one of the earliest forms of religion.

Magic is the belief that a person has supernatural power, which is manifested in magical rituals.

Magic is a belief that arose among primitive people in the ability to influence any natural phenomena through certain symbolic actions (incantations, spells, etc.).

Having appeared in ancient times, magic was preserved and successfully continued to develop for several thousand years. If initially magical ideas and rituals had a general direction, but later their transformation gradually took place.

Modern historians and specialists on this issue classify ancient magic according to the methods, focus and purposes of influence.

Types of magic in ancient religion

Types of magic by methods of influence:

Contact magic (direct interaction of the bearer of magical power with an object or subject to which the magical action is directed)

Initial magic (a magical act aimed at a distant object that is out of reach of the subject of magical activity);

Partial magic (indirect influence through cut hair, legs, leftover food, which in one way or another reaches the owner of magical power);

Imitation magic (impact on any semblance of a specific subject).

The types of ancient magic, according to their social orientation, methods and purposes of influence, are divided into:

Harmful magic (causing damage - causing damage to a person);

Military magic (a system of rituals designed to assist in ensuring victory over the enemy);

Love magic (aimed at increasing or decreasing sexual desire: lapel, love spell);

Healing magic (designed to heal a person or pet);;

Trade (industrial) magic (designed to ensure good luck in hunting or fishing);

Meteorological (weather) magic (helps change weather conditions);

Magic is sometimes called primitive science or ur-science, because it contained initial knowledge about the surrounding world and natural phenomena.

Among primitive people, an important role was played by the veneration of a variety of objects and things that were supposed to bring them good luck and protect them from troubles. This form of religious belief is called "fetishism".

The most ancient religions of the world - Fetishism

Fetishism is the belief that a certain object has supernatural powers.

Any object that captured a person’s imagination could become a fetish: a stone of an unusual shape, a piece of wood, an animal skull, a metal or clay product. This object was attributed properties that were not inherent to it (the ability to heal, protect from danger, help in hunting, etc.).

Most often, the object that became a fetish was chosen by trial and error. If after this choice a person managed to achieve success in practical activities, he believed that the fetish helped him in this, and kept it for himself.

If a person suffered any misfortune, then the fetish was thrown out, destroyed or replaced by another. This treatment of fetishes suggests that primitive people did not always treat the object they chose with due respect.

The most ancient primitive religions - Animism

Speaking about early forms of religion, one cannot fail to mention animism.

Animism is the belief in the existence of souls and spirits.

Being at the initial stage of human development, primitive people at that time sought to provide themselves with protection from all sorts of misfortunes, some diseases, and the influence of natural phenomena. In those days, they endowed nature and the things and objects around them with something magical, on which a lot depended, for example, their existence.

They worshiped supernatural forces, personifying them as nothing other than the spirits of these things and subjects.

It was believed that all natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. Souls could be evil and benevolent. Sacrifice was practiced in favor of these spirits. Belief in spirits, as well as in the existence of the soul, persists in the modern world, in all world religions.

Animistic beliefs are a very significant part of almost all religions of the world. Belief in spirits or evil spirits, as well as in the immortal soul - all these are modifications of the animistic ideas of the primitive life of mankind.

The same can be said of other early forms of religious belief. Some of them were assimilated by the religions that replaced them, others were pushed into the sphere of everyday superstitions and prejudices.

Ancient world religions - Shamanism

Shamanism is the belief that an individual (shaman) has supernatural powers.

Shamanism as an ancient religion appeared at a later stage of human development, when people already appeared who at that time had a special social status. Shamans were called upon to sacredly preserve the information they received, which had special significance for the clan or tribe where they lived.

The shaman knew how to perform an ancient ritual called ritual (a ritual with dances and songs, during which the shaman communicated with spirits). During the ritual, the shaman allegedly received instructions from the spirits about ways to solve a problem or treat the sick.

Elements of shamanism are present in modern religions. For example, priests are credited with a special power that allows them to turn to God.

In the early stages of human development, primitive forms of religious beliefs did not take place in their pure form. They intertwined with each other in the most bizarre forms.

It is for this reason that to raise the question of which of the forms of the most ancient religion of primitive man arose first, before some other, and which later, we will probably never know; it is simply, simply not possible, it is not realistic to establish accurately.

The considered forms of religious beliefs can be found among all peoples at the primitive stage of development. As social life becomes more complex, forms of cult become more diverse and require closer study.

When considering the problem of the origin of religion, we are faced with very complex questions about when religion arose and in what forms it existed in the early stages of its development. For a long time, the answers to these questions seemed obvious. Most people who have studied Judaism and Christianity have been satisfied with the answers contained in the first two chapters of the Bible, which outline the concept of the creation of the world and man. According to the Bible, having created man “from the dust of the ground,” God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” and entered into direct relationship with him. Consequently, religion has a divine nature, arises with man and moreover, immediately in the form of monotheism (belief in one God).

Since ancient times, various theories of the origins of religion have been put forward. Thus, the ancient philosopher Kitius (5th century BC) believed that people invented gods in order to instill fear in others and to carry out laws. The founder of ancient materialism, Democritus (5th century BC), pointed out that the basis of religion is the fear of formidable forces of nature. B. Spinoza (1632-1677) saw the roots of religion in man’s lack of confidence in his own abilities, in his constant oscillations between hope and fear. French enlighteners of the 18th century. saw the roots of religion in the suffering and fear that oppress people. They believed that religion originally arose from man's powerlessness before the elements of nature.

The above-mentioned theories of the origin of religion were widespread among a narrow circle of intellectuals and were most likely of a speculative nature. The theological concept regarding the emergence of religion was subjected to serious criticism only in the second half of the 19th century, when, at the junction of rapidly developing sciences (archeology, ethnography, anthropology, sociology, etc.), modern religious studies arose, which from the very beginning set as its task not the defense of established ideas, but a dispassionate study of the world's religions .

IN In the course of numerous studies, quite interesting results were obtained: scientists found that biblical monotheism is not the starting point of religious evolution, but is only an intermediate stage in the development of religions. English scientists J. Lebbock (1834-1913) and E. Taylor (1832-1917) proposed the following classification of religion in human civilization - polytheism, henotheism (i.e. serving one deity as supreme while other gods exist) and monotheism. True, the question remained open about the roots of monotheism, which went deep into human history and were hidden from the eyes of researchers. This created opportunities for putting forward purely speculative theories and hypotheses.

One of them was put forward by theological and church circles and entered the history of the study of religions under the name “proto-monotheism”, or primitive monotheism. It was first briefly outlined by the Scottish scientist E. Lang (1844-1912) in his book “The Formation of Religion.” This scientist drew attention to the images of heavenly gods in the religions of some backward peoples and concluded that the images of these gods are of unearthly origin. The Catholic pastor W. Schmidt (1868-1954) seized on this idea, constructing an entire concept of proto-monotheism, to which he devoted a 12-volume work, “The Origin of the Idea of ​​God.” Schmidt declared the images of heavenly beings in the beliefs of backward peoples to be remnants of the ancient faith in a single Creator God, to whose image supposedly later mythological, magical and other elements that contaminated it were mixed. To confirm this theory, Schmidt cited many ethnographic facts, but gave them a purely theological interpretation, and ignored facts that did not fit into his scheme.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Another direction in the study of religion arose, associated with the name of the Viennese psychiatrist Z. Freud (1856-1939). He developed the so-called psychoanalytic method for recognizing and treating neuroses and psychoses and tried to transfer it to the interpretation of the phenomena of everyday life, and then religion. In his book “Totem and Taboo,” Freud attempted to prove that the same neuroses are manifested in religious beliefs, and that they are based on erotic impulses suppressed in childhood. Discussing the origin of religion, Freud reduced this problem to the narrow field of sexual desires and purely biological phenomena and thereby failed to understand the diversity and historical variability of religious beliefs.

Modern theologians, ardent defenders of religion, strive to prove that religion is inherent in man from the very beginning of his existence. In contrast, many religious scholars defend the hypothesis of the existence of a “pre-religious period” in human history. Proponents of this hypothesis argue that people who lived in the early stages of the development of society did not there were religious beliefs, because their consciousness was directly woven into practice and could not create any abstractions, including religious ones. Since the appearance of this hypothesis, reports began to appear in the scientific world about the existence of tribes so low in their cultural development, that they allegedly completely lacked religious ideas and concepts. However, after a thorough study of the life of these tribes, their customs, languages, peculiarities of thinking, after establishing trusting contacts with them, researchers invariably discovered in them the beginnings of religious beliefs and cult practice, therefore the hypothesis about the existence of a “pre-religious period” remains a hypothesis, which at this stage of the development of human sciences can neither be confirmed nor refuted.

Considering that the process of anthropogenesis (human origin) lasted for more than two million years and that most of human history is still insufficiently studied, modern religious scholars are skeptical about both the theory of “proto-monotheism” and the hypothesis of the existence of a “pre-religious period.” At present, it is logical to assert with some confidence that the simplest forms of religious beliefs already existed 40 thousand years ago. It was at this time that the appearance of the modern type of man (Homo Sapiens) dates back, who was very different from his supposed predecessors in physical structure, physiological and psychological characteristics. But his most important difference was that he was a reasonable person, capable of analyzing a specific situation and creating generalized concepts and a fairly high level of abstractions, to be aware of himself and his place in the surrounding reality.

The existence of religious beliefs in this remote period of human history is evidenced by the burial practices of primitive people. It was established that they were buried in specially prepared places, and the deceased first went through certain rites of preparation for the afterlife: their bodies were covered with a layer of ocher, weapons, household items, jewelry, etc. were placed next to them.

Obviously, at that time, religious and mystical ideas were already taking shape that the deceased continues to live, that along with the real world, there is another world where the dead live.

The religious beliefs of primitive man were also reflected in works of cave painting that were discovered in the 19th-20th centuries. in Southern France and Northern Italy. Most ancient rock paintings are scenes of hunting, images of people and animals. Analysis of these drawings allowed scientists to conclude that primitive man believed in a special kind of connection between people and animals, as well as in the ability to influence the behavior of animals using some magical techniques. Finally, it was established that among primitive people the veneration of various objects was widespread, which should bring good luck and ward off all dangers.

1. Forms of primitive beliefs. Religious beliefs and cults of primitive people developed gradually. The primary form of religion was the worship of nature. The primitive peoples did not know the concept of “nature”, therefore the object of their worship was the impersonal natural force, designated by the concept of “mana”. Scientists borrowed this term from the aborigines of Polynesia and Melanesia, who so called the force that controls natural processes. A person has mana when he is happy, successful and demonstrates some unusual success, for example, as a farmer, warrior or leader. Mana is sent by the gods, which presupposes their possession of mana in the first place.

The earliest form of religious views should be considered totemism- belief in the existence of a family connection between a group of people (tribe, clan) and a certain species of animals or plants. Totemism was the first form of awareness of the unity of the human collective and its connection with the outside world. The life of the clan was closely connected with certain types of animals, which were hunted by all its members. As scientists suggest, this circumstance served as the basis for the emergence of the totem (in the language of the North American Indians of the Ojibwe tribe, ototem - its genus) - an animal ancestor considered the patron of the gens.

In more late times Elements of social, primarily consanguineous, relations were introduced into totemism. Members of the clan group (blood relatives) began to believe that they descended from ancestors who combined the characteristics of people and their totem. This leads, on the one hand, to strengthening the cult of ancestors and belief in their special capabilities, and on the other, to a change in attitude towards the totem itself, in particular, to the emergence of prohibitions on eating totems, except in cases where eating the totem was ritual in nature and reminiscent of ancient norms and rules.

Subsequently, within the framework of totemism, a whole system of prohibitions arose, which were called taboos. They represented an important mechanism for regulating social relations. Thus, the gender and age taboo excluded sexual relations between close relatives. Food taboos strictly regulated the nature of the food that was supposed to go to the leader, warriors, women, old people and children. A number of other taboos were intended to guarantee the inviolability of the home or hearth, regulate the rules of burial, and fix the social status, rights and responsibilities of members of the primitive community.

Early forms of religion include magic(literally translated from ancient Greek - witchcraft). It represents the belief that primitive people had in the ability to influence any natural phenomena. through certain symbolic actions (shutters, spells, etc.)

Having originated in ancient times, magic was preserved and continued to develop over many millennia. If initially magical ideas and rituals were of a general nature, then over time they became differentiated. Modern experts classify magic according to methods and purposes of influence. According to the methods of influence, magic is divided into contact (through direct contact of the bearer of magical power with the object to which the action is directed), initial (the magical act is directed at an object that is inaccessible to the subject of magical activity), paracial (indirect influence through cut hair or nails, food debris, which in one way or another way fall to the owner of magical power), imitative (impact on the likeness of the subject). According to the purposes of influence, magic is divided into harmful, military, commercial, healing, love, etc.

Usually, magical techniques were performed by specially trained people - sorcerers and shamans, who sincerely believed in their ability to communicate with spirits, convey to them the requests and hopes of their fellow tribesmen, and influence supernatural forces. But the main thing was not that they themselves believed in their extraordinary abilities, but that the team believed them and turned to them for help at the most critical moments. Therefore, sorcerers and shamans enjoyed special honor and respect among primitive people.

Over time, magic turned into one of the most essential components of a developed religion, including a certain system of magical actions - rituals, sacraments, prayers, etc. In everyday life, magic has been preserved to this day in the form of conspiracies, fortune telling, predictions, and belief in the “evil eye” and “damage.”

Among primitive people, the veneration of various objects, which were supposed to bring good luck and ward off all dangers, was of particular importance. This form of religious belief is called "fetishism"(from the Portuguese “fetish” - made). It was first discovered by Portuguese sailors in West Africa in the 15th century, and then analogues of fetishism were identified in the religions of almost all countries, as well as during archaeological excavations, providing material about the beliefs of primitive people.

Any object that captured a person’s imagination could become a fetish: a stone of an unusual shape, a piece of wood, a tooth of a fossil animal, a piece of jewelry. This object was attributed properties that were not inherent to it (the ability to heal, protect from danger, help in hunting...) Most often, the object that became a fetish was chosen by trial and error. If after this choice a person managed to achieve success in practical activities, he believed that the fetish helped him in this, and kept it for himself. If a person suffered any misfortune, the fetish was thrown out or replaced by another.

The treatment of fetishes by primitive people suggests that they did not always treat the object they chose with due respect. He was thanked for his help, but punished for his helplessness. In this regard, the African custom of torturing fetishes is indicative, not only to punish them, but also to motivate them to action. For example, when asking an African fetish for something, they drove iron nails into it, believing that after this the fetish would better remember the requests addressed to it and will definitely fulfill them.

A particularly common form of fetishism was the worship of stones and pieces of wood. So, members of the American Dakota tribe found a round cobblestone, painted it, and then, calling this cobblestone grandfather, began to bring him gifts and ask for deliverance from dangers. It is also known that many Brazilian tribes stuck sticks into the ground and made sacrifices to them. The custom of worshiping stones and wooden pillars existed among many tribes in North Asia. He did not bypass the peoples of Europe either. Several centuries ago in England and France there was a ban on worshiping stones, which indicates the long-term preservation of fetishism even during the reign of the Christian religion in Europe.

Speaking about the wide spread of fetishism, it is necessary to emphasize that the content of this belief system has changed significantly. The mentioned worship of stones and pieces of wood, which was accompanied by the offering of gifts and sacrifices, as well as the custom of torturing fetishes, belong to a fairly late stage in the development of fetishism. Obviously, in ancient times, people did not endow the objects they chose with human properties, did not spiritualize them, much less deify them. The essence of primitive fetishism was that a person saw in objects that struck his imagination properties that were detected in them with the help of ordinary senses. By doing this, man made objects “sensory-supersensible,” and supersensible properties were attributed to fetishes either on the basis of random associations or on the basis of misunderstood cause-and-effect relationships.

Speaking about the early forms of religion, one cannot fail to mention animism(from the Latin “anima” - soul) - belief in the existence of souls and spirits. A detailed analysis of animistic beliefs was given by E. Taylor in his work “Primitive Culture”. According to his theory, these beliefs developed in two directions. The first series of animistic ideas arose in the course of ancient man's reflection on such phenomena as sleep, visions, illness, death, as well as from experiences of trance and hallucinations. Unable to correctly explain these complex phenomena, the “primitive philosopher” develops concepts about the soul located in the human body and leaving it from time to time. Subsequently, more complex ideas are formed about the existence of the soul after the death of the body, about the transmigration of souls into new bodies, about the afterlife, etc.

The second series of animistic beliefs arose from the inherent desire of primitive people to personify and spiritualize the environment. reality. Ancient man considered all objects of the objective world as something similar to himself, endowing them with desires, will, feelings, thoughts, etc. From here arises the belief in separately existing spirits of formidable forces of nature, plants, animals, which, in the course of complex evolution, was transformed into polytheism, and then into monotheism.

Animistic beliefs are an integral and very significant part of all religions of the world. Belief in spirits, evil spirits, an immortal soul - all these are modifications of the animistic ideas of the primitive era. The same can be said of other early forms of religious belief. Some of them were assimilated by the religions that replaced them, others were pushed into the sphere of everyday superstitions and prejudices. Thus, the belief in amulets, talismans, and sacred relics that has survived to this day is nothing more than a relic of primitive fetishism. Echoes of totemism can be found in food prohibitions existing in many religions, in the depiction of supernatural beings in the guise of animals, etc.

In the early stages of the development of human society, primitive forms of religious beliefs did not exist in pure form. They intertwined with each other in the most bizarre way. Therefore, raising the question of which of the These forms arose earlier, and which - later, it is hardly possible. Obviously, we are talking about a complex of religious beliefs. The composition of this complex could be very diverse. For example, among the Australian aborigines, the most preferred element of their religious complex was totemism with a carefully developed system of taboos. Among the numerous peoples of Siberia and the Far East, magic and the closely related practice of shamanism clearly dominated. As for the peoples of Africa, they were distinguished by their penchant for fetishism. However, in each specific case, highlighting any part of the religious complex does not mean that primitive people were not familiar with the rest of its elements. It was the complex of primitive beliefs considered that became the core of the so-called tribal religions, which were distinguished by great diversity, as they reflected the living conditions, social connections, and features of material culture specific to a particular tribe.

2. The evolution of religion during the transition to a class society. The concept of “tribal religion” refers to the period of pre-class development of society, which was characterized by a low level of development of the productive forces and relatively simple social relations. This period lasted for many millennia and within its framework significant changes took place, both in social life and in religious beliefs. In the early stages of the tribal system, which did not yet know social stratification, the main object of religious worship was nature. Depending on the geographical environment and economic specialization, various aspects of the reality surrounding primitive man were endowed with supernatural properties. Thus, tribes engaged in gathering and primitive agriculture worshiped plants and heavenly bodies, while hunting tribes worshiped animals.

Tribal religions reflected not only the forces of nature and the specifics of economic reality, they also reflected social relations. For example, the replacement of matriarchy with patriarchy and the new organization of society that arose on this basis led to significant changes in religious consciousness. Female spirits, the veneration of which was widespread during matriarchy, are gradually being replaced by male spirits. Worship is also becoming a male activity. In the era of the early tribal system, religious beliefs also reflected the real equality of fellow tribesmen. Spiritual beings were mostly impersonal in nature. Cult activities were dominated by magical rituals and performances, in which all members of the tribe participated. Sorcerers, shamans, and spirit casters were not yet separated from the mass of believers.

Significant changes in the nature of religious beliefs occurred in the context of the decomposition of tribal relations and the deepening of social differentiation within tribes. Over time, material wealth begins to accumulate in the hands of individual community members, and ordinary fellow tribesmen fall under their control. The identification of leaders and the strengthening of their role in the life of the tribe gradually leads to their sacralization; they become objects of religious veneration not only after their death, but also during their lifetime. Social stratification within tribes and the formation of a tribal aristocracy were reflected in the content of religious ideas. Impersonal spirits are given names, certain functions are assigned to them, and a hierarchy of spirits arises, which in many ways reproduces the social hierarchy.

The veneration of many spirits was replaced by polytheism, which turned the most revered spirits into deities. Above the disembodied spirits and spirits of ancestors, local geniuses of rocks, springs and trees, above the crowd of good and evil spirits, more powerful deities began to rise, whose influence was not limited by local clan or tribal interests.

A good illustration of the development of polytheism can be seen in the religious beliefs of the Kondas, tribes living in the mountainous regions of India. Studying the life of these tribes, scientists discovered that the world of the Konds is inhabited by a huge number of local spirits. They control natural phenomena and influence human life. Above the local spirits are the souls of prominent people who are considered the divine patrons of the tribes. Above them are six great gods: the god of rain, the goddess of first fruits, the god of fertility, the god of hunting, the god of war, and the god-judge of the dead. Even higher than these gods are the sun god and his wife, the mighty earth goddess. Similar structures were found in Asia among the Samoyeds, among the indigenous inhabitants of Mexico, and among many tribes of Africa and Australia.

The highest place in such hierarchies was most often occupied by gods who were associated with the sky or celestial phenomena. However, these gods were not impersonal beings. They were endowed with the attributes of public life and had to perform certain social functions. The deities of the earth were also placed on a par with the heavenly gods. So, in the ancient Greek religion, the personification of the earth was Gaia, who gave birth to the sky, sea, and mountains.

Warrior gods occupied a high position in the polytheistic hierarchy, which was associated with wars of extermination characteristic of the period of transition from tribal relations to class society. During these wars, the unification of tribes and the formation of tribal unions took place. Accordingly, a synthesis of religious ideas took place. At the head of the polytheistic pantheon was usually the god of the hegemonic tribe. This is how henotheism appeared - one of the varieties of polytheism, which consists in the fact that, recognizing the existence of many gods, one or another community of people considered only one of the many gods as their patron and worshiped only him. From here there was only one step left to monotheism, but the step was so difficult that many peoples were unable to take it even in the conditions of a developed class society.

During the transition from a tribal system to a class society, significant changes occurred in the sphere of religious practice. It is clear that the attitude towards the gods should be different from the attitude towards the spirits of dead people. If in the early stages of the development of human society, relationships with the souls of the dead and spirits were considered as a further development of everyday communication between people, then later these relationships take on the character of communication between beings of disparate status. With the appearance of great deities, man kneels and turns into a humble supplicant. The nature of sacrifices also changes. Numerous sacrifices, including human ones, are made not only to the souls of people high in the social hierarchy, but also, first of all, to the gods, and these sacrifices begin to be strictly regulated. The subtleties of sacrifices were known only to the priests, who gradually separated from the mass of ordinary believers and formed a special class that occupied one of the highest places in the social hierarchy. Often priesthood became a hereditary profession passed from generation to generation. At the same time, permanent sanctuaries and temples appeared, which were the center of religious life. Sacrifices, income from temple lands, as well as material support from secular authorities strengthened the economic and political position of the priesthood.

With the transition to a class society, a new page opens in the history of religion, a page telling about the development and functioning of the religious systems of state-organized peoples.

3. National religions of the Ancient World. In the conditions of the Ancient world, religions were polytheistic, i.e. polytheistic. In polytheism, each god acted as the personification of a certain phenomenon inherent in nature, society or the human psyche, and the personification of a higher order than among primitive peoples. The images of deities reflected ideas about the common features that are characteristic of a group of homogeneous objects. So, for example, from the ideas about the soul of an individual tree, the idea of ​​the spirits of individual groves and forests gradually formed, and then the image of the god of the forest, the ruler of the spirits of groves and forests, was formed. Subsequently, the process of personification of deities took place - they began to acquire their own names and “biographies.”

The classic example of polytheism is the ancient Greek religion. The supreme deity of the ancient Greek pantheon was considered the ruler of the sky - Zeus, his brother Poseidon was the ruler of the seas, another brother - Hades - the ruler of the underworld, Zeus's wife - Hera - the patroness of marriage, Aphrodite - the goddess of love and beauty, Athena - the goddess of wisdom, Dionysus - the god of viticulture and winemaking. More than 80 temples in Ancient Greece were dedicated to Artemis, the patroness of living beings and hunting. The economic and cultural life of people was personified by a large group of gods. The most popular among them were Hephaestus - the god of fire and blacksmithing, Hermes - the patron saint of travelers and traders. Asclepius is the healer god, Pan is the god of nature and shepherds, etc.

The worldview of the ancient Greeks was focused not only on earthly life, they were constantly worried about the problems of the other world. They believed that after death the soul of the deceased goes to the kingdom of Hades. A guide brings her here, then Charon transports the soul across the River Styx. To pay back Charon, it was customary to place a copper coin in the tomb. The three-headed dog Kerber allowed him to enter the kingdom of Hades, but only in one direction. In exceptional cases, a return from this kingdom was possible, but this required the special will of the gods. The divine services of the ancient Greeks consisted of sacrifices, both bloodless and bloody, when ritual killings of animals were committed. In numerous temples, hymns were sung, prayers were read, and solemn washings of the statues of gods were performed. Mysteries were special events in religious life. Only initiates were allowed to participate in these secret religious rites.

The religious ideas of the ancient Greeks were modeled after their own lives. The “way of life” of the gods was not much different from that of humans. The main difference between the Greek gods was their immortality and supernatural power. The destinies of people, their life and death were completely in the hands of one or another god. The power or destruction of peoples and states also depended on the will or whim of the gods. Therefore, in honor of individual gods, magnificent temples were built, decorated with their statues and gold or silver utensils. Sacrifices were made to the heavenly rulers.

The supreme god of the ancient Greeks - Zeus - was first among equals. Such a hierarchy reflected the peculiarities of the historical development of Ancient Greece, where there were independent city-states (Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc.), the unification of which did not go beyond the emergence of military alliances led by the most powerful states.

Ideas about the afterlife - the dark kingdom of the god Hades - reflected the class structure of ancient Greek society. The souls of kings and heroes occupied a leading position in the other world, slaves and the poor eked out the same miserable existence in the next world as in life. In general, the afterlife is depicted in harsh and gloomy colors.

The religion of the ancient Romans is in many ways reminiscent of the ancient Greek. At the head of their pantheon was Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus. The most revered deities included: Juno - the wife of Jupiter, Minerva - the goddess of wisdom, Mars - the god of war, etc. In the Roman cult, a large place was given to the worship of the Lares - the spirits of objects and the patrons of the hearth. After the formation of the powerful Roman Empire, the Romans often included certain gods of the peoples they conquered in their pantheon. It was in this way that the cult of the Iranian god Mithras, the Egyptian goddess Isis, the Asia Minor goddess Cybele, and others spread throughout the empire.

During the imperial period, the deification of emperors began. Already Emperor Octavian added the title Augustus to his name, i.e. sacred, and was declared a god. Augustus carried out a major religious reform, streamlining the worship of the gods, making religion the support of his own imperial power. When the powerful Roman Empire began to decline, on its outskirts, and then in Rome itself, faith in the Savior Christ began to assert itself. Humanity was entering a new era of its existence.

A characteristic feature of the religions of antiquity was their national-state character. The gods of a particular people were national gods and their power did not extend beyond the borders of a particular region. According to experts, the cult of the state and the cult of a particular nationality occupied a special place in the religion of the Ancient World. The further history of religions is connected with the emergence of world religions.