The Road to Uncivilization
By Matt Pike
The values and attitudes that a culture possesses have an intimate relationship with that cultures religion. A religion is formulated based upon the currently held beliefs and is influenced to some degree by any changes in those beliefs that occur over time. At the same time, religion dictates beliefs and points of view to the members of that religion and thus has an effect on the culture. Given this close relationship, much can be learned about a society by examining its religion, both what it dictates, and what changes have taken place. This examination can be used to gain insights into the origin of certain patterns of thought and behavior, and perhaps identify where potential problems began. One example of a cultural problem is that of sexism, which has been a predominant feature of human society for thousands of years. Lerner attempts to draw a correlation between the move towards a patriarch cal system and what has happened in human religious views over time.
If one examines the emergence of humanity at the time of Cro-Magnon people, Goddess worship was the first form of religion to develop. This would appear to result from the obvious fact that newborn babies originated from women, and thus women could be seen as being the creators of life. At this point in time, the role of the male in reproduction probably was not known, and so it would appear that women alone had anything to do with creation. This would naturally lead to a feminine conception of "God" as the creator of all that is. The conditions of living, and the Marxist modes of production, at the time were such that the fertility of the land and the people was a very important concern in everyday life. As one author explains it, "The importance of fertility in crops, in domesticated animals, in wild animals and in the tribe itself were of paramount importance to their survival. Thus, the Female life-giving principle was considered divine and a great mystery." (Robinson, 1999) With infant mortality rates as high as they were then, womens roles were of tremendous importance, while men had no special role as was understood. It would seem that the males greater physical size was all that kept him from being made subordinate to the woman.
These religious views lasted for thousands of years, with a society that reflected these views. Women in this time period were treated equal to men, with their children taking their names instead of the males. Women in these times were frequently priestesses, performing rituals and holding positions of great power. Given the female conception of Mother Nature, it would be only natural to assume that a woman would stand at least an equal chance of communicating with the Goddess. Another interesting facet of this time period is that time was kept via a lunar calendar. The lunar cycle is closely tied into the female menstrual cycle, and to this day is associated most strongly with female deities in the different religions. (Conway, 1999) With this female conception of the Goddess, women enjoyed more equal treatment and greater possibilities for themselves within the society.
The first archeological evidence of warfare dates to about 7000 BCE. Political science uses this to label the "dawn of civilization". Around this same time, religions experience the introduction of male deities in addition to the concept of the Goddess. Previously, creation was the only power humanity was really aware of, viewing death simply as a new beginning. With the advent of warfare, men became aware of their power of destruction, and no longer felt subordinate to the power of creation. Some of the first male deities were Gods of war, and these deities were probably introduced as means to account for the death that resulted from war. This also gave warriors a deity perhaps more suited to worship than would be a Goddess of creation and fertility.
Once this introduction occurred, and as society shifted into a more militaristic mindset, the male deities began assuming the roles of the female deities. Stories and myths of creation were rewritten to include male deities, and female deities were reduced to more minor roles. One example of this is the Greek myth of Zeus as the creator of the world. Before this, the notion of creation stemmed solely from female deities, who were then relegated to the role of wives of the Gods. The female deities maintained some power initially, but this trend continued until the male deities were clearly dominant, and the female deities either no longer existed, or were mentioned as an afterthought. Once this happened, womens roles in society were equally affected. Women could no longer be priestesses, and their class became determined not by who they were, but by who they were married to. This moved the focus from women being individuals to a focus on what individuals the woman was related to. At this point, women were in many ways required solely as property, and were excluded from many roles in society. Once Christianity developed, there was a written exclusion of women from becoming priests. Stories of the "Fall of Man" assigned all of humanities problems to women. Women continued to be seen in this manner, and the patriarch cal ideology continues to the present.
Interestingly, at the same time womens suffrage and the feminist movement became active, there was a resurgence of the Goddess tradition. Religions such as Celtic and Wicca have been being revived and practiced again, and these religions ascribe great power to female deities. If this trend continues, and given the evidence of a strong interrelation between religious and cultural views, the future holds potential for the throwing off of sexism. All religions hold that religion is the deepest reflection of a persons identity, which is comprised of their beliefs and ideology. Perhaps once the world opens its eyes in religious aspects, society will follow.
Resources
Conway, D.J. Moon Magick: Myth and Magic, Llewellyn Publications. 1999
Matthews, John. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, Element Books Limited. 1996
http://altreligion.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.religioustolerance.org%2Fgoddess.htm B.A. Robinson, 1999
© Copyright Matthew Pike, 2000-2005