A change in the political importance of a district has almost necessarily altered the relative position of its gods. Mere growth in the size of a city was sufficient to bring the gods of that city into greater prominence, and the military ascendancy of a city or a state was always proof in itself of the superiority of its gods. As long as Babylon was an unimportant city, Marduk was merely a patron deity of the locality; but, as Babylon grew stronger and conquered and united the surrounding territory, Marduk came to be a war god, and later rose still higher and assumed the rôle of Bel, the god of earth, and was known as Bel-Marduk. Similarly Ashur was at one time a local god of the city of Ashur, but while Assyria was attaining military supremacy Ashur was the god of war and finally became the chief god of Assyria. The same tendency appeared in Egypt. Amon was at one time the local god of Karnak; but later, in the 17th dynasty when Thebes was made the capital, he was elevated to the supreme position and was merged with the sun god under the new title of Amon-Re. As peoples were amalgamated polytheistic gods were usually united, those having similar characteristics being merged, or identified as the same gods. The vital pursuits of a society affect strongly its religion. If a state is warlike, its chief gods will be war gods, and the ideal characteristics of the gods will be those suggested by the needs of conquest and defense. Power, jealousy, and vengeance are attributes of the gods of a militant people, with protection and justice as the highest ethical characters likely to be evolved. Such characters as love and mercy are idealized only among a peaceful industrious people. Thus a study of early religions leads to the conclusion that in the objective stage of man's development the character of religion was molded chiefly by the external environment; but that as man developed subjectively the influence of the physical features weakened, and the character of the spirit world was fashioned by mental ideals, and its organization reflected current political and social forms. Mental life has always been the primary influence on religion, and the stage of mental development has also helped to determine the importance of some of the secondary factors. Factors Influencing Ethical Religions. While the factors just reviewed may be accepted as influencing nature religions, it may be argued that they are of little effect upon ethical religions. But the truth seems to be that the same factors have been at work on all religions, though their relative importance has differed in different places and the nature of the influence they have exerted has varied. The physical environment is doubtless a less direct determinant upon advanced religions, although climate and physical features perhaps still assist in determining whether a religion shall be a contemplative mystical belief or a religion of action. And the physical environment always continues to influence religion, at least through its effect upon the character of thought. In all periods of mental development the religious attitude is likely to be quite different in a favorable environment, where man is master, from what it can be in an adverse environment, where the rewards of labor are scanty and uncertain. Mental life is obviously the strongest factor in shaping ethical as well as nature religions. The same religion will, over a considerable period of time, become less material and more spiritual as thought is matured and refined. And at any given period the conceptions and practices of a religion will be quite different for the intellectual classes and for the ignorant in the same physical environment. Political and social factors will not affect a monotheistic religion in the same way that they will a polytheistic religion; but they will modify ideals and therefore determine the character and attributes of God. We have recently seen the spectacle of a militant people making of God a national deity, whose ideals were might and vengeance, and whose interest lay in the supremacy of a particular people and in the extermination or subjection of other peoples. Quite different is the idea developed among peaceful, industrial peoples of a God of all who loves justice, mercy, and peace. Democratic ideals help to democratize religious conceptions. In modern times God would hardly be represented as father-mother except in a society where the position of woman was high. The Future of Religion. If the three factors, the physical environment, the social organization, and the stage of mental development, determine the nature of religious beliefs, then it must be concluded that religion will continue to vary with different peoples and with different stages of development. An universal religion is incompatible with diverse stages of culture. Even though one religion were in name accepted by all, its doctrines and ritual would receive varied interpretations by dissimilar peoples. On the other hand there is reason to believe that the future will show greater unity rather than greater diversity in religious beliefs; and this not necessarily because people will become more alike but because they will show less inclination to emphasize unimportant details. With regard to the religious beliefs and practices now existing, the tendency will be for sects to perceive similarities and to coöperate and even perhaps combine rather than to multiply. When, however, it is a question of new religious beliefs, new sects will probably be established to propagate those beliefs, as established religious organizations are resistant to change either in doctrines or in practices. Such multiplication of religious organizations should not be deplored since it indicates vitality in religious thought and a groping for a nearer approach to truth. In the future the character of the more advanced religions will be determined chiefly by the development of the mind. Progress will be marked by the elimination of material elements in religion and by an increasing recognition of the importance of spiritual forces in life, accompanied by an intensified desire for more complete adaptation to those forces. . REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BREASTED, J. H., Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt. The Religion Worth Having. Religions of Babylonia and Assyria. MÜLLER, M., Origin of Religion. CHAPTER XXXII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Any mere description of social phenomena must seem unreal and fragmentary, because the various social processes, which are actually interlaced to form a complex unit, are necessarily treated separately; and therefore the sense of interdependence and coördination in their action is lost. This defect may be partially corrected by summarizing the social processes from a different point of view, paying special attention to their interdependence and their concurrent development. The order of the description of social phenomena in this volume has been from the more physical to the more intellectual phases of social life; but the actual evolution of groups has followed this order only in the sense that intellectual products may have been relatively more important in the total life of society as civilization has advanced. The development of one phase of social life has not preceded another, for the rudiments of all were present from the start; and evolution has consisted in the simultaneous development of all departments of social life, these departments acting and reacting upon one another like the parts of a complicated mechanism. Review of Social Development. If one takes a cursory view of the changes which have taken place since primitive times, he will be impressed with two things, the development of man himself, and the growth in size and complexity of the social organization. And a general review of the course of evolution should take account of both these processes. An analysis of the complete process of social evolution must recognize at least three stages, these stages being represented by modifications in the social organization as a whole, and also by distinct changes in all the separate institutions. For this reason stages of social development may be classified in a variety of ways according to the point of approach, or the particular institution emphasized. In economic life four stages are sometimes |