How did religion begin?
Religion likely began with early humans' attempts to understand and influence natural forces beyond their control. Evidence of ritual behavior — intentional burials, cave paintings, carved figurines — dates back at least 100,000 years. The Neolithic period saw religion become increasingly institutionalized with temples, priests, and organized rituals.
The origins of religion are deeply intertwined with the emergence of symbolic thought — the uniquely human capacity to imagine things that don't physically exist. While we cannot pinpoint exactly when "religion" began (the concept itself is modern), archaeological evidence suggests that ritual behavior has been part of human life for at least 100,000 years.
The earliest evidence includes intentional burials — carefully positioned bodies, sometimes with grave goods — dating back over 100,000 years. These suggest beliefs about death and possibly an afterlife. Cave paintings, carved figurines (including the famous Venus figurines), and deposits of ochre at ritual sites attest to a rich symbolic life that almost certainly included what we would recognize as religious practice.
The discovery of Gobekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey challenged longstanding assumptions about the relationship between religion and settlement. This massive ritual complex, built by hunter-gatherers around 9600 BCE, predates agriculture and permanent settlement. It suggests that organized religion may have helped drive the transition to settled life, not the other way around — that people gathered first to worship, and only later to farm.
As societies became more complex, religion became more institutionalized. Neolithic communities developed ancestor cults and elaborate burial practices. The first cities organized around temple complexes that served as economic, political, and religious centers. Priests became specialized professionals. Myths were recorded in writing. The relationship between divine authority and political power — visible in concepts like Egypt's god-king and Mesopotamia's temple economies — became one of the foundational dynamics of civilization.