When the Sumerians came to dominate the Mesopotamian region, isolated spiritual beliefs were consolidated into a structured system. Dispersed ideas were unified and organized by human beings into a systematic model. This phenomenon came to be known as religion, and it was a direct consequence of the rise of the first civilization and the urban revolution. From there, this system spread in an organized manner throughout the known world.
The origin of the word religion is an interesting subject and has been interpreted in different ways. It is believed to come from the Latin religio, a term already in use in the first century BC. In ancient Rome, it referred to the strict observance of traditional rituals. Other theories exist regarding its etymological root. Some suggest it derives from relegere, meaning “to gather” or “to collect,” while another interpretation links it to religare, meaning “to bind” or “to tie together.” This latter interpretation reinforces the idea that spiritual beliefs originally existed in a scattered form, but over time were grouped and organized by human beings into a structured system. What began as individual experiences of the divine eventually became a formal model of religious practice.
In antiquity, the term religio did not only express devotion to sacred practices, but also conveyed a sense of conscience, moral duty, and respect for what was considered right. In the Roman context, it also included reverence and awe toward the divine—beliefs that guided daily life. Over time, particularly during the Roman era, religion, already consolidated as a system, came to be defined as the strict observance of traditional rituals. Throughout history, the concept of religion evolved, and the modern understanding of religion as an organized system of beliefs and practices developed gradually, shaped by various traditions and reinterpretations.
The Sumerian people were the first to transform primitive mystical beliefs into a formal religious liturgy. In doing so, Sumerian-Babylonian civilization established the first administrative system of beliefs conceived by the human mind. This religious model, centered on the administration of the sacred and the existence of a sanctuary as a focal point, laid the foundation for most of the religious systems that later developed in other civilizations.
However, faith or spirituality is not the same as religion. Faith originated with God when He called human beings to trust in Him, for God is spirit and cannot be seen with physical eyes. Religion, by contrast, is the product of human organization—of certain mystical beliefs and cultural traditions or customs. Religion is practiced through forms that belong to each group’s cultural tradition and are not divine commandments or requirements for relating to God. Because these are external or physical forms, they cannot, by themselves, reach God, since the material world is not the bridge between humanity and the Source. Only the most intimate part of the human being—one’s spirit, conscience, and inner transformation—can truly connect with God. What God seeks is a genuine change of heart, expressed in love, justice, humility, and truth, not in rituals, clothing, postures, or specific movements.
For this reason, many external religious practices serve only to preserve the legacy of religious cultural tradition. For example, in Judaism, the wearing of the kippah as a symbol of reverence for God, or the prayer shawl with fringes used during prayer. In Christianity, the ritual of kneeling and clasping the hands—a common form of prayer in many denominations—and the sign of the cross, which in Catholic and Orthodox tradition is an act of devotion.
In Hinduism, practices such as marks on the forehead (tilak or bindi) as signs of religious identity and spirituality, or the use of prayer beads (japa mala) for meditation and mantra recitation. In indigenous and traditional religions, the burning of sacred herbs (incense or copal) to cleanse negative energies, and sacrifices or offerings to spirits, including food, drink, or symbolic sacrifices. All of these are external forms of religion which, when observed, preserve and transmit the cultural legacy of different human groups. God does not condemn them unless they corrupt moral values, but they are not necessary for a relationship with Him.
Approaching God does not depend on visible symbols, but on the state of the heart and inner transformation. If these practices are equated with God’s moral will or imposed as requirements for drawing near to Him, then human beings are taking a place that belongs only to God. True spirituality is not manifested in external forms, but in how we live daily—our decisions, our compassion, and our relationships with others. God does not seek ritual gestures, but a life aligned with truth, justice, and love.
Although Sumer created the first organized politico-religious apparatus and exported it, its beliefs originated in prehistoric times. These are the same beliefs mentioned by the Phoenician priest Sanchuniathon, who stated that in the beginning, human beings worshiped plants because they provided food. The French historian Georges Roux argued that one unavoidable conclusion derived from the temples of Eridu, in Sumer, is that the same religious tradition was transmitted century after century, in the same place, from the middle of the sixth millennium BC to historical times. This allows us to see how religious customs were inherited and practiced from generation to generation until they eventually became consolidated into a religious system with defined rites and priesthoods. This same pattern of religious transmission appeared in Israel, where practices inherited from Mesopotamia persisted despite prophetic efforts to eradicate them.
The ritual forms maintained in ancient Israel were nothing more than adapted versions of organized polytheism. The Hebrews themselves rightly referred to them as ancestral customs. These family traditions were carried from Sumer to Canaan by Abraham’s family and, over time, became Israel’s main spiritual obstacle. The influence of polytheism was so strong that when prophets called the people to exclusive faith in Yahweh, the response was often resistance. A clear example is found in the words of the Jews living in Egypt, who responded to Jeremiah:
“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we will not listen to you. Instead, we will certainly do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
(Jeremiah 44:15–18)
For them, abandoning the worship of the Queen of Heaven meant losing economic and social stability, showing that tradition carried more weight than trust in prophetic words.
The Queen of Heaven mentioned in this passage was Ishtar. In Assyrian times she was associated with the god Ashur, but her older names include Inanna, Nana, and Anunit. Ishtar was considered the mother of the gods and was given titles such as “lover of the nations” or “lover of the mountains.” Her cult originated in Sumer, where she was known as Inanna-Ishtar, the star goddess, daughter of the Sumerian moon god Nanna, patron of Ur. It is believed she had a temple in Ur, the same city from which Abraham came.
The gods of the Sumerian-Babylonian pantheon, including Inanna of Ur, were known and worshiped by Abraham’s descendants, as evidenced by the Hebrews’ response to Jeremiah. Through family tradition, these beliefs were preserved within Israel and were still present in Egypt during the prophet’s time. Even after entering into a covenant with Yahweh, the people continued to carry the religious influences of their ancestors, showing that Mesopotamian polytheism never fully disappeared from Israel.
In Mesopotamian religion, gods were not eliminated when defeated; they remained within the pantheon. During Babylonian dominance, Marduk assumed control of the pantheon, yet worship of Bel continued. Similarly, Israel never completely eradicated ancestral beliefs; many remained in the shadows, merging with the worship of Yahweh and resisting prophetic efforts to restore pure monotheism.
The case of Solomon clearly illustrates this persistence. During his reign, he worshiped not only God but also the foreign deities of his wives, as recorded in 1 Kings 11:5–7. Even the wisest king of Israel, who built the temple for Yahweh, succumbed to the influence of foreign gods. Despite attempts to establish exclusive worship of Yahweh, Mesopotamian traditions continued to exert strong influence.
A note regarding Melchizedek: in the New Testament, he is presented as someone outside the polytheistic religious context of Abraham’s time. The letter to the Hebrews states that Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High, who blessed Abraham and received a tenth of the spoils. The author adds that his genealogy is unknown, making him a type of the Son of God.
However, historically, Melchizedek was a Canaanite priest-king, not an exclusive worshiper of Yahweh. Jerusalem at that time was likely a Canaanite city-state. Being called priest of God Most High (El Elyon) does not mean he served the God of Israel, since El Elyon was the supreme deity of the Canaanite pantheon, who had divine consorts such as Ashtoreth (Asherah) and Anat.
The author of Hebrews did not know Melchizedek’s true historical identity. Today we understand that he functioned within a polytheistic structure. In Abraham’s time, organized religion was polytheistic, and although Abraham believed in one God, he lived within the customs of his culture. One such custom was offering tribute to priests and temples, explaining Abraham’s tithe. This act was cultural protocol, later reinterpreted theologically to support doctrinal arguments.
The Bible records God’s Law and His messages to humanity, but it also contains confusion and inconsistency arising from human tradition. In God’s message there is no confusion or darkness. Human tradition entered Scripture when humanity separated from the Source. Religion emerged when the first couple broke the covenant and chose a different spiritual path. As the prophet says:
“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Religion is like a broken cistern—it cannot quench spiritual thirst. Communion with God, by contrast, produces living water. Religion relies on external rites, not inner transformation, and therefore cannot restore true connection with God.
Religion arose from tradition, from political-religious systems that centralized power and resources. Blood sacrifice, according to the Life of Adam and Eve, originated not with God but with Adam himself, later institutionalized by humanity. What began as desperation became law, and law became religion.
From its origin, religion has been humanity’s attempt to replace lost communion with God through external structures. But these structures cannot restore what was lost. Only reunion with the Source can.