The ancient Near Eastern societies revolved around religion. Hebrews played a large role in the foundations of western civilizations. The Hebrews were different from other societies we know about today. It is said that religion was the main impact in these first civilizations. The foundation of Mesopotamian civilization was also based on religion. Basically religion was the controlling factor of all political, religious, social, legal, and literary life. Religion was key in the rise to civilization. It served as an explanation and a scapegoat to everything. It explained how nature worked, why certain rules and morals were followed, and it made the fear of death a little easier to deal with. Laws were thought to be from the gods which in turn
