On Thu, Nov 28, 2002 at 10:33:55AM -0800, Penney, Sean wrote: > I wonder - is it possible for a civilization to develop to a "high" state > without religion? The South American civilizations, the Egyptians, > Sumerians (O.T. - I've read that the Sumerians were matriarchal) - all these > civilizations used religion as a catapult to greatness. The pyramids of > Egypt and the ziggurats of S. America would not have been built without > faith in something. This cuts both ways. "Oh no, we wouldn't have built giant useless piles of rock without religion!" Do you consider modern Western civilization to be 'high'? Religion is still prominent, but has been decreasingly relevant for motivating large projects (Hoover Dam, English Chunnel, moon landings) or the science, wealth, and technology which are our real claim to highness. Certainly there aren't older examples of religion-less high civilizations -- but there aren't older examples of religion-less civilizations, period. -xx- Damien X-)