How Religious were the Ancient Egyptians

Bibliographic Data

ID6044950
AuthorsBarry J Kemp (University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year1995
Volume5
Issue1
Pages25-54
Publication date1995-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0959774300001177
OpenAlexW2168299508
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited64

Ancient Egyptian culture was permeated by statements, symbolic and direct, which defined a world of deities and divine power. They amounted to a form of knowledge that was largely divorced from general personal behaviour and which afforded little recognition of individual experience. Furthermore, although practical provision for survival after death was important, life seems not to have offered a quest for enlightenment through enhanced knowledge of the divine. The exemplary life was a career pursued in what was basically a secular society. Our use of the term ‘religion’ for ancient Egypt, whilst justifiable as a convenience, clearly covers a relationship between belief and behaviour which is distinctive for its place and time. In this article, several kinds of evidence for religious behaviour in ancient Egypt are examined in an attempt to assess the nature and strength of the commitment that they represent. The question of whether the populace at large lived by reference to a world of superstitious gesture which has left little evidence behind is only briefly touched upon

Aesthetics · Ancient egypt · Ancient history · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Religious belief · Religious life · Sociology · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies

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