Original subtitles

NANARRATOR: EVERY CIVILIZATION

NEEDS A STORY...

A SHARED NARRATIVE

TO BELIEVE IN,

AND THE MOST POTENT NARRATIVE

IS RELIGION.

BUT HOW AND WHY DID RELIGION BECOME SO POWERFUL?

WHAT PART DID IT PLAY

IN THE BIRTH OF CIVILIZATION?

MAN: IF YOU WANT TO PRAY,

YOU'VE GOT TO COME TO THIS SPACE.

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF RELIGION AS WE KNOW IT.

SECOND MAN: RELIGION BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER.

THIS LEADS TO THE FEELING THAT WE ARE

PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

THIRD MAN: RELIGION HELPS CREATE A COHESIVE SOCIETY

THAT ALLOWS A CIVILIZATION TO FORM.

GLORY AND PRAISE FOREVER AND EVER.

ALL: AMEN. NARRATOR: WE DIDN'T ALWAYS

LIVE THIS WAY.

FOR 99% OF OUR TIME ON EARTH,

WE HAD NO ORGANIZED RELIGION.

BUT THEN...

WE SETTLED DOWN, GREW FOOD,

BUILT CITIES, FOUGHT BATTLES,

WROTE STORIES, SOLD GOODS,

AND WORSHIPPED GODS.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

THIS IS THE STORY OF THAT TRANSITION...

STEPPING STONES ON THE ROAD TO CIVILIZATION.

[SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY]

IT'S A STORY SET ACROSS THE GLOBE

IN THE MIDDLE EAST, CENTRAL AMERICA, SOUTHERN ASIA...

ALL OF THEM SEED BEDS OF CIVILIZATION.

HERE, OUR ANCESTORS DESIGNED THE BLUEPRINT

BY WHICH WE STILL LIVE OUR LIVES.

THIS IS WHERE THE MODERN WORLD BEGAN.

NARRATOR: THE LONGEST-LASTING CIVILIZATION

IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

WAS IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

FOR 3,000 YEARS, THE PHARAOHS RULED,

AND THEIR PEOPLE BELIEVED.

IT WAS HERE CIVILIZATION AND RELIGION

BECAME FUSED AS ONE.

EVERY MAJOR CIVILIZATION SINCE

HAS ADOPTED THE SAME FORMULA.

RELIGION IS THE GLUE THAT BINDS US TOGETHER.

BUT HOW DID ANCIENT EGYPTIANS COME UPON THIS REALIZATION?

ARCHAEOLOGIST JEFF ROSE

IS HEADED FOR AN ANCIENT WATERING HOLE

IN EGYPT'S WESTERN DESERT--

NABTA PLAYA.

ROSE: NOWADAYS, THIS IS ALL JUST DRY DESERT,

BUT 7,000 OR 8,000 YEARS AGO,

THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ROLLING GRASSLAND

WITH ELEPHANTS AND GIRAFFE.

YOU WOULD HAVE HAD GROUPS OF HERDERS WITH CATTLE

MOVING AROUND THIS LANDSCAPE,

FOLLOWING THE WATER SOURCES THAT BECAME AVAILABLE.

SO, HERE AT NABTA PLAYA, WHEN THE SUMMER RAINS CAME,

IT WOULD FILL UP THIS BASIN WITH WATER,

AND ALL THOSE HERDERS WOULD COME AND CONGREGATE HERE

AROUND THE LAKE JUST FOR THE SEASON.

NARRATOR: THE HERDERS BUILT SOMETHING SACRED.

IT'S BEEN DESCRIBED AS EGYPT'S STONEHENGE.

IN REALITY, IT'S 2,000 YEARS OLDER.

BEGUN OVER 7,000 YEARS AGO,

IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST RELIGIOUS SITES IN THE WORLD.

IT MAY NOW LOOK LIKE A JUMBLE OF ROCKS,

BUT THIS IS WHERE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF RELIGION

BEGAN TO EMERGE.

ROSE: FOR OVER TWO MILLION YEARS,

WE WERE HUNTER-GATHERERS, AND HUNTER-GATHERERS

TYPICALLY PRACTICE A RELIGION CALLED ANIMISM.

ANIMISM IS WHEN YOU-- WHEN YOU SEE THE DIVINE,

YOU SEE THE SPIRITS OF NATURE ALL AROUND YOU.

IT'S IN THE SAND, IT'S IN THE ROCKS,

THE WIND, AND THE WATER.

IT'S EVERYWHERE.

BUT WHEN THEY SWITCH TO HERDING,

THIS CHANGES THEIR WORLDVIEW.

[GOATS BLEATING]

NARRATOR: WHILE HUNTER-GATHERERS ROAMED FREELY

ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE,

HERDERS SETTLED FOR WEEKS AT A TIME

WHEREVER THEY COULD FIND PASTURE.

THIS LED TO A NEW KIND OF RELIGION.

ROSE: THE FIRST THING THAT HAPPENS

WHEN PEOPLE START HERDING,

THEY START BUILDING SACRED SPACES.

IF YOU WANT TO PRAY, IF YOU WANT TO WORSHIP,

YOU'VE GOT TO COME TO THIS SPACE.

AND WHAT THIS DOES IS IT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER

FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE

INTO THIS ONE AREA TO WORSHIP TOGETHER.

NARRATOR: THE SITE IS HUGE. 10 SQUARE MILES OF STONES

ARRANGED INTO CIRCLES AND MOUNDS.

THE LARGEST ROCKS, THE MEGALITHS,

WERE STOOD ON END AND PLACED IN LINES ACROSS THE DESERT.

ROSE: SO, THIS GIANT MEGALITH HERE,

I MEAN, THIS THING WEIGHS SEVERAL TONS.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CARRIED A FEW MILES

JUST TO GET IT TO THIS POINT,

AND THAT REQUIRES ORGANIZED LABOR.

THAT REQUIRES PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER.

WE CAN SURMISE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE HAD

SOME KIND OF SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE TO THESE THINGS

TO PUT THAT MUCH EFFORT INTO THIS.

AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, WE'RE LOOKING AT

SOME SORT OF PROTOTYPE CHURCH.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

NARRATOR: THE FIRST MONUMENTS WERE ALL

INSPIRED BY RELIGION...

AND OFTEN WERE ALIGNED IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION,

JUST LIKE THE STONES AT NABTA PLAYA.

THIS MEGALITH WOULD HAVE BEEN STANDING UP STRAIGHT,

AND THERE'S A WHOLE LINE OF THEM,

AND THEY'RE ALL POINTING TO THE NORTH.

SO, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THEY DIDN'T HAVE COMPASSES BACK THEN.

THEY HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH WAY WAS NORTH

EXCEPT FOR THE NORTH STAR,

THE FIXED POINT IN HEAVEN THAT NEVER MOVES.

THAT'S INTERESTING, BECAUSE IN LATER EGYPTIAN RELIGION,

WE KNOW THAT THE NORTH STAR

IS THE ENTRANCE INTO THE AFTERLIFE.

SO, WHAT WE COULD BE LOOKING AT HERE

IS THE VERY BEGINNINGS OF THE EGYPTIAN BELIEF

IN LIFE AFTER DEATH.

NARRATOR: AT HEART, ALL RELIGION

IS THE SEARCH FOR MEANING, FOR ORDER,

TO EXPLAIN WHY THINGS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE.

ROSE: SO, THIS STONE CIRCLE COULD VERY WELL BE

THE WORLD'S OLDEST CALENDAR.

WE HAVE HERE TWO ALIGNMENTS OF STONES.

ONE POINTS NORTH TOWARD THE FIXED POINT,

TOWARD THE NORTH STAR...

AND THEN THE OTHER ALIGNMENT HERE

POINTS 70 DEGREES TO THE EAST.

SO, ON THE SOLSTICE, ON JUNE 21st,

THE SUN WOULD HAVE COME UP

AND SHONE STRAIGHT THROUGH THIS LINE,

AND IT WOULD TELL THEM RIGHT WHEN

THE SUMMER RAINS WERE ABOUT TO START.

NARRATOR: FOR US, A CALENDAR IS A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT

FOR PREDICTING THE SEASONS.

BUT FOR THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS,

IT HAD A RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE.

ROSE: THEY DIDN'T HAVE THIS DISTINCTION

BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE.

THE STARS, THE GODS, THE SEASONS, THE SUN,

THEY WERE ALL LINKED TOGETHER.

SO, FOR THEM, THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

HOW THEIR WORLD WORKED.

NARRATOR: THE CALENDAR HAS BEEN MOVED

FROM NABTA PLAYA TO A MUSEUM

180 MILES AWAY TO PRESERVE IT,

ALONG WITH EGYPT'S OLDEST RELIGIOUS SCULPTURE.

ROSE: THIS GIANT ROCK IS NO ORDINARY MEGALITH.

IT'S BEEN SCULPTED BY THE INHABITANTS OF NABTA PLAYA,

SOME HAVE SUGGESTED IN THE SHAPE OF A COW.

SO, WE COULD SEE THE HEAD HERE, AND THEN THE TORSO HERE.

WHAT'S REALLY STRANGE IS IT WAS FOUND

BURIED BENEATH A SERIES OF COLLAPSED OTHER MEGALITHS.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

[COW MOOS]

ROSE: FOR THE INHABITANTS OF NABTA PLAYA,

THE COW WAS THE CENTER OF THEIR WORLD.

[COW MOOS]

THESE ARE HERDERS WHOSE LIFE, WHOSE FOOD,

WHOSE MILK, WHOSE MEAT COMES FROM THE COW.

ONE OF THE ASTONISHING THINGS WE FIND AT NABTA PLAYA

ARE YOUNG COWS SACRIFICED AND BURIED BENEATH THE GROUND.

[COW MOOING]

WHY WOULD YOU SACRIFICE SOMETHING

THAT IS SO ESSENTIAL TO YOUR LIVELIHOOD?

AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THESE COULD BE

WAYS OF OFFERINGS TO THE GODS

TO CONTROL NATURE, TO BRING THE RAINS,

TO ENSURE THAT THEIR LIVELIHOOD CONTINUES.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE AT NABTA PLAYA,

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF RELIGION AS WE KNOW IT.

I MEAN, NOW THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO APPEAL TO THE GODS

TO MAKE SURE NATURE DOES WHAT THEY WANT IT TO DO

IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW RELIGION OPERATES TODAY.

NARRATOR: RELIGION SEEMS SO FUNDAMENTAL

TO THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE,

IT MAY BE HARD-WIRED INTO OUR BRAINS.

NEUROSCIENTIST ANDREW NEWBERG

IS RESEARCHING THE IMPACT OF PRAYER

ON RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS.

OK, GO AHEAD.

WOMAN ON SPEAKER: OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN,

HALLOWED BE THEY NAME.

THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE,

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD...

NEWBERG: WE'RE LOOKING AT A VARIETY OF

DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE BRAIN

TO SEE WHAT AREAS SEEM TO BE

TURNED ON OR TURNED OFF DURING INTENSE

RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES AND PRACTICES.

AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE ARE TWO SCANS THAT ARE DONE,

ONE DURING THE PRAYER STATE,

ONE DURING THE RES STATE,

AND DURING THE PRAYER STATE, YOU CAN SEE THAT

THERE'S A LOT MORE RED ACTIVITY HERE

THAN WHAT YOU SEE OVER HERE.

NARRATOR: THIS SORT OF INCREASED BLOOD FLOW

IN THE FRONTAL LOBE

SHOWS UP IN ANY MENTAL TASK

REQUIRING FOCUS AND ATTENTION.

WOMAN ON SPEAKER: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD...

NARRATOR: BUT THE ACT OF PRAYER

ALSO AFFECTS THE BACK OF THE BRAIN--

THE PARIETAL LOBE.

NEWBERG: THIS AREA OF THE BRAIN NORMALLY TAKES OUR--

ALL THE SENSORY INFORMATION THAT COMES IN TO US

AND HELPS US TO CONSTRUCT OUR SENSE OF SELF

AND HOW THAT SELF RELATES TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

AND SO, WHAT WE HAVE FOUND A LOT OF EVIDENCE FOR

IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE HAVE VERY INTENSE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES,

THIS PARIETAL LOBE THAT NORMALLY

HELPS YOU TO ESTABLISH YOUR SENSE OF SELF

ACTUALLY STARTS TO SHUT DOWN.

AND SO, WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT DURING

THE RESTING STATE,

IT'S MOSTLY IN THIS RED ACTIVITY,

WHEREAS DURING THE PRAYER STATE,

IT'S BEEN SHUT DOWN.

IT'S ALMOST ALL IN THE YELLOWS HERE.

AND AS THAT AREA STARTS TO QUIET DOWN,

WE LOSE OUR SENSE OF SELF.

SO, WE FEEL THAT SENSE OF CONNECTION,

THAT SENSE OF COMMUNION,

THAT SENSE OF BECOMING ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE,

BECOMING ONE WITH GOD, AS PART OF THAT PRACTICE.

[PEOPLE SINGING INDISTINCTLY]

AND SO, IT CERTAINLY SEEMS LIKE OUR BRAINS

ARE BUILT IN SUCH A WAY THAT

FACILITATES RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL IDEAS,

ENABLES US TO HAVE THEM FAIRLY EASILY,

AND--AND MAKES THEM A PART OF-- OF HUMANITY'S BELIEF SYSTEMS,

AT LEAST FOR THE LARGE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: IN EVOLUTIONARY TERMS,

WE SEEM TO NEED RELIGION.

NEWBERG: PRETTY MUCH EVERY CIVILIZATION,

FROM THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION TO THE PRESENT MOMENT,

HAS HAD SOME TYPE OF RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS

THAT ARE A PART OF--OF HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THE WORLD,

HOW THEY CONSTRUCT THEIR IDEAS ABOUT HUMANITY,

HOW WE SHOULD BEHAVE, OUR MORAL SYSTEMS AND SO FORTH.

AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS KIND OF COME TOGETHER

TO HELP CREATE A COHESIVE SOCIETY

THAT ALLOWS A CIVILIZATION TO--TO FORM.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

NARRATOR: FOR RELIGION TO SPREAD,

IT NEEDS TO BE SHARED...

AND COMMUNICATED TO OTHERS.

THE MOST POWERFUL FORM OF COMMUNICATION IS IMAGERY...

PICTURES, SYMBOLS.

ROSE: THE EASTERN DESERT OF EGYPT IS FULL OF WADIS,

AND A WADI IS A STREAM BED THAT GETS

OCCASIONAL STORM FLOW RUNNING THROUGH IT.

NOW, 6,000 YEARS AGO, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN

A LOT MORE RAIN IN THIS AREA.

SO, THE HERDERS LIVING IN THESE PARTS

WOULD'VE BEEN ATTRACTED TO PLACES LIKE THIS

FOR THE GRAZING, FOR ALL THE ANIMALS,

AND FOR THE WATER ITSELF.

THEY LEFT THEIR LEGACY HERE,

BUT UNLIKE NABTA PLAYA, WHERE THEY WERE

BUILDING STONE CIRCLES AND ERECTING MEGALITHS,

THEY ETCHED THEIR ART ONTO THE CANYON WALLS.

NARRATOR: HERE AT WADI BARAMIYA,

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF IMAGES

CARVED ONTO THE ROCKS,

AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF THE PEOPLE

WHO GATHERED HERE.

MOST OF THE DEPICTIONS OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THIS CANYON

ARE ANIMALS--THINGS LIKE GIRAFFE AND GAZELLE

AND COWS AND GOATS AND OSTRICH--

EVEN A FALCON, WHICH IS INTERESTING,

BECAUSE IN LATER EGYPTIAN RELIGION,

THE FALCON IS SO CENTRAL.

YOU SEE A LOT OF HUNTING SCENES.

SOME HAVE SUGGESTED THIS IS TO ENSURE

A SUCCESSFUL HUNT OR PERHAPS TO

CELEBRATE A SUCCESSFUL HUNT,

BUT FOR ME, WHAT IT MEANS,

THEY'RE TRYING TO CONTROL NATURE

AND--AND BEND IT TO THEIR WILL.

I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT THIS PANEL RIGHT HERE,

AND THIS SAYS IT ALL.

SO, HERE WE'VE GOT SOME COWS. WE'VE GOT GOATS.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE HERDERS DEPICTED ON HERE.

AND NOW THEY'VE ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY, THEY--

THEY'VE DOMESTICATED THE ANIMALS.

THEY'VE IMPOSED THEIR ORDER ON THE NATURAL WORLD.

NARRATOR: IN ALL EMERGING CIVILIZATIONS,

RELIGION WAS CALLED UPON TO IMPOSE CONTROL

OVER THE ENVIRONMENT

AND BRING GOOD FORTUNE.

RELIGION ALSO GAVE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE.

ROSE: SO, HERE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT

ARE THESE 50 TINY, LITTLE STICK FIGURES ON THIS BOAT

AND THEN THIS ONE FIGURE WHO'S TOWERING OVERHEAD.

NOW, WHAT WE KNOW FROM ANCIENT ART ALL OVER THE WORLD

IS THAT WHEN YOU SEE SOMEBODY THAT MUCH BIGGER,

HE'S A GOD OR SOME KIND OF A DEMIGOD.

SO, WHAT WE CAN INTERPRET FROM THIS PANEL

IS THAT THIS GOD IS FERRYING THESE PEOPLE

OFF INTO THE AFTERLIFE.

AND THIS IS THE SEED THAT WE SEE BLOOMING FULLY

IN LATER EGYPTIAN SOCIETY.

NARRATOR: THERE ARE OTHER ODDITIES

AMONG THE ROCK ART...

STRANGE-LOOKING HUMANS WITH STICKS ON THEIR HEADS.

PERHAPS THEY ARE THE HORNS OR FEATHERS

OF A SHAMAN.

[MEN CHANTING; STICKS CLACKING RHYTHMICALLY]

ROSE: A SHAMAN IS AN INTERMEDIARY

BETWEEN THE GODS AND THE PEOPLE ON EARTH.

SO, THEY WERE THE PEOPLE WHOSE SPECIALIZED JOB IT WAS,

WAS TO COMMUNE WITH THE DIVINE.

SOME HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THESE PICTURES

WERE MADE BY SHAMAN WHEN THEY WERE IN A TRANCE STATE.

BY THAT SAME LOGIC, THEN THIS IS THIS--

ENTRYWAY, IT'S ALMOST A PORTAL

INTO THE OTHER WORLD FOR THESE PEOPLE.

SO, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME

ARE PEOPLE WHOSE SOLE JOB IT IS

IS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE--WITH THE GODS,

WITH THE DIVINE ON OUR BEHALF.

IN A SENSE, THIS IS THE--

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE PRIESTHOOD.

NARRATOR: PSYCHOLOGIST ARA NORENZAYAN

IS AN EXPERT ON THE ROLE OF RELIGION

AS A CORNERSTONE OF CIVILIZATION.

NORENZAYAN: THE EMERGENCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD CLASS

IS AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT AND PLAYS A ROLE

IN THE RISE OF EARLY CIVILIZATIONS.

THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE POWER.

THEY HAVE A POWER TO UNITE THE FAITHFUL.

TO YOU THE HONOR, GLORY, AND PRAISE

FOREVER AND EVER.

AMEN. ALL: AMEN.

[SINGING INDISTINCTLY]

NORENZAYAN: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT JOB IN CIVILIZATIONS

WHERE INDIVIDUALS ARE LIVING

IN INCREASINGLY LARGE AND ANONYMOUS GROUPS.

THAT'S WHERE THE PRIESTHOOD CLASS COMES IN,

WHERE THEY CAN PROVIDE RITUALS AND CEREMONIES

THAT TELL PEOPLE THIS IS SOMETHING

THAT WE ALL SHARE AND BELIEVE IN.

THAT'S WHY WE'RE PART OF A COMMUNITY.

AND PRIESTS AND SHAMANS HAVE DONE THAT

SINCE THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION.

RELIGION AROSE ALONGSIDE CIVILIZATIONS,

BUT I WOULD SAY THAT RELIGION ALSO ENABLED CIVILIZATIONS...

[SINGING INDISTINCTLY]

BY FACILITATING SOCIAL SOLIDARITY,

BY CREATING SOCIAL COMMUNITIES AROUND

CORE SACRED BELIEFS

THAT MAKES THINGS EASIER FOR COMMUNITIES

TO DEVELOP AND EXPAND.

NARRATOR: SINCE ANCIENT TIMES,

RELIGION HAS ALWAYS PROVIDED

A COMMON SENSE OF PURPOSE.

IN ANY RELIGION, PRIESTS HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE POWER

TO SHAPE THE WAY WE THINK,

BUT POWER IS MEANINGLESS UNLESS YOU CAN

BRING YOUR PEOPLE WITH YOU...

AND THAT IS THE ROLE OF RITUAL.

EVERY WEEK IN ISTANBUL,

ISLAMIC MYSTICS KNOWN AS SUFIS

ARE LED BY THEIR SHEIK INTO A TRANCELIKE STATE...

HOPING TO GET CLOSER TO THEIR GOD AND EACH OTHER.

ANTHROPOLOGIST DIMITRIS XYGALATAS

WANTS TO RECORD THE EFFECT OF THE RITUAL

ON THE SUFIS' BODIES.

[BEEPING]

THESE DEVICES ARE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY MONITORS.

THEY MEASURE HEART RATE, BREATHING RATE,

AND THEY ALSO MEASURE THE SPEED AT WHICH THEY'RE MOVING.

AND THE IDEA BEHIND USING THOSE

IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS RITUAL IS THAT

WE WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THEIR BODY

DURING THIS EVENT.

[CHANTING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE]

NARRATOR: THE PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE

OF MOVING AS ONE

IS A FORM OF TEAM BONDING.

HUMAN BEINGS HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY

TO COORDINATE THEIR BEHAVIOR.

IN A RITUAL LIKE THIS, WE SEE

A LOT OF COORDINATED ACTIVITY,

A LOT OF SYNCHRONOUS MOVEMENT.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

NARRATOR: AS THEY MOVE TOGETHER,

THE SUFIS' HEART RATES START TO ALIGN.

THIS IS KNOWN AS SYNCHRONY.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

XYGALATAS: WE HAVE FOUND THAT GOING THROUGH A RITUAL

THAT INVOLVES A LOT OF ENERGY AND AROUSAL

AND EVEN SUFFERING

CAN RESULT INTO A FEELING OF EUPHORIA.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

THIS IS SIMILAR TO THIS EXPERIENCE OF THE AMERICAN RUNNER

WHO FEELS EUPHORIC AFTER SEVERAL HOURS OF SUFFERING.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

AT THE SAME TIME, THIS HORMONAL EFFECT

HAS VERY IMPORTANT SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS.

[SHOUTING RHYTHMICALLY]

THIS LEADS TO A FEELING OF ONENESS WITH THE GROUP,

THE FEELING THAT WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

[CHANTING CONTINUES; MAN SINGING]

AND THIS HAS TREMENDOUS CONSEQUENCES

FOR THEIR LOYALTY TO THE GROUP,

THEIR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER.

THIS BRINGS THEM LITERALLY CLOSER TOGETHER.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

[MAN SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE]

TRANSLATOR: OUR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED.

WE ARE BROTHERS AND OUR FRIENDSHIP INCREASES.

WE BECOME CLOSER TO THE PERSON NEXT TO US.

HE KNOWS ME, I KNOW HIM.

AS WE GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER,

OUR AFFECTION GROWS.

SINCE OUR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED,

LOVE RESTS WITHIN US AND WE ARE ONE.

[CHANTING CONTINUES; TAMBOURINES JINGLING]

XYGALATAS: RITUAL WOULD HAVE BEEN

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANISMS

THAT BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER, CONTRIBUTED TO THE FORMATION

AND THE MAINTENANCE AND THE COHESION

OF THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE SOCIETIES.

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

YOU COULD SAY THAT WE ARE THE RITUAL SPECIES.

NARRATOR: 5,500 YEARS AGO,

THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT BECAME HOTTER AND DRIER,

WITH DRAMATIC CONSEQUENCES.

AS SAVANNA TURNED TO DESERT,

THE HERDER LIFE WAS OVER.

THE NILE VALLEY WAS NOW THE ONLY HABITABLE PLACE IN EGYPT.

THIS WAS THE START OF A SETTLED EXISTENCE,

A FARMINLIFE LIVED AT THE RIVER'S EDGE,

DEPENDENT ON HARNESSING THE SUMMER FLOODS.

[BIRDS CALLING]

AND WITH FARMING CAME THE FIRST VILLAGES AND TOWNS.

[BLEATING]

THIS NEW WAY OF LIFE WOULD HAVE A PROFOUND EFFECT

ON THE COURSE OF CIVILIZATION.

NEKHEN WAS ONE OF THE FIRST NEW TOWNS

BUILT ALONG THE NILE,

A HOME FOR FARMERS, TRADERS, AND ARTISANS.

[SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE]

[THUD]

NARRATOR: BUT NOW THERE WAS ALSO A RULING ELITE

WHO CLAIMED THEY HAD A RIGHT TO GOVERN.

[THUD] [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE]

NARRATOR: THESE RULERS WERE TO LEARN

A CRUCIAL LESSON--

THEIR HOLD ON POWER WOULD BE STRONGER

IF ENDORSED BY THE GODS.

ARCHAEOLOGIST RENEE FRIEDMAN

HAS BEEN DIGGING AT NEKHEN

FOR OVER TWO DECADES.

HER TEAM IS CURRENTLY EXCAVATING

ONE OF THE CEMETERIES.

FRIEDMAN: HERE WE'RE WORKING ON THE EXCAVATIONS

OF TOMB 72,

WHICH WAS THE TOMB OF A YOUNG MAN...

BETWEEN 18 AND 20 YEARS OF AGE.

AND WE WERE QUITE SURPRISED TO FIND

THAT IT WAS ALMOST INTACT, UM,

AND IT'S SET UP WITHIN THIS HUGE COMPLEX,

WHICH IT TOOK US A NUMBER OF YEARS TO UNCOVER AS WELL,

SO, IT WAS A GRADUAL PROCESS OF DISCOVERY.

NARRATOR: THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS BURIED HERE

IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN A RULER,

PERHAPS THE KING OF NEKHEN.

HE DIED YOUNG....

BUT HIS JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE

HAD THE SPLENDOR OF A ROYAL FUNERAL.

FRIEDMAN: ALL AROUND THE EDGES OF THE TOMB,

WE FOUND THE WHOLE ENTOURAGE OF FOLLOWERS,

BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL.

HE HAD AN OSTRICH, ELEPHANTS, WILD CATTLE,

AND HE ALSO HAD DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

SO, HE'S TAKING HIS WHOLE WORLD WITH HIM

TO THE NEXT LIFE.

NARRATOR: BUT THIS RULER WAS NOT ALLOWED TO REST IN PEACE.

FRIEDMAN: WHEN WE EXCAVATED THE TOMB,

WE REALIZED THAT THERE WERE VERY LITTLE BONES OF THE OWNER

LEFT WITHIN IT.

WHEN WE STARTED TO WORK MORE AROUND THE SURFACE,

WE STARTED TO PICK UP BONES,

AND WHAT WE NOTICED IS THAT MANY OF THEM WERE BURNT.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

WE THINK THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN

SOMETHING LIKE A REVOLUTION.

SO, IT BECAME CLEAR TO US THAT THESE BONES HAD BEEN

FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM THE BURIAL,

THE PERSON HAD BEEN DISINTERRED,

AND THAT WAS THE PURPOSE.

THEY WEREN'T INTERESTED IN TAKING HIS OBJECTS.

THEY WERE INTERESTED IN TAKING HIM...

PREVENTING HIM FROM HAVING A SECOND LIFE

IN THE AFTERLIFE.

NARRATOR: WHY DID THE PEOPLE OF NEKHEN

WANT TO DESECRATE THE SKELETON OF THEIR RULER?

FRIEDMAN: WE SEE FROM OUR CEMETERY THERE

HOW VERY, VERY WEALTHY THE ELITE WERE.

THE ABILITY TO KEEP CROCODILE, BABOONS, LEOPARDS,

AND FEED THEM, WE KNOW, WITH THE FOOD

THAT WAS MEANT FOR PEOPLE.

SO, THEY WERE REALLY SHOWING OFF THEIR WEALTH,

AND WE CAN SEE ALSO FROM OUR NON-ELITE CEMETERIES

HOW ACTUALLY PRETTY POOR--IMPOVERISHED

THE REGULAR PEOPLE WERE,

AND THEY MAY HAVE JUST HAD ENOUGH.

NARRATOR: IN ANY CIVILIZATION,

RULERS NEED LEGITIMACY,

A REASON TO RULE.

AT NEKHEN, THAT CAME BY WAY OF RELIGION.

[BIRD CRYING]

TO PREVENT FURTHER REVOLUTIONS,

THE RULERS OF NEKHEN

WOULD CLAIM THEIR POWER CAME

FROM THE LOCAL GOD HORUS,

THE FALCON GOD.

FRIEDMAN: AT THE SITE, WE FOUND

SOME OF THE EARLIEST FALCON STATUES

FROM ANCIENT EGYPT,

AND THIS IS, IN FACT, ONE OF THEM,

MADE OUT OF GREEN MALACHITE--

BEAUTIFULLY CARVED SO THAT THE WINGS

ARE SEPARATED FROM THE BODY.

IT WAS A VERY MASTERFUL PIECE OF CARVING,

BECAUSE THIS IS VERY HARD, BRITTLE STONE.

THE EGYPTIAN FALCON--IT'S ONE OF THE FASTEST ANIMALS ON EARTH.

IT CAN GO OVER 250 MILES AN HOUR.

SO, IMAGINE SEEING THAT COMING DOWN AND STRIKING.

SO, YOU WANTED TO HAVE THE POWERS TO BE EFFECTIVE,

QUICK, AND DEADLY.

THE NEXT STEP IS TO BECOME THE GODS, TO BECOME

THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF THE GOD,

TO SAY, "LOOK WHAT I'VE DONE FOR THIS GOD.

NOW THE GOD IS LIVING IN ME."

AND THAT WAS A WAY OF CEMENTING THEIR POWER

BECAUSE YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH THE KING

TO GET TO THE GOD.

HE BECAME THE INTERFACE.

HE BECAME THE LIVING GOD.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[BIRD CRYING]

NARRATOR: THE GREAT AGE OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

BEGAN 5,000 YEARS AGO,

WHEN LOWER AND UPPER EGYPT WERE UNITED

BY ONE OF THE FIRST GOD-KINGS OF NEKHEN--KING NARMER.

HIS MILITARY CAMPAIGN OF CONQUEST

IS COMMEMORATED IN AN ARTIFACT FOUND AT NEKHEN

BUT NOW ON DISPLAY IN CAIRO.

IT'S KNOWN AS THE NARMER PALETTE.

WOMAN: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE AN OBJECT

THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS A KING OF UNIFIED EGYPT.

WHAT WE SEE UP AT THE TOP

IS ACTUALLY THE NAME OF NARMER,

SO, THIS ACTUALLY DOES IDENTIFY IT

AS BELONGING TO KING NARMER.

AND THEN WE SEE NARMER WEARING THE CROWN HERE

OF UPPER EGYPT.

AND HE'S SMITING HIS ENEMIES

USING, ESSENTIALLY, THIS STICK

WITH A ROUND MALLET,

WHICH IS CALLED A MACE.

BENEATH THIS REGISTER LINE, WE SEE

SOME OTHER CAPTIVES THAT ARE BENEATH THE FEET

OF THE KING THAT HAS NOW CONQUERED THEM.

SO, THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE NARMER NOW

WEARING THE CROWN OF LOWER EGYPT...

AND HE SEEMS TO BE QUITE VICTORIOUS

AS HE HAS HIS PROCESSION, AND THEN YOU SEE

A LOT OF DECAPITATED, PRESUMABLY CAPTIVES

FROM LOWER EGYPT THAT HE HAS NOW CONQUERED.

AND WE HAVE THE GOD HORUS ESSENTIALLY GIVING HIS APPROVAL.

NARRATOR: HORUS, THE FALCON...

WHO HAD BEEN THE FAVORITE GOD AT NEKHEN,

NOW BECAME THE LEADING GOD OF ALL EGYPT...

A PATRON AND PARTNER OF THE KINGS.

EGYPT WAS NOW A FULLY-FLEDGED CIVILIZATION,

A STATE UNITED UNDER A GOD-KING, A PHARAOH,

COMPLETE WITH ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT,

SOCIAL HIERARCHY, WRITING, ART, AND ARCHITECTURE.

AND LINKING IT ALL TOGETHER WAS RELIGION.

NORENZAYAN: EVER SINCE THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS,

CONNECTING POLITICAL POWER WITH DIVINITY

HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT IDEA IN--IN CIVILIZATIONS.

EVEN TODAY, CHRISTIAN QUEENS AND KINGS

CLAIM SUPERNATURAL POWER FROM GOD,

AND THAT'S A SMART THING TO DO.

THAT'S A SMART WAY TO HOLD POWER.

HOW CAN YOU CHALLENGE A KING

IF THAT MEANS CHALLENGING GOD?

ANOTHER SMART IDEA WAS FUSING DIVINITY WITH WATCHFULNESS.

CAN SEE THAT IN THE GOD HORUS IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

WITH HIS ALL-SEEING EYE, HE WAS WATCHING OVER PEOPLE.

THE IDEA OF A MORAL GOD BECAME A NEW IDEA.

WITH THE RISE OF MORE COMPLEX AND LARGER CIVILIZATIONS,

THIS IDEA STARTED TO SPREAD...

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

AND WORK ITS WAY INTO

JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM.

NARRATOR: IN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES,

THE VERY SAME ALL-SEEING EYE WATCHES ON.

LIKE HORUS, GOD SEES EVERYTHING.

NORENZAYAN: SO, GOD IS WATCHFUL, OMNISCIENT,

BUT ALSO MORALLY CONCERNED--

SITS IN JUDGMENT AND REWARDS GOOD BEHAVIOR

AND PUNISHES BAD BEHAVIOR.

AS A RESULT, THAT COULD HAVE EFFECTS

ON HOW PEOPLE TREAT EACH OTHER.

SO, WE CAN SAY THAT WATCHED PEOPLE ARE NICE PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: PSYCHOLOGISTS CAN DO EXPERIMENTS

TO TEST HOW BEING WATCHED

HAS AN IMPACT ON OUR BEHAVIOR.

HERE, A FUNDRAISER TRIES TO RAISE MONEY FOR A CHARITY.

HE STANDS OUTSIDE A RESTAURANT,

AND OVER THE COURSE OF AN HOUR,

RAISES $25.

HE THEN DOES THE SAME THING

OUTSIDE A CHURCH

AND MAKES $70.

NORENZAYAN: THE RESULTS OF THESE STUDIES SHOW THAT

PEOPLE ARE MORE COOPERATIVE AND GENEROUS

WHEN THEY'RE REMINDED OF RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS

OR WHEN THEY'RE NEAR A CHURCH, FOR EXAMPLE.

THE FEELING IS THAT YOU THINK OF MORAL AGENTS

WHO ARE WATCHING YOU AND JUDGING YOU.

YOU'RE ALSO THINKING OF CERTAIN MORAL STANDARDS

OF WHAT'S RIGHT AND WRONG, AND SO, PEOPLE BECOME

MORE COOPERATIVE AND GIVE MORE TO THE GOOD CAUSE.

I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE POWERFUL REASONS

WHY RELIGION HAS SUCH A STICKING POWER IN HUMAN HISTORY

AND FOR HUMAN CIVILIZATIONS,

TO THE EXTENT THAT TRELIGIOUS IS

AND REMINDERS ALLOW PEOPLE TO SCALE UP THEIR COOPERATIVENESS

WITH MORE AND MORE PEOPLE.

THEN THAT BECOMES AN ESSENTIAL PART

OF HOW HUMAN CIVILIZATIONS CAN FUNCTION.

NARRATOR: RELIGION AT THE SERVICE OF CIVILIZATION--

PART INSPIRATION, PART JUDGMENT, PART FEAR.

NORENZAYAN: OF COURSE, POLICING IS NEVER EFFECTIVE

UNLESS THERE IS THE THREAT OF PUNISHMENT.

WE FIND THAT IN MANY STUDIES,

THESE KINDS OF BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL PUNISHMENT

SEEM TO BE MORE POTENT THAN THE PROMISE OF REWARD.

SO, HELL IS STRONGER THAN HEAVEN.

NARRATOR: WHEN CIVILIZATION AND RELIGION ARE FUSED,

ONE PRIEST CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE

THAN 100 POLICE OFFICERS.

IF GOD IS ALL AROUND US, WATCHING AND JUDGING,

THERE'S ONE PROBLEM-- HE'S INVISIBLE.

SO, IT'S EASY TO FORGET ABOUT HIS PRESENCE.

FOR ANCIENT EGYPTIANS,

THE SOLUTION WAS ARCHITECTURE...

TO MAKE VISIBLE THE INVISIBLE.

SAQQARA IS A HUGE COMPLEX OF TOMBS SOUTH OF CAIRO.

IT WAS HERE, 4,700 YEARS AGO,

THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS BEGAN TO BUILD BIG

AND PROCLAIM THEIR DIVINITY.

INSTEAD OF BEING BURIED UNDERGROUND,

THEY WANTED TO BE SEEN IN DEATH, ABOVE THE SURFACE.

ARCHAEOLOGIST LOUISE BERTINI BELIEVES THIS SINGLE IDEA

DROVE THE EXPANSION OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION.

BERTINI: FIRST TYPE OF MONUMENTAL TOMB

THAT WAS BUILT HERE AT SAQQARA

WAS WHAT'S CALLED A MASTABA TOMB.

"MASTABA" COMING FROM THE ARABIC WORD FOR "BENCH,"

WHICH MEANS A RECTANGULAR, UH,

SUPERSTRUCTURE THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED

OVER THE BURIAL CHAMBER.

THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED OUT OF MUD BRICK.

THESE MASTABA SHAPES HAD POSSIBLY EVOLVED

FROM WHAT'S CALLED A TUMULUS,

A CIRCULAR MOUND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED OVER

TO MARK THE BURIAL BENEATH.

THESE MOUNDS POSSIBLY EVOLVED OUT OF

THE BELIEF IN THIS PRIMEVAL MOUND

THAT EMERGED FROM THE WATERS OF NOON

THAT USED TO COVER THE EARTH,

ACCORDING TO THE EGYPTIAN CREATION MYTH.

AND THEN THESE MOUNDS ARE ESSENTIALLY A REFERENCE

TO CREATION, SO, YOU HAVE

REBIRTH AND RESURRECTION IN THE AFTERLIFE.

[ROCKS BREAKING]

NARRATOR: AS THEIR POWER GREW,

THE PHARAOHS WANTED TOMBS THAT WOULD LAST FOREVER.

[SHOUTING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE]

NARRATOR: THE ROYAL ARCHITECT IMHOTEP

WAS THE PIONEER OF A NEW DIVINE ARCHITECTURE

FIT FOR A GOD-KING.

BERTINI: IMHOTEP DECIDED TO ESSENTIALLY

CONTINUE THE TRADITIONS OF BUILDING A MASTABA TOMB,

BUT WHAT CHANGED MONUMENTALLY HERE

IS NOW THE USE OF STONE.

SO, HE'S MAKING SURE THAT

YOU HAVE YOUR HOUSE FOR ALL ETERNITY

IN A NEW ARCHITECTURAL MEDIUM

THAT WILL HOPEFULLY LAST.

NARRATOR: THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME

ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

PEOPLE BUILT FROM STONE ON SUCH A SCALE.

THIS WAS THE MATERIAL WHICH WOULD UNDERPIN

SO MANY GREAT CIVILIZATIONS.

BUT IMHOTEP DIDN'T STOP AT STONE.

HIS OTHER GREAT BREAKTHROUGH

WAS TO THINK BIG.

DIVINE ARCHITECTURE WOULD REACH UP TO THE HEAVENS.

BERTINI: IMHOTEP ORIGINALLY STARTED

BUILDING A MASTABA TOMB,

AND THEN IT WAS EXPANDED A NUMBER OF TIMES,

AND THEN, ESSENTIALLY, A SECOND MASTABA

AND A THIRD MASTABA WAS BUILT ON TOP OF IT

TO WHERE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE, ESSENTIALLY,

ALMOST 7 LAYERS OF MASTABAS

ON TOP OF ANOTHER

TO THE FINAL STEP PYRAMID.

WE DO KNOW FROM VARIOUS TEXTS

THAT THIS WAS SEEN TO ACTUALLY BE

AN EXTREMELY IMPOSING CONSTRUCTION.

THEY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN HISTORY

AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE SIZE

BUT BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL.

IN FACT, IT WAS WELL THOUGHT OF EVEN IN LATER, IN HISTORY,

WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE VARIOUS PILGRIMS COMING HERE,

KINGS BEING BURIED AT THE SITE,

AND OTHER VARIOUS ELITES THAT ARE BURIED IN THE AREA,

ESSENTIALLY, TO TRY TO HAVE THAT CONNECTION

TO THIS REALLY FIRST GREAT PYRAMID.

NORENZAYAN: MANY GLOBAL RELIGIONS

ADOPTED THIS IDEA--

BUILD BIG, BUILD TALL.

YOU SEE IT IN CHRISTIANITY,

YOU SEE IT IN ISLAM AND THEIR OFFSHOOTS--

SPIRES, MINARETS, TEMPLES, PYRAMIDS,

IMPOSING THEMSELVES ON A LANDSCAPE.

THEY MAKE US FEEL A SENSE OF GRANDEUR.

THEY GIVE US A SENSE OF AWE AND A CONNECTION

TO SOMETHING LARGER THAN OURSELVES,

SOMETHING THAT'S POWERFUL AND DIVINE IN OUR LIVES.

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, UP UNTIL THE 19th CENTURY,

THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN THE WORLD

WERE ALL RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES.

THEN IN 1888, THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT WAS BUILT RIGHT HERE,

THAT BECAME THE FIRST SECULAR STRUCTURE

THAT WAS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD.

EVEN THEN, IT ADOPTED THE RELIGIOUS DESIGN--

THE OBELISK THAT STOOD AT THE ENTRANCE

OF ALL ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TEMPLES.

SO, EVEN SECULAR MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE

BORROWS RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM TO MAKE A STATEMENT.

NARRATOR: THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE MONUMENTS

OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

ARE THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA...

GIANT TOMBS FOR GOD-KINGS.

EACH OF THEM WAS BUILT FROM TWO MILLION BLOCKS OF STONE...

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

CRAFTED AND PUT INTO PLACE

BY THOUSANDS OF WORKERS...

WITHOUT PULLEYS, WHEELS, OR IRON TOOLS.

ARCHAEOLOGIST ASHRAF MOHIE BELIEVES THE BLOCKS WERE MOVED

USING A SYSTEM OF RAMPS.

[ROCKS BREAKING]

NARRATOR: MORE THAN A TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENT,

THE BUILDING OF EACH PYRAMID WAS A RELIGIOUS ACT,

A DIVINE DUTY.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

NARRATOR: IT WAS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

THESE WORKERS WERE SLAVES,

BUT WHEN THEIR TOMBS WERE DISCOVERED,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAD TO THINK AGAIN.

SLAVES WOULD NOT BE AFFORDED THE LUXURY OF A TOMB.

NARRATOR: IT'S THOUGHT TEAMS WERE CONSCRIPTED

FROM ALL OVER EGYPT TO WORK ON THE SITE,

ATTRACTED BY THE PRESTIGE

OF WORKING FOR THE GLORY OF THE GOD-KING.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

NARRATOR: IT'S EASY TO IMAGINE THE PYRAMIDS

AS A DRAIN ON CIVILIZATION...

BUT THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.

BUILDING BIG, FOR THE GODS,

GENERATES ITS OWN REWARDS...

GROWTH, COHESION, IDENTITY.

LITTLE WONDER THE GRAND RELIGIOUS MONUMENT

IS A FEATURE OF SO MANY CIVILIZATIONS

TODAY, AND THROUGH TIME.

NARRATOR: SOME MODERN-DAY CIVILIZATIONS

SEPARATE CHURCH FROM STATE

TO SHOW THAT ANCIENT SUPERSTITIONS

HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY THE SECULAR VALUES

OF REASON AND SCIENCE.

AND YET, OUR PAST IS NOT SO EASILY FORGOTTEN.

NORENZAYAN: TAKE WASHINGTON.

IT'S FILLED WITH SECULAR MONUMENTS THAT

ENSHRINE AMERICA'S CREATION STORY.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

CELEBRATES FREEDOM...

THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE...

AND THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT MEMORIALIZES THE LIFE

OF THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

BUT EVEN THESE MONUMENTS THAT ARE SECULAR,

THEY LOOK RELIGIOUS.

THEY ARE SECULAR SHRINES.

IN MANY WAYS, THESE SECULAR MONUMENTS

SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE THAT RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS

SERVED IN THE PAST AND EVEN TODAY.

THEY PROVIDE THE SOCIAL GLUE THAT CONNECTS

A WIDE RANGE OF PEOPLE INTO ONE LARGE MORAL COMMUNITY.

THAT'S THE NATION-STATE IN TODAY'S EXAMPLE.

TAKE THE DOLLAR BILL,

THE MOST SECULAR OF INVENTIONS.

YOU SEE THE ALL-SEEING EYE, THE EYE IN THE SKY

WATCHING OVER US

ON TOP OF ALL THINGS, A PYRAMID,

AND NEXT TO IT, THE WORDS "IN GOD WE TRUST."

YOU CAN'T GET MORE RELIGIOUS THAN THAT.

NARRATOR: THE LESSON OF CIVILIZATION IS CLEAR.

THOSE WHO BELIEVE TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER.

IT DOESN'T MATTER SO MUCH WHAT WE BELIEVE,

JUST THAT ENOUGH OF US SHARE THE BELIEF.

THIS WAS TRUE FOR THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS.

[CROWD CHEERING]

IT'S TRUE TODAY.

RELIGION--THE SOULMATE OF CIVILIZATION.

(gentle spacey music)

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