Religio duplex

The 17th century marked the birth of religious studies. It arises from the question of the origin of the gods, of polytheism, of "idolatry". Monotheism, it was agreed, formed the original religion: This was not the religion of revelation, but the religion of nature and reason, which is common to all human beings and can also be traced in all pagan religions. The polytheism originated only with the states; for rule needs the gods in order to give political and moral orientation to the people. Under these conditions, the primordial religion withdrew into the underground: this is how the mysteries were created. The basic model of this development is Ancient Egypt, the first state in history in which this religious dual structure was particularly clear. The Egyptians had two writings, as it was read in the Greeks: one for the people, e.