Contrary to the widely held beliefs that in its origin religion had many gods (polytheism) or a supreme male god or the worship of a female (Mother) Goddess, this paper argues with much evidence that the original state probably was one in which all deities are expressions of a primal power, itself unmanifest and being neither male nor female.

It is generally assumed nowadays that man (homo sapiens) has descended from some ape-like creature, which itself, `evolved' from some even more primitive mammal, by a process of `natural selection' which entailed numerous accidental developments of organs and functions: this is the so-called scientific view (Dawkins, 1996; Gribbin and Cherfas, 2003; Ruse, 2003; etc.), although many scientists have since the 1980s cast strong doubts on this (neo-) Darwinian explanation of the appearance of different species in the earth's biosphere (Denton, 1985; Bowler, 1992; Behe, 1996; and Dembski, 2004). It is generally assumed that human language `evolved' out of animal grunts and bird-twitterings after the vocal machinery and brain structure became sufficiently and fittingly developed (Hawkins and Gell-Menn, 1992, pp. 21-83). Another widespread assumption is that the worship of the Mother Goddess is a much earlier form of religion; to quote an authority: "The later patriarchal religions and mythologies have accustomed us to look upon the male god as a creator ... But the original, overlaid stratum knows of a female creative being" (Newmann, 1955, quoted by Klostermaier, 2000, p. 188).

Neumann assumes for the whole region of the Mediterranean a universally adopted religion of the Great Mother Goddess around 4000 BCE, which was revived about 2000 bce, and spread through the whole of the then known world. In this religion the Great Goddess was worshiped as creator, as Lady of men, beasts and plants, as liberator and as symbol of transcendent spiritual transformation.

The Indus civilization also belonged to that tradition in which the cult of the Great Goddess was prominent. Numerous terracotta figurines have been found: images of the Mother Goddess of the same kind that are still worshiped in Indian villages today. Several representations on seals that appear connected with the worship of the Great Goddess also exist. On one of these we see a nude female figure lying upside down with outspread legs, a plant issuing from her womb. On the reverse there is a man with a sickle-shaped knife before a woman who raises her arms in supplication. Obviously it depicts a human sacrifice to the Earth Goddess.

History and Culture Journal, Spiritual Transformations, Brain Structure, Vocal Machineries, Numerous Terracotta Figurines, Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Vedic Tradition, Mesopotamian Culture, Primordial Unity, Indo-European Religions, Cosmogonic Myths, Indus-Sarasvati Culture.