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Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present and in control of the world.
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs were centered around a variety of complex rituals that were influenced by many aspects of Egyptian culture. Religion was a major contributor, since it was an important social practice that bound all Egyptians together.
Ancient Egyptian deities were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion and were worshiped for millennia. Many of them ruled over natural and social phenomena , as well as abstract concepts [ 1 ] These gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name.
The earliest surviving records indicating that Maat is the norm for nature and society, in this world and the next, were recorded during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the earliest substantial surviving examples being found in the Pyramid Texts of Unas (c. 2375 BCE and 2345 BCE).
The share of Christians in the Egyptian population has according to official statistics been declining with the highest share reported in the past century being in 1927, when the official census put the percentage of Egyptian Christians at 8.3%. In each of the seven subsequent censuses, the percentage shrank, ending at 5.7% in 1996. [7]
Atenism, also known as the Aten religion, [1] the Amarna religion, [2] the Amarna revolution, and the Amarna heresy, was a religion in ancient Egypt. It was founded by Akhenaten , a pharaoh who ruled the New Kingdom under the Eighteenth Dynasty . [ 3 ]
An important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the jb (ib), or heart. [18] In the Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was essential to surviving death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor.
Egyptian texts list the names of many deities whose nature is unknown, and make vague, indirect references to other gods who are not even named. [2] The Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts, [3] whereas his colleague Christian Leitz says there are "thousands upon thousands" of gods. [4]