In times of need the people would consult their gods for help. During that time, in history societies in the way of food and services to god was considered an essential part of everyday life. It is stated that in Babylonia if a sick man or woman would approach the Ishtar temple, a male priest would make sacrifices to the gods, and recite hymns and prayers. This goes to show that religion played a dominant role in society. Lerner believed that a strong kinship and of archaic states bring changes in religious beliefs and symbols. As it is seen in most civilizations religion is a very important aspect in society. For example, the Egyptians who built costly monumental structures that were meant for the afterlife of pharaohs and of officials. .
Kevin Reilly wrote about various topics that pertain to civilization. Reilly wrote of how villages transformed into cities and of how irrigation was an important step for agricultural societies to flourish. He wrote that the urban revolution arose due to technological inventions in agriculture, such as the plow, wheeled cart, the sailboat, and the forging of metal. As a result of this urban revolution Rielly writes that a new class of rulers emerged. No longer were priests at the top of the social class strusture, kings replaced priests as rulers and carried out the religious affairs of the king's religion. During this change new ideas arose priests taught that people were created for the purpose to serve the king. Although kings were the rulers, the priests played a crucial role in society. They were responsible for measuring time, bounding spaces, and predicting seasonal events. Due to the formation of new cities, the role of police and soldiers were implemented. A main achievement, however, of civilizations were the monuments which were created for the new ruling class. The cities provided greater variety of occupations, languages, experiences, and knowledge.
