All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men's
minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a
reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of
supernatural forces. In the beginnings of history it was the forces of
nature which were first so reflected, and which in the course of
further evolution underwent the most manifold and varied
personifications among the various peoples. This early process has been
traced back by comparative mythology, at least in the case of the
Indo-European peoples, to its origin in the Indian Vedas, and in its
further evolution it has been demonstrated in detail among the Indians,
Persians, Greeks, Romans, Germans and, so far as material is available,
also among the Celts, Lithuanians and Slavs. But it is not long before,
side by side with the forces of nature, social forces begin to be
active — forces which confront man as equally alien and at first
equally inexplicable, dominating him with the same apparent natural
necessity as the forces of nature themselves. The fantastic figures,
which at first only reflected the mysterious forces of nature, at this
point acquire social attributes, become representatives of the forces
of history. At a still further stage of evolution, all the natural and social attributes of the numerous gods are transferred to one almighty god, who is but a reflection of the abstract man.
Anti-Dühring by Frederick Engels 1877
Part III: Socialism
V. State, Family, Education
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