> One last thing: many ancient state religions were dualistic. I believe it
> had social and economical explanations: if you personalize your enemy in a
> foul god, you can easily focus the powerful social forces and keep them from
> destroying you. You can aim their efforts agains outsiders or threaten them
> not to dare strike the state hierarchy because its your only ally in
> preserving your soul from hell. I am not Marxistic, I stress it, but Karl
That is not dualism. Dualism as a religious trait refers to the idea that the One and the Other are roughly equal in power. By "the One", I refer to the primary potent Divine force that people are able to worship. "The Other" is the primary potent Divine force usually cast as, if not evil, at least devoted to matters less than healthy.
Some dualistic religions actually do pay honor to the Other, others do not.
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