Ancient Semitic Religions

Ancient Semitic people were polytheist. Some scholars believe that the similarities between the ancient Semitc religions indicate that the religions are related, a belief known as patternism, a term that refers to a method of comparing the teachings of the religions of the Ancient Near East whereby the similarities between these religions are assumed to constitute an overarching pattern.

Ancient Semitic peoples

Ancient Semitic peoples refer to the peoples who used to speak or still speak:

• Arabic
• Hebrew
• Aramaic
• Phoenician 
• Akkadian

The Semitic peoples originate mainly from the Middle East. The word "Semitic" is an adjective derived from Shem, one of the three sons of Noah (the others being Ham and Japheth) in the Bible and the Qur'an

Ancient Semitic religions

The term Ancient Semitic religion encompasses the polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East and Northeast Africa. Its origins are intertwined with Mesopotamian mythology, the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and Akkadian (Assyrian/Babylonian) peoples living in Mesopotamia (around the area of modern Iraq). As Semitic itself is a rough, categorical term, the definitive bounds of the term "Ancient Semitic religion" are likewise only approximate. These traditions, and their pantheons, fall into regional categories:

1. Canaanite religions of the Levant, 
2. Assyro-Babylonian religion strongly influenced by Sumerian tradition,
3. and Pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.

Canaanite religions of the Levant

Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries of the Common Era. Canaanite religion was polytheistic, and in some cases monolatristic.

Assyro-Babylonian religion strongly influenced by Sumerian tradition

The religions of Babylon and Assyria are early attestations of Ancient Semitic religion in the region of Mesopotamia. The Assyrians and Babylonians practiced polytheism, a belief in many gods, before largely converting to Christianity from the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Borrowing from earlier religions of the Ancient Near East, predominantly those of the Sumerians and their Akkadian ancestors, religious practice was centered on cults of regional patron deities. Examples of this relationship include Marduk in Babylon, Ishtar in Akkad, or Sin in Ur and Harran.

Pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.

Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods and other assorted creatures which represented the profoundly polytheistic environment of Pre-Islamic Arabia.