The Sumerians believed they were created to serve the gods. Religion played a central role in the life of the Sumerians and was the core of their city states. Polytheistic in nature with an evolving view of the afterlife and an adversarial view of their gods, religion for the people of Sumer largely reflected their grim circumstances.
The Sumerian people worshiped many gods. Each city-state was dedicated to a particular god and the defining feature of each city was its massive temple called a ziggurat. The Lugals and Kings of Sumer believe their power was derived from their city god. Hammurabi used his position as leader of Babylon the city dedicated to Marduk, believed to the most powerful God, to legitimize his rule across all of Mesopotamia.
The creation story of the Sumerian people is based on the premise that humanity was created on earth solely to serve the gods. The people would rarely, if ever ask favors of the gods and instead only wished to appease them. Rituals and sacrifices were performed in hopes of staving off the punishment of the gods. Sumerians feared their gods and believed them to be them to be cruel with little concern for human beings.
Sumerians had an evolving view of the afterlife. Prior to 2,550 B.C.E, the afterlife was viewed only bleakly, where the dead journeyed to the “land of no return” and spent eternity in the dark. The building of The Royal Tombs of Ur shows a changing view of the afterlife, at least for the more powerful whose tombs were prepared for enjoyment of the afterlife.
The religious beliefs of the people of Sumer reflected the harsh circumstances of life in the Mesopotamian desert. The construction of their cities, the power of their leaders, and the rituals of their daily lives were all based on their religious beliefs. This tight coupling of religion and society may have been necessary to allow civilization to develop under such harsh circumstances.