Kushite religion is the traditional belief system and pantheon of deities associated with the Ancient Kushites, who founded the Kingdom of Kush in the land of Nubia (also known as Ta-Seti) in present-day Sudan.

The core influence and recorded origins of traditional Kushite spiritual practices and beliefs about the afterlife and many precursors for later Kushite deities such as Apedemak were traced back to the more Animistic Kerma culture where Lions and other animals were depicted in their non-anthropomorphic animal form unlike the human-like gods in Egyptian Religion and in later Napatan and Meroitic periods, indigenous Nubian practices persisted despite the effects of New Kingdom Egyptian colonization and religious syncretism/entanglement. Research also shows influences from the C-Group culture, A-Group culture, Pan-grave culture and Ancient Egyptian religion. By the First Intermediate Period, Nubians held greater control over their own territory and some integrated into Egyptian society. The founding of the Kingdom of Kush, with its capital at Kerma, marked a significant period where Nubians maintained their distinct religious practices, as seen in the elaborate burials of the Classic Kerma Period (ca. 1750-1450 BC).

In the New Kingdom Period, Nubia fell under Egyptian control, but later unified under leaders like King Alara and King Kashta, leading to the establishment of the "Second Kingdom of Kush." This era saw the integration of Nubian and Egyptian deities. After the fall of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, Nubian religious practices persisted through various foreign dominations. During the Meroitic Period, the capital moved to Meroe, and the focus shifted to indigenous deities like Apedemak and Amesemi. By the mid-4th century, the region's conversion to Christianity marked the end of traditional Kushite religion.

Despite their close proximity to Ancient Egypt, a civilization that practiced what many historians consider one of the most extensive religious systems in the ancient world, Kushites possessed an intricately unique pantheon in their own right. Due to the lack of Nubian texts and artifacts prior to their interactions with Egyptians, much of early Nubian religion is still unclear. Fortunately, archeologists have uncovered many elements of their practices via the burials of A Group, Napata, C Group, Kerma and via writings after many Nubians adopted the Egyptian language during the Napatan Period.

Excavations of early Nubian societies also uncovered hints as to how their daily lives greatly influenced their spiritual beliefs. The A Group Culture (ca. 3700-2800 BC) revealed the domestication of animals, agricultural cultivation, elaborate pottery that was polished red and black, and fine amulets, figurines and necklaces made of ivory. These goods were also found in burials at the Terminal A Group Cemetery L at Qustul and suggest that Nubians in Lower Nubia also had ritualistic practices that were independent of Ancient Egyptian religion. The materials that comprised the burial goods also revealed that Nubians traded regularly with Egypt and peoples in Western Asia, who saw Nubia as "a corridor to sub-Saharan Africa" and its exotic goods of ebony, giraffe tails, elephants, stones, ostrich eggs, etc. Archeologist Bruce Williams concluded that much of early Pre-Dynastic culture that's often attributed to Egypt is also Nubian in origin. He maintained that Nubia developed its own complex, Dynastic culture that was not an imitation of Egypt and that both emerging kingdoms "belonged to the 'great East African substratum'."

During the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 3050-2685 BC) and the Old Kingdom Period (ca. 2685-2150 BC), Egypt's hunger to control Nubia and its lucrative trade routes and gold mines led to a military campaign into Nubia, increasing contact between the nations. The C Group Culture emerged circa 2300 BC. Archaeological digs revealed stone, circular graves "with the deceased in a flexed position surrounded by grave goods" in the early phase of the culture. By the next phase, burials had undergone a rapid "Egyptianization" with rectangular graves and Egyptian grave goods. Outside of C Group, the tomb biography about Pepy I by Weni the Elder revealed the names of six other Nubian kingdoms: Medja, Wawat, Yam, Irtjet and Setju.

By the First Intermediate Period (ca 2150-2008 BC) and early Middle Kingdom Period (ca 2009-1760 BC), Nubia had full control of its land and peace with Egypt. Nubians also lived and work in the lands of their neighbor. Some scholars believe there is even evidence that Nubians married and birthed their way into the Egyptian monarchy. Pharaoh Mentuhotep II and his queen consort, Kemsit, are said to have been of Nubian origin, due to his appointment of Nubian archers into the Egyptian army and depictions of her with a black or pink face. But it was Mentuhotep II who renewed Egypt's interest to control all of Nubia. At the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty, this is finally accomplished by Amenemhat I, who also may have been of Nubian ancestry.

The "First Kingdom of Kush," with its capital at Kerma, was first mentioned during the Twelfth Dynasty in Egyptian writings. However, it's still unclear if Kush was a centralized, dominant power that united Nubia or if there were small, independent polities across Nubia. While Egypt's control over Nubia continued into the Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1685-1550 BC), Kerman culture revealed the determination of Nubians to propagate their indigenous, Nubian beliefs. From the Early Kerma Period (ca. 2500-2050 BC) to the Classic Kerma Period (ca 1750-1450), they solidified their burial practices. In Kerma, the deceased were buried in large, elaborate, round tumuli. They were laid on top of cowhides or beds and positioned on their sides "in a flexed position with their faces looking north, heads pointed east and feet west." They were also dressed in loincloths or wrapped in sheep skin, surrounded by grave goods of weapons, jewelry, mirrors, vessels of water, pottery, and other personal possessions. In Medja, the deceased were buried in "shallow, round graves," or pan graves, with grave goods that consisted of bow-and-arrows, cattle skulls, pottery, and jewelry.