Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in Judea in the 1st century CE and spread to the cities of the Eastern Roman Empire and beyond. In these cities, non-Jews, Gentiles, wanted to join the movement, and these Gentile-Christians soon outnumbered the Jews. The evolution of Christian beliefs and concepts (what would become dogma) absorbed both Jewish ideas as well as those of the dominant culture, but Christianity created innovations that transformed traditional thinking in relation to society and gender roles.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1670/ancient-christianitys-effect-on-society--gender-ro/.