I would appreciate opinions on why the Roman populace changed to Christianity in such a short time span. Considering they had many years worshipping their owngods.
I wouldnât say that the Romans converted to Christianity quickly⌠It was a fringe religion for a long time. In fact, the Romans only legalised it with the Edict of Milan in 313 CE and it became an official religion with the Edict of Thessalonika in 380 CE. Thatâs the official and legal side.
In terms of how many people were actively Christian, growth was not rapid, either.
From: Rodney Stark (1996). The Rise of Christianity. Princeton: Princeton University Press
As you can see, according to this estimate, by the year 300 only 10% of people were Christian. That grew to 56% in 350 CE, most likely due to the legalisation and official acceptance. Apart from the post-300 CE growth, I wouldnât call that fast. As always, once the ruling class is supportive of something, it grows quickly. But before that, it doesnât. I think thatâs still true todayâŚ
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I remember learning in Uni that the Romans were naturally very wary of Christianity and believed that Christians were some kind of vampire/monster since they âdrank the blood and ate the body of Christâ.
I believe it was the Idea of an eternal afterlife and a compassionate God which appealed to the lower classes of Romans, who lived difficult lives. But conversion definitely took its time.
Hahaha! So true! Some aspects of Christianity could be directly transposed into some dark fantasy novelâŚ
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And around the time of Nero, where martyrdom and persecution of Christians was on the rise, I am surprised that the number of Christians was increasing.
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I guess the whole martyrdom scene worked and gave Christianity a lot of publicity?
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Iâm not sure there has been a bigger marketing turn-around than taking on the cross as the symbol of the movement. In the same vein as painting the proposed healthcare law âObamacareâ only to have that embraced. Brilliant on both counts.
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Willingness to die for their religion despite the persecutions of Nero combined with the promise of eternal life after death was attractive for many whose lives were not great.
Christianity grew exponentially by 350AD because Constantine made it the state religion.
I donât really think ~ 300 years is a âshort spanâ of history. Although, the terms are relative. By 350 CE the Roman Catholic church was fairly well established and extensive persecutions of Christians had waned. The Church had adopted some of the outer trappings of the state religion (i.e. a coin of Julius Caesar, 40 BCE, celebrated the fact that he had been elected as Pontifex Maximus and it illustrated the implements of the office which all look like some of the âtoolsâ of the office today). The USA has transformed from âreligiousâ to secular, by about the same percentage, in even less time.
There are some days when I think I can take on the world and would volunteer to take on a couple of lions! But, those are very few and fueled by too much alcohol.
Constantine converted and allowed freedom of religion through the Edict of Milan but it didnât become the official religion until Theodosius.
This might not be exactly what youâre looking for, but Iâm in the middle of reading Gore Vidalâs novel Julian, which Iâve found has helped me imagine the conflict between Christianity and traditional Roman religion better, at least from the point of view of the individual in the 4th century. Within a single lifespan, the Edicts of the 4th century really did have an enormous impact on religious life, and itâs quite amazing to think that whether Christianity or traditional religion would âwinâ wasnât obvious to those living. Not to mention the fact that Christianity itself was split into sects holding different doctrines and wasnât yet unified.
I agree with those here who are saying widespread conversion wasnât as quick as it might seem at first. Itâs an interesting process and for in-depth information on it, there are several great professors on The Great Courses Plus who address it in their lectures, including Philip Daileader and Dorsey Armstrong. But thereâs also an entire course on the platform dedicated specifically to the topic called âThe Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianityâ by Dr. Kenneth W Harl. If youâre not on The Great Courses Plus, the course is also available as an audiobook on Audible.
Many great points in this discussion. It would also be interesting to see why Islam spread so quickly compared to the several centuries it took for Christianity to become established.
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Iâm not sure the details are definitively known but the religious ideology, revealed and developed by Mohammad, combined with his activities as a caravan raider, were attractive and lucrative to some of the local populous. It would be interesting to know the percentage of the caravanners that were Hebrew, but itâs clear the Islamic ideology had a bone to pick with Jews. As the number of adherents grew quickly, it would be interesting to know if it was the new religion, or the campaign of raiding and the economic gains, that were the core driving force. Later, the attraction of total political and religious power in conquered regions had the Muslims knocking on multiple doors of the Christian world. So, it appears that the fervor, combined with the raids and imposition of the âconvert or dieâ rule (or pay the infidel tax), is mainly responsible for the rapid expansion. The Mongols experienced a similar expansion without the religious components. Considering human nature in helping to determine if the success of these movements is attributable to human need (or greed), the economic motivation appears primary. Dressing it up with doing the âwill of Godâ makes it easier on the conscience as you destroy other peopleâs civilizations and take their stuff.
To those with the power to prevent this from being posted for appearing to be aimed at certain current groups, I remind them that this is human nature, and it includes all races and religions throughout history and around the world. The factors that help create the conditions for these movements is what demands study, including the tendency for a particular type of individual to lead a movement to âsuccess.â
âConvert or suffer the consequencesâ has been a very convincing argument employed by quite a few religions. Thatâs how Christianity spread so quickly in Scandinavia, replacing the Old Norse religion within one or two generations. Now THAT was a quick spread of Christianity.
I wouldnât be surprised if the religious war and conquest was a driving factor for Islam, too.
This sounds like a great book. Iâll get it. Does it mention the "mystery cults " such as Mithraism and the cult of Isis, which were also popular at the time and seemed to go towards a more personal relationship with âGodâ and a a belief in eternal life, as if these ideas were âin the airâ?
As I said, Iâm still in the middle of reading - itâs taking me longer and longer as I got distracted by history and am revising before continuing - but I havenât yet encountered the mystery cults. A lot has been made, however, of the split amongst Christians between those supporting Arianism and those supporting Trinitarianism.
Very different, very interesting circumstances!
The Great Courses Plus streaming service has a whole course on the Islamic Golden age and the first few lectures explain the rapid spread of Islam across the Middle East, the Maghreb, and Iberian Peninsula.