Christianity and the Roman Empire, Essay Example

Although the Christian religion is now one of the largest religions on Earth, it began as a small offshoot of Judaism in the first century CE. The Biblical figure of Jesus was a Jewish man who began preaching to a growing group of followers in the region of Jerusalem. Although Jesus was tried, convicted, and executed by Roman officials, his followers established the early apostolic version of Christianity after his death. As these apostles and others who knew about Jesus spread their message about his teachings, the early Christian church began to grow from Jerusalem into other parts of the Middle East. Despite this growth, Christianity remained a relatively minor religion in the first century CE, and Christians were harshly persecuted. It was not until centuries later that Christianity was accepted by Roman leaders. Although Christianity began as a relatively minor offshoot of Judaism, its adoption by the Romans led to it becoming one of the largest religions in the world.

The earliest Christians were members of the Jewish religion who viewed Jesus as the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecies of the Messiah (Pearce, p.41, 2003).  This situation presented some difficulty, as there was conflict among early Christians about bringing gentiles (non-Jews) into the religion. Many of the specific practices of the Jewish religion were carried on by the early Christians, including restrictions about diet and other practices such as circumcision. As the early Christians came in contact with Greeks and other nationalities, there was some strong opposition to many of the Jewish practices(Pearce, p.42, 2003). The specific rules about these and other practices evolved, and it was not always necessary for gentiles to adopt Jewish practices in order to convert to Christianity.

The next phase of the evolution of Christianity began decades after the death of Jesus, as later generations of Christians continued to follow and preach about his teachings. One important figure in early Christianity was Paul of Tarsus, who preached the teachings of Jesus to Greeks and other gentiles. By the middle of the first century CE the early Christians began to establish the rules about whether or not gentiles had to engage in circumcision and other practices, and it was decided at the Council of Jerusalem that they did not. These changes to the rules made it much easier to convince people to convert to Christianity and the religion spread even farther. At the same time, the decision to allow some aspects of Jewish law to be ignored by Christians led to a growing divide between Judaism and Christianity.

Although Rome had its own religious beliefs in the first century, it tolerated some religions that were different. Judaism was one of the religions that were legally allowed to exist in the Roman Empire. For the most part, Jewish people in the first century were able to follow their own religious practices, and did not have to engage in the celebrations of the pagan rituals of the Romans. There were times where this peaceful coexistence was interrupted, and in the year 70 CE the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.  After this the Jewish religious leaders and Roman government officials came to a compromise where the Romans chose the High Priest but allowed the Jewish people to continue practicing their religion as long as it did not disrupt Roman political control of the region (Pearce, p.41, 2003). The teachings of figures like Jesus and John the Baptist were considered by many to be a challenge to Roman authority, and this would eventually lead to the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

The earliest Christians were still largely seen as just a subset of Judaism, but as the Christian religion grew it became more and more divided from Judaism (Vaage, 2006). The Romans had been tolerant of Judaism for a long period of time, but they viewed this new and growing religion as a threat to their political authority and to the social stability of the Roman Empire (Pearce, p.41, 2003). Jesus was also seen as a threat to Jewish religious authority in his lifetime, and in the decades following his death Christians were considered to be problematic by Jewish leaders and Roman leaders (Vaage, 2006). At the same time, however, the massive size of the Roman Empire was also what made it possible for Christianity to spread into other parts of the world. The Romans had developed significant infrastructure, such as roads that connected various parts of the empire (Lunn-Rockliffe, n.p., 2011). Trade among different countries was common, both over land routes and by ships traveling to and from ports. The Greek language also grew and spread through these routes, and the earliest versions of the Gospels of Jesus were written in Greek.

As Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman Empire, early Christian leaders like the Apostle Paul wrote letters to the Christian churches that were established in places like Rome, Corinth, and Thessalonica, among others (Pearce, p.43, 2003). The ideas that Paul wrote about based on the teachings of Jesus were revolutionary from a religious perspective, as the early message of Christianity was that it was a religion that was open to virtually anyone, regardless of economic, political, or social position. These ideas were in direct opposition to the powerful religious and political authority of Rome, and early Christians were persecuted in terrible ways by the Romans. Christians were imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their beliefs, and this situation went on for hundreds of years. Despite this persecution, however, Christianity continued to grow, gathering more and more followers as the centuries passed.

In the centuries following the death of Jesus, the Roman Empire continued to grow and expand into other territories.  As it took control of more and more parts of the world, it came in contact with a wide variety of different religious practices, and it became more difficult for the Roman government to enforce any one set of religious beliefs (Lunn-Rockliffe, n.p., 2011). This meant that as the empire grew, it became increasingly tolerant of other religions, simply because it would have been impossible to do anything else. The persecution of Christians did not entirely end, but by the 3^rd and 4^th centuries AD Christianity had become so widespread that it was able to sustain itself despite not being officially recognized by Rome. Because Christianity appealed to many members of society who were not in powerful positions, it was widely adopted by many Roman soldiers, merchants, and other members of common Roman society (Lunn-Rockliffe, n.p., 2011).

Although the Roman emperor Constantine officially converted to Christianity in 312 CE, his conversion was driven by political and social conditions in the Roman Empire. According to Lunn-Rockliffe, this conversion is seen by contemporary Christians as miraculous, though Constantine’s real motives were much more practical (n.p., 2011). Constantine was known to proclaim various religious beliefs and to have “visions” of a spiritual nature (Brice, p45, 2003). According to legend, Constantine experienced one such vision before engaging in battle with a foe of the Roman Empire, and subsequently became convinced that it was of divine origin related to Christianity (Pearce, p45). Constantine proclaimed that Christianity was to be tolerated in Rome, but he also allowed pagan traditions to continue as well, making his conversion as much about political expediency as it was about religious faith. And while Constantine tolerated the practices of non-Christians, he “began to identify…paganism with the barbarians” and had to give up the practice of having the emperor being viewed as a deity (Pearce, p45).  Even as Constantine embraced Christianity, however, he continued to build “pagan statues and temples” Lunn-Rockliffe, n.p.). Such actions show the complicated nature of Constantine’s relationship with his new religious beliefs, and how he had to balance the demands of practicing Christianity with the political realities of life in the Roman Empire.

Once the Roman Empire made Christianity the official religion of the empire, many of the religious practices of Christianity changed considerably from its beginnings as a relatively minor sect of Judaism. At the same time, however, the Roman Empire reached across much of the world in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, which made it possible for Christianity to flourish and take hold throughout those regions. Thanks in great part to the conversion of Constantine, what began as a small group of early Apostles and later followers who were persecuted and killed for their beliefs would eventually grow to become one of the world’s dominant religions with followers in virtually every country on Earth.

Works Cited

Lunn-Rockliffe, Sophie. ‘Ancient History In Depth: Christianity And The Roman Empire’. Bbc.co.uk. N.p., 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

Pearce, T. Brice. ‘Christianity In The Roman Empire’. (2003): n. pag. Print.

Vaage, Leif E. ‘Religious Rivalries In The Early Roman Empire And The Rise Of Christianity’.Muse.jhu.edu. N.p., 2006. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.