How Did Religion Contribute To The Decline Of The Roman Empire

Roman religion is not as easy to identify or describe as one might immediately suppose. Much of the difficulty in defining the religion of the Roman Republic is due to its flexibility and variability, as well as the lack of any clear division between religion, politics, and civil society during this period. It can often be difficult to tell, for example, where Roman religion ends and political ideology begins. Despite these difficulties, it is possible to make certain generalized statements. Religion in the Roman republic was extremely integrated into everyday life, it is variable and individualized, and it played a key role in upholding Roman civil and military power structures. It is also important to remember that Roman religion is not static and underwent a constant process of change over several centuries, often due to political and social concerns.

Throughout history many civilizations and empires have been considered great. The greatest empire ever was Ancient Rome. Starting in 509 B.C.E and lasting until 476 C.E (Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity, 1000 BCE–500 CE,). Ancient Rome started off as a small town on central Italy’s Tiber river and ended up expanding all the way to most Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, Northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands (Ancient Rome). Ancient Rome helped spread many languages, the western alphabet, the modern calendar and the religion of christianity all around the globe (Ancient Rome). They are the most powerful and dominating empire throughout history. Ancient Rome was the greatest empire throughout history.

Roman Republic, one of the most famous republic in ancient time, established a form of government comprising three main parts: a few magistrates, a Senate, and several assemblies. Roman Republic was the period of ancient Roman civilization starting with the collapse of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and ended in 27 BC with the founding of the Roman Empire. The government had representatives selected by citizen and ended because of the civil war between powerful generals including Antony and Brutus.

The Roman Empire had a long and rich reign, but by the fourth century, things started to go downhill and the empire started to crash. But most people did not realize the minor details that were slowly demolishing the empire. It wasn’t until 354, when the changes became more prominent. Augustine, who was a nobleman was conflicted when choosing a religion to put his faith in. He had to choose between his father’s belief and stick to the Roman gods, or go with his mother and believe in Christianity. Since he was a nobleman, his decision would impact many others. Around this time Rome was ruling Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. This was when they were the strongest. Along with owning those territories they also owned the French, Spanish,

In 133 BC, Rome was governed by democracy. At the end of the second century BC the Roman people became supreme ruler. True noblemen in politics and rich people elected in election. Magistrates were elected by the assemblies implement the laws and carry state decisions. Rome was powerful and rich in culture however Ceaser Dictatorship, increase in slavery, and rise of private army destroyed the Roman Republic.

The Roman Empire was one of the greatest, and well-rounded civilization in ancient times. What made them so great was their knowledge that they received from the Greeks and their ability to grow from what they learned. The Romans did not start off with a dictator, they had elected people to power. In the early years of the republic of Rome, this allowed them to grow. Starting off in the middle of Italy and eventually conquering all territories around the Mediterranean Sea. There are several factors that made Rome great, and their stability and longevity as a power house is worth talking about

The Romans view on religions continued to change over the years of the empire. Roman views on religion were constantly changing throughout the history of the empire. At the beginning, Christianity was thought of as something that should not be allowed. Christians were persecuted and punished by the Romans for their contradicting beliefs. Later, in the fourth century, Christianity started to become acceptable and more people were converting from other religions. Christianity can be seen as something that helped the empire come together and stop the “war” of religions.

The Roman Empire was one the greatest civilizations in history. From 1000 B.C.E to 400 C.E. Rome had many successes ranging from conquest, correcting the repercussions from war, and Augustus reform of the republic.

The Romans had a religion that they believed in but was not something concrete and was not of having a central idea. The religion was based on a mix of certain traditions and beliefs. Religion was not never really a big factor in their Empire. The Romans were stubborn with religion and this could be the reason they had an attitude towards these aspects of life. According to St. Augustine’s book Confession, he states that there were a lot of fake gods and there were two major religions in the Roman Empire. The very first religion was Paganism and that’s what his father was known to believe. Then the second main religion was Christianity which his mother believed in. The emperor of Rome at this time, Constantine himself was not a Christian when he conquered Rome, but rather he had a religious conversion when he won the fight with contending tetrarchs at the Milvian bridge in 306 AD, with help of image of the Cross. The

Religion in early Rome was considered to be Pagan. Pagan is considered a belief that a person holds that differs from a main world religious views. The Pagan views were not based on any concepts or just one God. Citizens were believing and practicing their beliefs based on rituals, superstitions, and traditions that were obtained through ancestry. They had festivals and sacrificial rituals to please the Gods. In 64 AD Nero prosecuted Christians in Rome because he blamed them for the burning of the Imperial Capital this is called the Great Persecution due to the amount of people who were killed in the process. This made it seem like there were no other religions that citizens could practice this led to them

The growth of the Roman Empire brought new ideas drawn from the aspects of life followed in those days which included, Religion, philosophy, Literature, art, manners and morals ( Morey, 1901). They ideas they adopted came from the temples, cities they came across during the war and from the civilized people they captured. The most foreign influences to be adopted by Rome were Greek customs. The Religion of the Romans changed overtime, with the introduction of the Greek Olympus. The Romans took in the Greek gods and methods of worship.

Most Romans during this time believed in many different gods and where known as polytheists. Christianity in Rome started as an illegal act of rebellion against the popular belief of more than one god or the gods. Christian believed in one god and that Jesus, a man who was gathering a large following around 30AD, was the son of their one god. The followers of Jesus became known as Christians. Christians spread the word of their God all around, teaching that peoples sins would be forgiven if they became Christian. People all around the empire responded to the idea of Christian salvation. Christianity quickly became the blame for most of Rome’s problems due to them turning away from worshiping the gods to worshiping only one, causing emperor of the time Nero to begin persecuting Christians as he believed they were making the gods angry. Many Romans believed that the empire was facing hardship due to the ever expanding group of Christians. Romans of lower social ranking were more likely to convert into a Christian as one of Christianity’s key beliefs was that everyone was equal, so a social ranking system was of no

At the time, Roman religion was centered on gods and the interpretation of why things were the way they were. Each god had its own special day where priest would sacrifice animals and offer it to them. Rome’s religion was challenged when Christianity began to spread because as the number of people that converted increased, so did the number of people that refused to participate in the worship of the Roman gods and make sacrifices at their temples. In turn Christianity was banned and Christians were punished and often put to death. This did not stop them though, seeing as they began to meet in secret and their population continued to grow in number. Then in 3113 AD, the emperor Constantine made Christianity legal. “Christianity’s influence, however, set into motion the belief that man is accountable to God and that the law is the same regardless of status. More than one thousand years before the birth of Christ the biblical requirement given by Moses comprised an essential component of the principle that ‘no man is above the law.” (Schmidt 249) Over time, all the other gods

Almost to the point of being superstitious, the Roman citizens considered there to be only one religion, the state religion. They accepted this one religion because according to them, “it was the religion that had ensured and could continue to ensure the preservation and prosperity of their state.” (Shelton 359) In order to keep the peace, the people highly valued

Civilization is an essential design. Civilization, to some extent is a prominent basis of cultural and technological progression. It is the rectification of thoughts and manners in society. Without civilizations, the world as we know it would not be. A civilization develops superfluous of things that help the people be a stable community. These build up an outline for the advancement and rise of the empire. Government is also existent in civilizations. Likewise, the Roman Civilization is an essence on the mankind. It gifted us with their rich culture and also preserved the tradition of the Hellenistic world. The Roman Empire has been one of the most dominant civilizations of all time. Its culture has been mixed throughout many societies. At its peak, the Roman Empire expanded Europe in its vastness and even stretched to Africa and Asia. The Romans left its trace on many societies and left behind a gift of cultural fortune.